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Ford EcoBoost 300

Tyler Reddick wins Xfinity race in Miami, championship

By Daniel McFadinNov 17, 2018, 6:01 PM EDT
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Tyler Reddick won Saturday’s Xfinity race at Homestead-Miami Speedway to claim the Xfinity Series championship.

The win is the first for the JR Motorsports rookie since he won the season opener at Daytona.

Reddick led 44 of 200 laps and defeated Cole Custer (second), Daniel Hemric (fourth) and Christopher Bell (11th) for the title.

Custer led a race-high 95 laps but lost the lead in the final stage during green-flag pit stops after he stayed out a few laps longer than Reddick and Bell.

Reddick took the lead when he passed Bell out of Turn 4 with 37 laps to go. He spent nearly the entire final run driving against the outside wall.

“The year wasn’t the smoothest for us, but I knew coming in here if we just made it to Homestead, this is a great track for me,” Reddick told NBCSN. “It rewards my aggression. Tonight we hit the wall a lot, but the car kept in one piece long enough to get to the end.”

The race was Reddick’s last for JRM before moving to Richard Childress Racing for 2019.

Bell, who won a rookie record seven races this season, had to pit for a flat tire with 10 laps to go.

“We just weren’t good enough,” Bell told NBCSN. “Bottom line, I wasn’t fast enough. Once the tires started wearing away, those guys just drove right back by me.”

STAGE 1 WINNER: Cole Custer

STAGE 2 WINNER: Cole Custer

MORE: Race results, points report

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: With his title, Tyler Reddick also claimed the Rookie of the Year award over Christopher Bell.

OWNERS TITLE: Cole Custer’s second place finish earned Stewart-Haas Racing the owners championship.

WHO HAD A GOOD RACE: John Hunter Nemechek led 52 laps and finished third … Ryan Preece placed sixth in his last start for Joe Gibbs Racing … Ross Chastain placed 16th in his last start for JD Motorsports before moving to Chip Ganassi Racing full-time in next season.

WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Elliott Sadler finished 14th, a lap off the lead in his final full-time start after he pit with 20 laps to go for a vibration … Caesar Bacarella placed 34th after he spun on the final lap of Stage 1.

NOTABLE: Tyler Reddick is the first driver to win the first and last race of the season in the Xfinity Series … All three of JR Motorsports’ Xfinity titles have come with the No. 9 car … Reddick joins Chase Elliott (2014) and William Byron (2017) as the third rookie to win the title … Reddick gave crew chief David Elenz his second consecutive Xfinity title after he won with Byron last year.

QUOTE OF THE RACE No. 1: “We just stuck to our plan. I’m not honestly second-guessing it. Our lap times over the course of the race, we were as good as we were the whole race at the end of the race. (Tyler Reddick) found a lot of speed at the end.” – Crew chief Jeff Meendering to NBC Sports on the pit strategy to not stop immediately after Tyler Reddick made his final stop.

QUOTE OF THE RACE No. 2: “I couldn’t do it. I don’t know, I think that’s just something I need to practice I guess. I’m at a loss for words for that.” Cole Custer to NBCSN on not being able to catch Tyler Reddick in the closing laps while running against the wall.

WHAT’S NEXT: The 2019 season opener at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 16.

Cole Custer wins Xfinity pole at Miami

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By Daniel McFadinNov 17, 2018, 1:28 PM EDT
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Championship 4 driver Cole Custer won the pole for today’s Xfinity Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN).

Custer earned his sixth pole of the year with a top speed of 165.598 mph. Custer is the defending winner of the Ford EcoBoost 300.

“It gives me some confidence for sure, but obviously it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t pay to win the pole,” Custer told NBCSN.

Christopher Bell qualified second at 165.345 mph. He has started on the front row in four of the last five races.

Tyler Reddick qualified fourth and Daniel Hemric will start 10th, his worst start of the playoffs.

The top five will be Custer, Bell, John Hunter Nemechek, Reddick and Austin Cindric.

Elliott Sadler qualified seventh for his last race as a full-time driver.

Click here for the lineup.

Today’s Xfinity race at Miami: Start time, lineup and more

Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images
By Dan BeaverNov 17, 2018, 1:00 PM EDT
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NASCAR’s Ford Championship Weekend continues with the Xfinity series hitting the track in Miami. Last year, Cole Custer won this race but was not in contention for the championship.

Custer is in contention today with Christopher Bell, Daniel Hemric and Tyler Reddick. The highest finishing driver of those four will be crowned champion at the end of the race.

Here is all the info for today’s race:

(All times are Eastern)

START: Yoel Romero, the top-ranked Middleweight UFC Fighter, will give the command to start engines at 3:37 p.m. The green flag is scheduled to wave at 3:45 p.m.

DISTANCE: The race is scheduled for 200 laps (300 miles) around the 1.5-mile speedway.

STAGES: Stage 1 ends on Lap 45. Stage 2 ends on Lap 90.

PRERACE SCHEDULE: Garage opens at 8:30 a.m. Qualifying is at 12:35 p.m. Driver/crew chief meeting is at 1:40 p.m. Driver introductions are at 3 p.m.

NATIONAL ANTHEM: Yoli Mayor will perform the anthem at 3:31 p.m.

TV/RADIO: NBCSN will broadcast the race beginning at 3:30 p.m. Coverage begins at 3 p.m. with Countdown to Green on NBCSN. Motor Racing Network’s radio broadcast begins at 3 p.m. and also can be heard at mrn.com. SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have MRN’s broadcast.

FORECAST: wunderground.com calls for mostly cloudy skies with a high of 80 degrees and a four percent chance of rain at the start of the race.

LAST TIME: Cole Custer beat Sam Hornish Jr. by 15 seconds. William Byron finished third to win the Xfinity championship.

STARTING LINEUP: Click here for the lineup.

What each Xfinity Championship 4 driver would accomplish with title

By Daniel McFadinNov 15, 2018, 1:30 PM EDT
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The day before the Cup Series title is decided, the Xfinity Series will do the same with the Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on NBCSN).

The four drivers who make up the Xfinity Championship 4 are rookies Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick and sophomore drivers Daniel Hemric and Cole Custer.

Regardless of who claims the title, the series will have its seventh different champion in as many years. They’ll also be the 13 different champion in 14 years.

Here’s a further breakdown of what would be accomplished by each driver should they emerge as the 2018 Xfinity champion.

YOUNG MAN’S SERIES

If Bell (23 years old), Reddick (22) or Custer (20) win, they’ll be the eighth consecutive champion 25 or younger.

Hemric (27) would be the first champion over 25 since Brad Keselowski (26) in 2010.

CALIFORNIA KIDS

If Reddick or Custer win, they’ll join Kevin Harvick as the second California natives to win the title.

Reddick hails from Corning while Custer is originally from Ladera Ranch. Harvick, who won the title in 2001 and 2006, is from Bakersfield.

ROOKIE ROYALTY

If Bell or Reddick claim the title, they’ll join Chase Elliott (2014) and William Byron (2017) as the only rookies to win the title.

Bell enters the race with a rookie record seven wins this season

CHAMPIONSHIP POTION No. 9

If Reddick wins the title – in his last race with JR Motorsports before moving to Richard Childress Racing next season – he would deliver JR Motorsports its third Xfinity title. All three  – Elliott in 2014 and Byron in 2017 – have come from the No. 9 team.

A Reddick title would also mean all three JRM titles have been with drivers in their first full-time year with the team.

Reddick won the pole for this race last year with Chip Ganassi Racing and placed fourth.

WINLESS CHAMPION?

Hemric will take part in his last Xfinity race as a full-time driver before departing for RCR’s No. 31 car in the Cup Series.

If he wins the race Saturday, it would not only be Hemric’s first career Xfinity win (in 66 starts), it would be his first career NASCAR win (in 118 starts across all three national series).

Should he not win the race but win the title, Hemric would join Austin Dillon (2013) as the second winless Xfinity champion.

He would also become the first Xfinity champion without any series wins to his name.

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Championship weekend schedule for Miami

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By Daniel McFadinNov 15, 2018, 10:00 AM EDT
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After 10 months, the NASCAR season comes to an end this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The Cup, Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series all end their seasons on the 1.5-mile track.

Here’s the full weekend schedule with TV and radio info:

(All times are Eastern)

Friday, Nov. 16

7 a.m. – Truck Series garage opens

8:35 – 9:25 a.m. – Truck practice (No TV)

10 a.m. – 8 p.m. – Cup garage open

10:05 – 10:55 a.m. – Final Truck practice (No TV)

11 a.m. – 8 p.m. – Xfinity garage open

1 – 2:20 p.m. – Cup practice (NBCSN, Motor Racing Network)

2:35 – 3:25 p.m. – Xfinity practice (NBCSN)

3:45 p.m. – Truck Series qualifying; single truck/two rounds (Fox Sports 1)

5:05 – 5:55 p.m. – Final Xfinity practice (NBCSN)

6 p.m. – Truck Series driver-crew chief meeting

6:10 p.m. – Cup qualifying; multi-car/three rounds (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

7:30 p.m. – Truck Series driver introductions

8 p.m. – Ford EcoBoost 200; 134 laps/201 miles (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Saturday, Nov. 17

8:30 a.m. –  Xfinity garage opens

10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. – Cup garage open

11:35 – 12:25 p.m. – Cup practice (NBCSN, MRN)

12:35 p.m. – Xfinity qualifying; multi-car/three rounds (NBCSN)

1:40 p.m. – Xfinity driver-crew chief meeting

2 – 2:50 p.m. – Final Cup practice (NBCSN, MRN)

3 p.m. – Xfinity driver introductions

3:30 p.m. – Ford EcoBoost 300; 200 laps/300 miles (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Sunday, Nov. 18

9 a.m. – Cup garage opens

12:30 p.m. – Driver-crew chief meeting

1:50 p.m. – Driver introductions

2:30 p.m. – Ford EcoBoost 400; 267 laps/400.5 miles (NBC, Championship 4 simulcast on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)