NASCAR announced Friday – at the opening of its season finale weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway – that it is banning all testing at NASCAR-sanctioned tracks next year. The move is aimed at saving teams millions of dollars in an economy that is already hitting the sport hard.

The Homestead track wasn’t on the open testing schedule, meaning it won’t be losing out on valuable revenue, speedway President Curtis Gray said.

“We support NASCAR’s decision because we need the full teams,” Gray said. “If it saves costs and it makes the teams stronger, than we’re all for that.”

But Homestead, which is busy with racing and a host of other activities about 260 days a year, will continue looking for other ways to generate revenue.

“We have sports groups who want to use the venue for other sporting events, running and biking,” Gray said. “I think we’re wide open for ideas that make the track as active as possible.”

That includes renting out the track’s sparkling new media center. Already, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau is planning a convention event there, Gray said.

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