Heading to Homestead-Miami Speedway this early in the calendar feels wrong. The former site of the NASCAR’s Championship Weekend has been removed from the playoffs altogether for the first time since 2021. This track has produced some of the best racing in recent history but struggles to draw a crowd. Regardless of where it sits in the season, Homestead should be an exciting weekend of racing for all three series. Kicking off with drivers only TV coverage Friday, the Craftsman Truck Series will continue their early season as Corey Heim as dominated through first 3 races. Meanwhile, the Cup and Xfinity Series race their 6th event of the season. With all of the potential drivers to cover, it was a tad difficult to narrow it down to the Critical Path Security 6 Drivers to Watch for Homestead.

Despite the lack of surprise winners (outside of Josh Berry), there have been plenty of under-the-radar drivers popping off quality runs. At this point, the Cup and Xfinity Series feel a bit wide-open. Sure, the Cup Series has seen Christopher Bell visit victory lane 3 times already. Meanwhile, Justin Allgaier has been the car to beat most weekend this year. However, the level of competition feels greater this year compared to prior years. In the end, it might shake out to the same 5-6 drivers/teams who are gunning for the Championship Four. At this point though, it is difficult to confidently separate those select drivers out. While having the dominate drivers to chase adds drama, the start to this season has been refreshing with the quality of competition. Hopefully, this continues this weekend at Homestead.

Straight Talk Wireless 400

Carson Hocevar

It has been a rough season thus far for Carson Hocevar. After winning Rookie of the Year honors last year, 2025 has lacked the highlights that many thought were possible. However, that is not due to lack of speed or talent from the 77 team. Through the first 3 races, Hocevar almost nabbed a win at Atlanta and impressed at COTA. However, the other 3 results have been hurt by things out Hocevar’s control. Flashing speed at both Phoenix and Las Vegas, the 77 got caught up in incidents that were not his doing. If those accidents do not collect Hocevar, it is likely he would have racked up Top-10s in both of those races.

With Carson Hocevar in need of a strong run, what a better time than now for Homestead to show up on the schedule. Hocevar has taken well to the south Florida track in his NASCAR career. In 2023, Hocevar won the Truck Series race to clinch his spot into the Championship Four. Last year, this race arguably was Hocevar’s most impressive one of his rookie season. He scored points in both stages and finished in 9th. Honestly, that 9th place finish might have felt disappointing based on how well the rest of the race ran. As long as Hocevar can keep his car clean, he should bring home his second Top-10 of the season. Utilizing his unique line around the turns, watch out for Hocevar to be a contender throughout the race.

John Hunter Nemechek

Who would have thought John Hunter Nemechek would still be in the playoffs after the first 5 races of the season? After scoring back-to-back Top-10s to start the year, Nemechek has not cratered to the bottom as last year would have implied. Although still lacking speed on the non-superspeedways, Nemechek has managed a respectable 18.67 average finish. More importantly, the 42 car has yet to finish off the lead lap. That is quite the accomplishment for this team as they only managed to do that 12 times last year. While some caution heavy finishes have helped, Nemechek has managed to mostly remain on the lead lap via his own merit.

Despite only returning to the Cup Series fulltime last year, John Hunter Nemechek has made every Gen7 start at Homestead. Filling in for suspended drivers, Nemechek has struggled in each of his starts. Last year was the first time he finished on the lead lap, but he still brought the 42 car home in 26th position. However, the strong start to 2025 brings more optimism to this race. Once again, no one should expect to see the 42 battle for the win. That said, Homestead is the closest track to Indianapolis in design, which Nemechek impressed at the Brickyard last year. If Nemechek can continue to run inside the Top-20, that would be considered a good day. The longer Nemechek can hang around the cutline for the playoffs, the more confidence the team should feel moving forward.

Hard Rock Bet 300

Kyle Sieg

The decision by RSS Racing to reduce their fulltime efforts from four to two teams has paid off early in the 2025 season. Obviously, the main focus has been Ryan Sieg, who has put together impressive back-to-back Top-10s despite adversity. Sieg sits 10th in points entering Homestead. However, the attention for this week’s Drivers to Watch article will shift to his brother: Kyle Sieg in the 29. Coming off a career best finish on a non-superspeedway, the younger Sieg will look to carry momentum into Homestead. It was an impressive run to see the 29 compete for a Top-10 on pure speed. Since that was a traditional intermediate, maybe it will carryover to this week.

More than only the last race, Kyle Sieg also looked improved at Phoenix. In the desert, Sieg ran inside the Top-20 for most of the race. Ultimately, he finished 18th on another track where equipment plays a significant factor. After years of non-Ryan Sieg driven cars struggling, 2025 looks to be a year where RSS Racing might have two competent rides. That would be a massive boost for this team and Ford. Their alliance with Haas has helped, but giving Ford another competitive team in the NASCAR’s second series would be huge. Homestead will be a test for Kyle Sieg to see if Las Vegas was a true testament to what the 29 car has to offer.

Sheldon Creed

Hard to not name Sheldon Creed as a driver to watch this week after he received a Chick Hicks style promo for this race. In search of his first Xfinity Series win, the transition to Haas Factory Team has not been as seamless for the former Truck Series champion as his teammate. Although he sits 6th in points, Creed has been noticeably off over the past couple of races. He struggled last week at Las Vegas, barely managing to secure a Top-10 finish while being a lap down. Before getting collected in a wreck at Phoenix, the 00 was marred in the back half of the Top-10. Although they are using Creed in their advertising, Homestead might not be the location of a change in fortunes.

In his 3 prior Homestead starts, Sheldon Creed has only managed one Top-10 finish. While it did occur last year, his overall numbers at the track are a bit worrisome. However, the Haas Xfinity Series program usually performs well here. Plus, Sam Mayer demonstrated at Las Vegas that there is speed in these Fords on the intermediates. The question is whether Creed can start matching his teammate’s performance. He could build off his Top-5 from last year; a race where he qualified second and led a handful of laps (12). Doing so would prove that Las Vegas was an anomaly rather than a trend.

Baptist Health 200

Layne Riggs

After finishing off 2024 on a hot streak, Layne Riggs got bogged down by the first 2 superspeedways. Although he had a fast truck, incidents spoiled the day for the Front Row driver. However, Las Vegas was the bounce back that Riggs needed to right the ship. Riggs failed to qualify well or score stage points, but something clicked in the final stage to see the 34 lead laps and finish with a Top-5. Now Riggs returns to the track where the strategy almost paid off with an upset win.

Layne Riggs picking up wins on back-to-back short tracks was not too surprising. His background leading to his Truck Series ride was on short tracks. However, seeing the FRM truck leading the waning laps at Homestead last year did peak an eyebrow. Ultimately, the strategy did not pan out, as Riggs finished off the lead lap in 22nd. Looking ahead to this weekend, the question is whether Riggs can run upfront based on speed or not. If not, then will the 34 team lean on strategy to get them the track position? Either way, Front Row Motorsports should have 2 competitive drivers this weekend.

Daniel Hemric

So far, 2025 has not been what many were expecting from Daniel Hemric. The former Xfinity Series champion seemed set to be one of the major players in the Truck Series. Afterall, the 19 truck last year was arguably the best in the field and should have won the championship. While Hemric is not considered an elite driver, his skill set should have kept the 19 truck upfront most weeks. Although the season is only through 3 races, Hemric has been noticeable in his absence from any real contention thus far. McAnally-Hilgemann Racing still look to have top speed, but not from the 19 truck so far.

Superspeedways might be tough to gauge, but Las Vegas seemed to be an eye-opening race. While Hemric’s teammate looked to be one of the race winning trucks, Hemric ran around 15th for most of the race. Hemric failed to score points in either stage as well. Once again, this could be chalked up to a one-off and Hemric could run Top-5 this week. If that is the case, good for the 19 team. Still, Hemric is one to watch to see if this season will be a step back for McAnally’s 19.

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