In a significant shift, NASCAR announced that its Championship Weekend will rotate among various tracks starting in 2026.
Under this new model, the Homestead-Miami Speedway will return as the host of NASCAR’s Championship Weekend in November next year.
The return of the Championship Weekend to the Homestead-Miami track will mark the first time since 2019 that the South Florida track will host the season finale for the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, and Craftsman Truck Series.
End of Phoenix’s Exclusive Hold on NASCAR’s Championship Weekend
Adding more spice to the announcement, the title-race weekend will rotate among a number of tracks, bringing the big-event feel to new venues and fans from different areas, just like the Super Bowl, NBA, or MLB All-Star Weekends.
Announcing the news on X, veteran NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass wrote, “NASCAR makes it official: Finale to rotate year-to-year. Homestead host to 2026 championship race Nov. 6-8, 2026. Phoenix (still 2 races) to be included in rotation. Other track(s) TBD. Playoff format TBD. No spring race at Homestead.”
NASCAR makes it official: Finale to rotate year-to-year. Homestead host to 2026 championship race Nov. 6-8 2026. Phoenix (still 2 races) to be included in rotation. Other track(s) TBD. Playoff format TBD. No spring race at Homestead. First reported by The Athletic. @NASCARONFOX
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 6, 2025
Before NASCAR took its Championship weekend to Phoenix, the mile-and-a-half oval in South Miami hosted it for its three national series beginning in 2002 through the 2019 season.
Homestead, a fan favorite and regarded as one of NASCAR’s most competitive tracks, has long received support to host the Championship Weekend.
Ben Kennedy, NASCAR executive vice president, chief venue and racing innovation officer, said, “We talked about it for quite a while, but we felt this was the right opportunity, the right time to do it. We have a great new president down there with Guillermo taking the lead; (the track) has put on some amazing races, and this was a big opportunity for us to shake things up.”
As for the track rotation, details have not been made public yet, but weather-friendly locales will be taken into consideration. In addition to Homestead, Phoenix will also be part of the rotation.
While specific tracks beyond Homestead and Phoenix have not been announced, NASCAR is aiming to announce the host of the championship venues well in advance so fans can plan their travel accordingly.
“If we can continue to bump forward the announcement year after year, I think it’s going to help all of us from a planning perspective and from a promotion perspective because that just gives us a much longer window to be able to talk about these events,” Kennedy said.
He added, “It’d be great to plan a few years out as that gives us opportunities to engage the local community, gives us opportunities to promote the event and have a lot of bites at the apple and really create a lot of anticipation. A lot of other sports are planning their finals and their big events years in advance, and we’d like to eventually do the same.”