# 2019 Ford EcoBoost 400

The 2019 Ford EcoBoost 400 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on November 17, 2019, at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) oval, it was the 36th and final race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Kyle Busch won the race, claiming his second Cup Series championship.

## Report
### Background

Homestead-Miami Speedway is a motor racing track located in Homestead, Florida. The track, which has several configurations, has promoted several series of racing, including NASCAR, the Verizon IndyCar Series, the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series and the Championship Cup Series.
From 2002 to 2019, Homestead–Miami Speedway hosted the final race of the season in all three of NASCAR's series: the Cup Series, the Xfinity Series, and the Gander Outdoors Truck Series. Ford Motor Company sponsored all three of the season-ending races, under the names Ford EcoBoost 400, Ford EcoBoost 300, and Ford EcoBoost 200, respectively. The weekend itself was marketed as Ford Championship Weekend. The Xfinity Series held its season-ending races at Homestead from 1995 until 2020, when it was moved to Phoenix Raceway, along with NASCAR's other two series.

#### Championship drivers

Martin Truex Jr. was the first of the four drivers to clinch a spot in the Championship 4, winning the first race of the Round of 8 at Martinsville.
Kevin Harvick clinched the second spot in the Championship 4, winning the second race of the Round of 8 at Texas.
Denny Hamlin clinched the third spot after winning the final race of the Round of 8 at Phoenix.
Kyle Busch clinched the last spot in the Championship 4 based on points.

#### Entry list

* (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
* (R) denotes rookie driver.
* (CC) denotes championship contender
| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
| 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick (CC) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 8 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
| 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 15 | Joe Nemechek (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 18 | Kyle Busch (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 19 | Martin Truex Jr. (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 27 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 32 | Corey LaJoie | Go Fas Racing | Ford |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 36 | John Hunter Nemechek (i) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 41 | Daniel Suárez | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 43 | Bubba Wallace | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 47 | Ryan Preece (R) | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 51 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Ford |
| 52 | Josh Bilicki (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 53 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota |
| 77 | Reed Sorenson | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 95 | Matt DiBenedetto | Leavine Family Racing | Toyota |
| 96 | Drew Herring | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota |
| Official entry list ||||

## Practice
### First practice

First practice session scheduled for Friday was cancelled due to rain. Final practice session was postponed to Saturday in place of qualifying also due to rain.

### Final practice

Kyle Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 31.959 seconds and a speed of 168.966 mph (271.924 km/h).
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 31.959 | 168.966 |
| 2 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 32.055 | 168.460 |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 32.090 | 168.277 |
| Official final practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Qualifying for Saturday was cancelled due to rain on Friday. Points leader Denny Hamlin was awarded the pole as a result.

### Starting Lineup

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick (CC) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 3 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 4 | 18 | Kyle Busch (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 6 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 7 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
| 8 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford |
| 9 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 11 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 12 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 13 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 14 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 15 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 16 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 17 | 41 | Daniel Suárez | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 18 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 19 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 20 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 21 | 95 | Matt DiBenedetto | Leavine Family Racing | Toyota |
| 22 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 23 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 24 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet |
| 25 | 8 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 26 | 47 | Ryan Preece (R) | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 27 | 43 | Bubba Wallace | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 28 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 29 | 32 | Corey LaJoie | Go Fas Racing | Ford |
| 30 | 36 | John Hunter Nemechek (i) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 31 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 32 | 15 | Joe Nemechek (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 33 | 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
| 34 | 51 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Ford |
| 35 | 77 | Reed Sorenson | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 36 | 27 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 37 | 96 | Drew Herring | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota |
| 38 | 52 | Josh Bilicki (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 39 | 53 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 40 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota |
| Official starting lineup |||||

## Race

* Note: Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, and Martin Truex Jr. were not eligible for stage points because of their participation in the Championship 4.

### Stage results

Stage One Laps: 80
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 2 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick (CC) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 0 |
| 5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 6 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage one results ||||||
Stage Two Laps: 80
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick (CC) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 0 |
| 3 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 6 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage two results ||||||

### Final stage results

Stage Three Laps: 107
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| 1 | 4 | 18 | Kyle Busch (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 40 |
| 2 | 3 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 35 |
| 3 | 16 | 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 37 |
| 4 | 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick (CC) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 267 | 33 |
| 5 | 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 267 | 36 |
| 6 | 10 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 267 | 36 |
| 7 | 15 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 267 | 30 |
| 8 | 22 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 30 |
| 9 | 12 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 267 | 28 |
| 10 | 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 267 | 27 |
| 11 | 7 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 266 | 36 |
| 12 | 25 | 8 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 25 |
| 13 | 18 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 266 | 28 |
| 14 | 17 | 41 | Daniel Suárez | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 266 | 23 |
| 15 | 11 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 266 | 22 |
| 16 | 20 | 37 | Chris Buescher | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 21 |
| 17 | 19 | 21 | Paul Menard | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 266 | 20 |
| 18 | 8 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 265 | 19 |
| 19 | 23 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 265 | 18 |
| 20 | 21 | 95 | Matt DiBenedetto | Leavine Family Racing | Toyota | 265 | 17 |
| 21 | 13 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 265 | 16 |
| 22 | 14 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 264 | 15 |
| 23 | 30 | 36 | John Hunter Nemechek (i) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 264 | 0 |
| 24 | 24 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 263 | 13 |
| 25 | 26 | 47 | Ryan Preece (R) | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 263 | 12 |
| 26 | 28 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 263 | 11 |
| 27 | 31 | 38 | David Ragan | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 263 | 10 |
| 28 | 33 | 00 | Landon Cassill (i) | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 262 | 0 |
| 29 | 37 | 96 | Drew Herring | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 262 | 8 |
| 30 | 34 | 51 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Ford | 262 | 0 |
| 31 | 29 | 32 | Corey LaJoie | Go Fas Racing | Ford | 261 | 6 |
| 32 | 39 | 53 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 256 | 0 |
| 33 | 40 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 248 | 0 |
| 34 | 27 | 43 | Bubba Wallace | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 243 | 3 |
| 35 | 36 | 27 | Ross Chastain (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 242 | -48$^1$ |
| 36 | 38 | 52 | Josh Bilicki (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 240 | -49$^1$ |
| 37 | 35 | 77 | Reed Sorenson | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 236 | 1 / -49$^1$ |
| 38 | 32 | 15 | Joe Nemechek (i) | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet | 227 | -49$^1$ |
| 39 | 9 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 215 | 4 |
| 40 | 6 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 209 | 18 |
| Official race results ||||||||
NOTE: On November 27, 2019, NASCAR revised the official race results and penalized four teams—15 (Premium Motorsports), 27 (Premium Motorsports), 52 (Rick Ware Racing), and 77 (Spire Motorsports)—with 50-point penalties for teams. As all but one of the drivers was ineligible for points, NASCAR assessed the 50-point penalties for teams (as listed), and no drivers were penalized. The four teams were charged with race manipulation. According to NASCAR officials, the match fixing was deliberately aimed to allow the Premium Motorsports No. 27 team to claim the most owner points of all teams not holding a charter, surpassing the Gaunt Brothers Racing No. 96 team in points, which is worth $175,000 more to the team in question. In the scheme, the 15, 77, and 52 teams all pulled their cars off the track early so the 27 could pass the 96 team in points.

### Race statistics

* Lead changes: 14 among 5 different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 3 for 15
* Red flags: 0
* Time of race: 2 hours, 48 minutes and 47 seconds
* Average speed: 142.654 miles per hour (229.579 km/h)

### Race manipulation

A race manipulation scheme late in the race was uncovered by NASCAR officials involving four teams (three chartered, one open) with end-of-season points and financial bonus payments. This was announced on November 27, 2019, by NASCAR's Scott Miller, who explained after reviewing data during the race, including radio communications among drivers and teams, including interviewing various competitors, that they had uncovered a deliberate race manipulation scheme to help teams with financial bonuses.
The Premium Motorsports No. 27 team was competing with the Gaunt Brothers Racing No. 96 team to be the highest placed non-charter team, enabling them a higher end of season cash bonus for the teams. Heading into the race, the 27 car was 7 points ahead of the 96 car. According to the official NASCAR statement, they had found that the Spire Motorsports No. 77, Rick Ware Racing No. 52, and Premium Motorsports No. 15 and No. 27 teams deliberately manipulated the finish of the race to allow the No. 27 team (an open team) to score more points than the No. 96 team to claim the Open teams championship, and the financial bonus. Before the race manipulation occurred, Chastain was running 38th around 24 laps back and getting close to being passed by Bubba Wallace in the #43 (which did occur) while the 96 car was running in 29th at 5 laps back. If the fix had not occurred, the 96 would have defeated the 27 by a tiebreaker based on the best finish (with the #96 having a best finish of 15th at the 2019 Daytona 500 and the 2019 1000Bulbs.com 500 and the #27 having a best finish of 18th at the 2019 GEICO 500). The No. 15, 77, and 52 teams each deliberately parked their cars within a 15-lap span near the end of the race in order to ensure the No. 27 team would score two points instead of one, which would have beaten the No. 96 team by one point in the end-of-season results. Spire Motorsports driver Reed Sorenson was heard ignoring multiple calls to pit on the radio before finally obliging, and the team subsequently retired the car for "mechanical issues".
NASCAR fined Scott Egglestone (Premium Motorsports) and Kenneth Evans (Rick Ware Racing) $25,000 each and suspended both indefinitely. All three team owners were fined $50,000, and all four cars were assessed a fifty-point penalty. The same day, Spire Motorsports released a statement saying they would not appeal their penalties, while Premium and RWR did not comment.

## Media
### Television

NBC covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race. While the race itself aired on NBC, NBCSN aired NBCSN NASCAR Hot Pass, a simultaneous live feed dedicated to each of the Championship drivers, with commentary by Leigh Diffey and Dale Jarrett. Also, three different angles from in-car cameras and a track map tracked the driver's position and changes throughout the field. This will be the last time that NBC broadcast the race as this race moves to March and will be broadcast by Fox in 2020.
NBC :
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte Color-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dave Burns Parker Kligerman Marty Snider Kelli Stavast |

### Radio

MRN had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace called the action of the race for MRN when the field raced down the front straightaway. Dave Moody covered the action for MRN in turns 1 & 2, and Mike Bagley had the call of the action from turns 3 & 4. Winston Kelley, Steve Post, Kim Coon, and Dillon Welch covered the action of the race for MRN on pit road.
MRN :
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Rusty Wallace | Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody Turns 3 & 4: Mike Bagley | Winston Kelley Steve Post Kim Coon Dillon Welch |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| 3 | 1 | Kyle Busch | 5,040 |
| 1 | 2 | Martin Truex Jr. | 5,035 (–5) |
| 1 | 3 | Kevin Harvick | 5,033 (–7) |
| 3 | 4 | Denny Hamlin | 5,027 (–13) |
| | 5 | Joey Logano | 2,380 (–2,660) |
| 1 | 6 | Ryan Blaney | 2,339 (–2,701) |
| 1 | 7 | Kyle Larson | 2,339 (–2,701) |
| | 8 | Brad Keselowski | 2,318 (–2,722) |
| 1 | 9 | Clint Bowyer | 2,290 (–2,750) |
| 1 | 10 | Chase Elliott | 2,275 (–2,765) |
| 2 | 11 | William Byron | 2,274 (–2,766) |
| | 12 | Alex Bowman | 2,257 (–2,783) |
| | 13 | Kurt Busch | 2,237 (–2,803) |
| | 14 | Aric Almirola | 2,234 (–2,806) |
| | 15 | Ryan Newman | 2,219 (–2,821) |
| | 16 | Erik Jones | 2,194 (–2,846) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Toyota | 1,318 |
| 2 | Ford | 1,268 (–50) |
| 3 | Chevrolet | 1,222 (–96) |