NASCAR at Homestead-Miami 2022: Odds, Preview and Top Storylines

Last week, Joey Logano became the first NASCAR Cup Series driver to secure his spot in this year's Championship 4. The 32-year-old former champion raced his No. 22 Ford to victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, ensuring he'll have an opportunity to compete for the title in Phoenix on Nov. 6.

There are still three other spots up for grabs and two races remaining in the Round of 8 to decide who will get them. So, who will be joining Logano?

The other seven drivers still alive in the playoffs will have another opportunity to try to punch a ticket to the Championship 4 on Sunday, when the Cup Series heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the Dixie Vodka 400. It's the first time Homestead-Miami has hosted a playoff race since 2019. It was previously the site of the final race on the schedule from 2002-19.

Based on the points standings, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin would currently be the other three drivers to advance to the Championship 4. But anything could happen over the next two weeks, especially with a victory by a playoff driver guaranteeing a spot in the championship race.

Here's everything else you need to know heading into this Sunday's Round of 8 event.

Tyler Reddick: +700 (bet $100 to win $700)

Denny Hamlin: +800

Ryan Blaney: +900

Kyle Larson: +900

Ross Chastain: +1000

Joey Logano: +1000

Chase Elliott: +1000

William Byron: +1200

Martin Truex Jr.: +1200

Kyle Busch: +1200

Christopher Bell: +1200

Kevin Harvick: +1800

Chase Briscoe: +2500

Noah Gragson: +3000

Daniel Suarez: +3000

Austin Cindric: +4000

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

This has already been William Byron's best Cup Series season. The driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet is in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year, but he hadn't made it past the Round of 12 in any of the previous three seasons.

This year, Byron is in the Round of 8. And he currently sits in fifth in the standings, only six points back of Denny Hamlin, who is in the final transfer spot in fourth.

Byron has a great chance to advance to the Championship 4 for the first time in his career. That's because he's already been victorious at each of the next two tracks on the schedule before. In fact, he's the most recent Cup Series winner at Homestead-Miami speedway.

Last season, Byron raced to victory in the Dixie Vodka 400, which was the third race on the 2021 schedule. He led 102 of the 267 laps in a dominant performance, as he won each of the final two stages.

If Byron can't punch a ticket to the Championship 4 this week, then he'll try to do so next week at Martinsville Speedway. He's also the most recent Cup Series victor at that track, as he won the spring race there in April.

Although Byron remains within striking distance of a Championship 4 spot, he didn't get off to the best start in the playoffs. He finished in 13th at Las Vegas, which prevented him from moving up substantially in the standings.

“I thought Las Vegas was going to be good for us, but unfortunately all day, we couldn’t really show that,” Byron said, per Zack Albert of NASCAR.com. “We had some decent stage points, but never enough to really get up towards the front. Just a struggle all day.”

But Byron may have less of a struggle the next two weeks. And with one win (or perhaps just two strong performances), the 24-year-old could be racing for a championship for the first time in his budding career on Nov. 6 in Phoenix.

Byron isn't the only former Homestead-Miami winner in the Round of 8 field. There's also Denny Hamlin, who owns three career victories at the track (2009, 2013 and 2020). Hamlin will have a strong chance of clinching a spot in the Championship 4 as he continues the pursuit of his long-awaited first Cup Series title.

Joey Logano has also won at Homestead-Miami before, as he went to Victory Lane there in 2018. But he's already clinched his spot in the Championship 4, so he's not facing any pressure to win on Sunday.

Meanwhile, none of the other five drivers remaining in the playoff field has previously been to Victory Lane at Homestead-Miami. If any of them can get there Sunday, it would be among the biggest wins of their careers.

Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell are each looking to notch a victory on this track for the first time. Only Elliott (the 2020 Cup Series champion) has made it to the Championship 4 before.

Of those five, Elliott is also the most likely to become a first-time Homestead-Miami winner on Sunday. His five victories this season lead all Cup Series drivers. He's also never finished outside of the top 15 at Homestead-Miami, with his best showing coming in 2020, when he ended up second to Hamlin.

Last year, Elliott finished 14th at Homestead-Miami in a performance that wasn't up to his own standards.

"Hopefully, we can get back going in the right direction and identify why we struggled last year versus being really solid there the year before, really with no changes year to year," Elliott said, per Albert.

Elliott's father, Bill, won the third Cup Series race to be held at Homestead-Miami in 2001. Now, the younger Elliott hopes to head to that same Victory Lane.

But the rest of the playoff drivers are looking to do the same thing. And with the stakes so high, all of them will be pushing to secure a spot in the Championship 4 in crunch time.

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