The speedway traces its origins to Grand Prix of Miami promoter Ralph Sanchez, who in 1991 initiated plans to build a permanent racing facility in Miami-Dade County. After several failed proposals — including a site at Amelia Earhart Park and an approved but ultimately collapsed plan at the Munisport landfill in North Miami — opportunity arrived in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. The city of Homestead, seeking economic recovery, persuaded Sanchez to build the complex within its boundaries.
Metro-Dade Commission approved $20 million in hotel tax funding in July 1993, and groundbreaking occurred in August 1993 with NASCAR president Bill France Jr. attending as a dignitary. Construction was halted for eight months by environmental permit disputes involving the EPA and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before resuming in May 1994. Financial difficulties continued through 1994 and 1995, with Wayne Huizenga providing a $20 million loan in exchange for minority ownership and the final projected cost reaching approximately $59 million.
The track opened in November 1995 with a NASCAR Busch Series race won by Dale Jarrett before 65,000 spectators. The facility's first open-wheel event came on March 3, 1996, a CART race won by Jimmy Vasser.
When the complex opened, it featured a rectangle-shaped layout similar in shape to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with 6-degree banking in the turns. After driver and reporter complaints about a lack of passing and a slippery surface outside the primary racing line, Sanchez announced plans in March 1997 to reconfigure the rectangle into an oval at a cost of $8 million, partly to meet NASCAR's demands for a Winston Cup date. Construction began March 24 and was completed by November 1997.
A second major reconfiguration in 2003 changed the banking to a variable system of 18-20 degrees in the turns, at a cost of approximately $10 million, after drivers complained that passing was too difficult. The reconfiguration also incorporated SAFER barrier installation and received positive reactions from drivers and NASCAR officials.
After NASCAR president Bill France Jr. was brought in as an ownership partner — with the France family's International Speedway Corporation and Roger Penske's Penske Motorsports each acquiring 40% stakes in 1997 — the track secured its first Winston Cup Series date for 1999. ISC ultimately bought out Penske Motorsports in 1999, then acquired Huizenga's remaining share in 2001, taking full control of the lease.
From 2002 to 2019, Homestead-Miami Speedway served as the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity (then Busch), and Truck Series season finale, making it one of the most consequential venues on the NASCAR calendar. In 2020, the finale moved to Phoenix Raceway. Starting in 2026, all three finales are scheduled to return to Homestead.
CART and its successor IndyCar raced at Homestead from 1996 until 2010, with the event variously serving as a season opener and season finale. In 2006, IndyCar driver Paul Dana died in a practice crash for the Toyota Indy 300. The facility experienced two other fatalities: in 1997, NASCAR Truck Series driver John Nemechek died after a crash during a race, and in 2002, driver Jeff Clinton was killed in a Grand American Sports Car practice session.
In 2025, Formula E debuted at the facility for the Miami ePrix on the road course layout, with turn 1 tightened and a chicane added to the backstretch for the electric series.
NASCAR acquired ISC in October 2019, taking full control of the track's lease. Seating capacity, which once stood at 65,000 at opening, has progressively declined to 43,000 as of 2019. The facility covers approximately 650 acres, and its art deco aesthetic — combining aqua blue, tan, and purple — was designed by Day One.