NASCAR announces 2026 championship return to Homestead: ‘Right time to do it'
Homestead, a mile-and-a-half oval located just south of Miami, hosted championship weekend for its three national series beginning in 2002 through the 2019 season before NASCAR shifted the event to Phoenix Raceway, which has served as host ever since. The Homestead race moved out of the playoffs entirely in 2020 and 2021, then served as the second of three semifinal-round races from 2022 to 2024 before moving to March this season.
Regarded as one of NASCAR's most competitive tracks, Homestead is widely popular among fans and competitors alike, with both camps frequently voicing their support for the facility to host championship weekend again.
This support, along with continued great racing there and renowned enthusiasm within the South Florida community championed by Homestead track president Guillermo Santa Cruz, has created a groundswell of support that compelled NASCAR to bring back its championship weekend to Homestead. The three title races will occur Nov. 6-8, 2026.
'We talked about it for quite a while, but we felt this was the right opportunity, the right time to do it,' said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR executive vice president, chief venue and racing innovation officer. '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.'
Homestead's return as host for the 2026 championship weekend, which The Athletic reported last month, coincides with NASCAR rolling out a new rotating model where the event will shift tracks from year to year, similar to how several marquee annual sports championships are moved to different sites.
The details are still being determined, Kennedy said, but the rotation will consist of tracks in weather-friendly locales. In addition to Homestead, Phoenix will be included in the rotation. Phoenix's annual date will also stay in the playoffs and is set for a spot in the semifinal round next year.
'It is a change,' Kennedy said of NASCAR departing from its tradition of a single host for the championship. 'We've also made a handful of other pretty bold changes to the schedule — we've gone to new venues, we've shook up the Clash (exhibition race), we've changed the playoff schedule — and one of the remaining things that we have on our checkoff list is to also begin a rotation of our championship and move it to different venues. So glad we were able to deliver on that one.'
The league isn't ready to announce the host for the 2027 championship weekend. Ideally, NASCAR wants future championship venues to be unveiled well in advance.
'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. '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.'
But before the 2027 championship weekend comes next year's championship. This puts Homestead on the clock; in 18 months, it will again host NASCAR's biggest race weekend outside of the Daytona 500. And there is much to do to get the track ready.
Plans are underway to make infrastructural improvements to the facility, which opened in 1995 and has begun to show its age. One of the reasons Phoenix secured the championship beginning in 2020 was due to massive renovations that elevated it into a top-class venue.
'We have a very long menu list of items that we could do to (Homestead),' Kennedy said. 'I think a lot of it is going to be looking to expand our hospitality footprints to make the midway and activation areas more user-friendly. And then we've also looked at some options in the infield, as well.
'We just really want to overall enhance some of the elements for the fan experience.'
NASCAR has been working with state, county and city officials and the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau to put together a financial incentive package to assist in any capital improvement projects undertaken. These efforts, while still ongoing, have thus far not materialized. Still, returning championship weekend to Homestead was an opportunity NASCAR could no longer resist, even if the league might end up on the hook for the expenses.
'We're doing the right thing for the right reasons, we're bringing the championship back,' Santa Cruz said. 'And we're talking to everybody. But it was really about doing what's right for the sport and right by the fans more than anything. We still have a strategy to work with our community, to work with local government and get some support, but we're very happy with the fact that we're doing the right thing.'
Regardless of any improvements to the Homestead facility, the track itself won't be changed, meaning the great racing that has long defined the track should continue when NASCAR returns to crown a champion in November 2026.
'We worked so hard, we wanted this so bad, and we're just thrilled enough to be entrusted with our responsibility of hosting the championship again and knowing that we're going to do a great job,' Santa Cruz said.
(Top photo of Kyle Busch securing the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)
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