NASCAR MEDIA CONFERENCE

May 6, 2025

Guillermo Santa Cruz

Press Conference

An Interview with:

THE MODERATOR: Thanks to everyone who has joined today. As you all are aware, earlier today NASCAR and Homestead-Miami Speedway announced that the NASCAR Championship Weekend will move to South Florida for the 2026 season.

Joining us right now is Homestead-Miami Speedway track president, Guillermo Santa Cruz.

Guillermo, obviously a lot of excitement around the announcement today. What does it mean to the track to get to host NASCAR Championship Weekend in 2026?

GUILLERMO SANTA CRUZ: It's a huge day for us. Clearly it's a big honor to begin the rotation in Homestead, to welcome the championship back to a track that has a strong history with NASCAR in particular with the championships.

Just a very big deal and a big honor for me and for the team to be able to welcome the championship back.

THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up to questions from the media.

Q. Ben mentioned some changes coming to the track. Can you be a little more specific about what is planned with changes at the Speedway?

GUILLERMO SANTA CRUZ: Sure. The changes that we're only just beginning to plan, to be perfectly honest, are mostly cosmetic. Certainly we're not going to touch the track itself. The track is in excellent condition. It yields some of the best racing anywhere. For the most part that will be left alone.

There's some things with the facility we need to do, have to do. It could stand a fresh coat of paint. We're very close to the ocean, so the salt tends to give the place a bit of a beating sometimes.

Other things that we want to do to improve the fan experience when it comes to hospitality, when it comes to our Champions Club in particular.

When we look at the footprint of the track, look at the place, we want to make sure that we are looking at everything and make sure that we do things that will be enjoyed by all our guests, regardless which tier you're coming in, the high-end hospitality, or a grandstand, we want to make sure people have the best possible experience.

We're going to be looking at some very basic things, whether it's access, egress, things like that, but also how to make the place a little bit more comfortable and find additional ways to provide shade, which is always a nice plus here in South Florida.

Q. You're sort of in Miami, but you're sort of not. You're out there a ways. What is the challenge in trying to link this idea of Miami hosting any number of championship events, what kind of work do you have to do to get yourself into that circle?

GUILLERMO SANTA CRUZ: Great question.

South Florida, as you pointed out, is a huge sports market. It welcomes all sorts of national and international events. But it's not as big as people think either. In some ways it's a small town.

Certainly when I go around and meet people at the Chamber of Commerce, the Beacon Council, any other institutions that we have, to me it's amazing how many people I know and have friends in common with. It's not the biggest place in the world.

I think people sometimes need to get out of their bubbles a little bit and explore the county a little bit more. But it's not the biggest place.

I know traffic is a challenge, as it is in many other places. But that notwithstanding, it's not such a huge place. What we need to do is make sure people have the opportunity to visit us as often as possible so they can realize we are not as far as they may think. There was the race in March, the Formula E we had a couple weeks ago, our monthly drag racing series periodically also. The more activities that we have and the more opportunities we get people to come out to Homestead, I think the more they realize we're not so far away.

Adding to that the fact that clearly Miami is growing towards the south. A lot of the expansion that's going on in Miami-Dade County is coming our way.

Q. Fans have been kind of yearning for the finale to come back to Homestead. Personally how much has that meant to you to see the support and has that driven your team to make this happen once again?

GUILLERMO SANTA CRUZ: What a great question.

That is huge. One of the reasons that I took the job, one of the factors that came into consideration, was when I found out how much the drivers love the track. I have been around NASCAR for a long time. It took the hiring process for me to really pay attention to certain things. One of them was when I was told how much the drivers love the track. It started with that.

After that, how much the fans love it. Keep adding things. What Homestead-Miami Speedway means to the community in Homestead, to the history of Homestead. Most people know the fact that it was created following Hurricane Andrew and the devastation that took place in 1992. That was really kind of what drove the construction on the track.

When you look at that history and now be able to bring it back, to bring the championship back, to me it's a huge responsibility, it's a great honor. I know the team is incredibly pleased and proud, as well as they should be, because it's all their hard work that brought the championship back.

We don't take that lightly. We look forward to working with the people of Homestead and the city and the mayor, not only Homestead but Miami-Dade County, to put on the best show possible. It's a huge responsibility but it's also a lot of fun and I know we're up to it.