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Helicopters using Homestead-Miami Speedway ponds to fight grass fires

Brian Jones Profile Picby:Brian Jones03/20/25

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NASCAR Homestead (4)
Nov 16, 2014; Homestead, FL, USA; A view of the front stretch and pond during the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Helicopters used the ponds at Homestead-Miami Speedway to fight the grass fires going on in the area. Dave Moody of SiriusXM NASCAR Radio shared a video of a helicopter getting water from the pond to put out the fires.

On Tuesday morning, the city of Homestead shared an update on the fire and the NASCAR races that are happening at Homestead this weekend. “Grass Fire Update: The City of Homestead & emergency teams are monitoring the fire,” the city wrote on X/Twitter. “US 1 may close intermittently; Card Sound Rd remains closed. Power outages possible due to damage. Fire is 20% contained. NASCAR events remain on schedule. Stay updated.”

According to The Daytona Beach News-Journal, the size of the wildfire is estimated at 14,000 acres. Officials in the Miami-Dade County area said wildfires are common for this time of year, but it’s rare to have it days before a NASCAR racing event.

More on NASCAR’s Homestead-Miami race

NASCAR is set to have a full weekend of NASCAR events at Homestead. The Truck series will take place on Friday at 8 p.m. ET. The Xfinity race will start on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. And the Cup Series race will begin on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

Heading into the Cup Series race at Homestead, Kyle Larson was named the favorite to win on Sunday. However, it could be a bigger weekend for Larson as he’s also competing in the Tuck Series and Xfinity Series races.

“Sure, yeah, I guess you can consider it a bucket list sort of thing,” Larson said of winning all three races on a Zoom call shared by FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass. “I think it’s just a really tough feat to do it, and I think Kyle Busch is maybe the only one who’s done it, and he’s done it multiple times at Bristol. So to join him in something like that would be pretty special.”

Larson last won at Homestead in 2022. Since competing on the track in 2013, Kyle Larson has earned five top-five finishes to go along with his victory. He has yet to win a race this year but has finished third at Atlanta and Phoenix.