NASCAR is moving its championship race weekend to Homestead-Miami. Here’s when
After a six-year run in the desert, the NASCAR championship races are returning to the beach.
Homestead-Miami Speedway will host the sport’s 2026 season finale from Nov. 6-8, NASCAR announced Tuesday morning. The prominent track in South Florida previously held these events from 2002-2019.
NASCAR’s championship weekend location is now set to rotate among its marquee tracks beyond next year.
Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief racing innovation officer, indicated that most non-drafting tracks are potentially up for future championships. Superspeedways — like Daytona — and road courses are not expected to join the rotation; Tracks owned by both NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports will be considered.
“We’ve unanimously agreed that it needs to look and feel like what we would expect traditional NASCAR racing to look and feel like,” Kennedy said Tuesday. “Short tracks, intermediate tracks, mile tracks are all on the board. Superspeedways — I think we all feel right now — we wouldn’t consider them a championship venue.”
A new chapter at Homestead
There are three active Cup Series champions who won their titles at Homestead-Miami.
Kyle Busch, whose winless streak has now reached 74 since his victory at Gateway two years ago, won the 2015 and 2019 Cup Series titles at Homestead. Brad Keselowski won his 2012 championship at Homestead, and reigning champion Joey Logano won the first of his three titles there.
Phoenix Raceway will continue hosting a pair of Cup Series races, including a critical playoff race in the Round of 8, after being the site of the championship race since 2020.
“First and foremost, it’s fan feedback, and fans ranked Homestead-Miami Speedway as No. 1 on the list of where they would like to see a championship in the future,” Kennedy said. “On top of that, you think about a championship race. Ideally, a warm weather climate, as you can’t race anywhere in the world, especially in early November. There’s a handful of venues and properties we tend to gravitate toward.
“We want to make sure it’s marketed and promoted the right way. ... We are going to be putting some capital in (Homestead) and make sure it is a championship-caliber property when we show up to it next year.”
This story was originally published May 6, 2025 at 11:08 AM with the headline "NASCAR is moving its championship race weekend to Homestead-Miami. Here’s when."
