Ford's sponsorship of the Homestead race began in '02 when the track first hosted NASCAR's season finaleGETTY IMAGES
Homestead-Miami Speedway earlier this week lost its spot as the NASCAR season finale in '20, and it now is losing longtime title sponsor Ford. Both the track and the automaker confirmed Ford will drop its entitlement of the track's annual race weekend after this year, ending a partnership that began in '02 when the track first hosted the final races of the season for NASCAR's national series. The current deal was slated to expire after this year and included an option for Ford to renew. ISC, which owns the track, informed Ford before a decision was made on the future of the entitlement that Homestead-Miami could be moved out of the closing spot on the schedule. Ford at that point decided to just end the deal after this season, according to a company spokesperson. There will be one last Ford Championship Weekend this November. HMS President Matt Becherer left the door open for Ford possibly continuing on in a lower-level partnership in the future. He said, "Obviously there’s a lot of changes going on right now with the new schedule and new sponsorship model, so we’re working with all our partners -- Ford being the biggest -- on how those relationships will look in the future. But right now our No. 1 focus is on 2019 and making this year the best ever.” ISM Raceway near Phoenix will host the season finale next year, and the entitlement of that race could be an asset that NASCAR packages into one of its premier partnerships for the new sponsorship model debuting in ’20.
