Champions Crowned in Homestead

NASCAR came to Homestead to crown champions in its three national series last weekend, Nov. 6 through 8.

Homestead-Miami Speedway had a new look with a colorful Romero Britto mural on its eight-story tower, new entry gates, an expanded and revamped Fan Zone, renovated Champions Club and suites, and a new coat of paint. What was not new was the great racing on a track that is universally loved by the drivers and the championship vibe of racing in South Florida.

On Sunday, a sold-out crowd was treated to a pre-race demonstration of military aviation expertise as F-16s from Homestead Air Reserve Base's 487th Fighter Wing and both CH-47 Chinook and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the Army's 3rd Infantry Division Combat Aviation Brigade performed flyovers, delivered the pace car and led the field on their pace laps.

The NASCAR Cup 400 began with Chase Briscoe on the pole. The three remaining Cup championship contenders, Denny Hamlin, started second, Kyle Larson, with a commanding points lead, started fourth and Christopher Bell started sixth.

Stage 1 ended several laps early when Briscoe's No. 19 car dropped liquid on the track from a blown engine. Larson finished fourth in the stage, earning the points to lock him into the championship.

Larson's crew chief, Cliff Daniels, passed the news on the radio and then team owner Rick Hendrick radioed Larson, "Congratulations, now you can go run the wall."

Kyle moved up close and, as with many drivers at Homestead, came too close, resulting in a cut tire on Lap 119. Larson would go on to finish 12th. Postrace, Larson would tell the press laughingly, "I got word that we clinched it, and I started driving like an idiot."

Tyler Reddick won Stage 1. Denny Hamlin would go on to lead 87 laps, the most of any driver, and win Stage 2.

As the laps wound down, William Byron worked his way to the lead with Reddick, Bell and Ryan Blaney in pursuit. A caution on Lap 254 and the restart with eight laps to go bunched up the field.

Restarting fourth, Blaney passed Bell and then Byron on Laps 263 and 264. His last-lap pass of Reddick gave the victory to Ryan with a margin of 0.314 seconds. Byron took third, followed by Bell and Bubba Wallace in fifth. This was Ryan Blaney's fourth win of the year and 21st of his career.

Kyle Larson's third Cup title puts him in rarified territory, one of only 11 drivers in the history of NASCAR who have achieved three or more Cup championships.

Larson told the press, "I'm just so proud of my team, first and foremost. Hendrick Motorsports, this was statistically probably one of our worst years. To still come away with the championship shows how resilient everybody at the race shop is, everybody on my 5 team, all my teammates, 24 (William Byron), the 9 (Chase Elliott), the 48 (Alex Bowman). GM (General Motors), too, Chevrolet, and all the key partners there. We absolutely could not have done what we did in the Chase without the teamwork that it took. That's what this championship is, makes it so meaningful, just the teamwork. This one more than any of them took teamwork."

There were two more champions and one race winner crowned over championship weekend.

On Friday night, Craftsman Trucks took to the track. Miami-born Nick Sanchez started from the pole with championship contenders Kaden Honeycutt and Layne Riggs rolling off in fifth and fourth. Honeycutt led Riggs by 20 championship points.

Riggs' battle for the championship ended early when contact with Sanchez on Lap 2 cut down a tire and forced him to pit. With further tire and pit lane issues, he would go on to finish 32nd, six laps down.

Corey Heim in the No. 1 Toyota would go on to win both the first and second stages and lead 45 laps. Christian Eckes dominated late, leading the field three times for a total of 46 laps.

With the championship well in hand, Honeycutt and his crew chief, Scott Zipadelli, chose to come to pit lane for their last set of sticker tires during a caution with 27 laps to go.

That proved to be the race-winning decision as Kaden took the lead on the last restart of the race on Lap 121 and proceeded to run away from Eckes, finishing 1.038 seconds in front. Daniel Hemric, Ty Majeski and Stewart Friesen rounded out the top five.

The win at Homestead gave Honeycutt his first Truck championship and fifth win of the season. Zipadelli has now won three Truck championships, including last year's win with Corey Heim.

In Victory Lane, Honeycutt exclaimed, "Man, this is amazing. I've worked so damn hard to be here. Thank you to every owner, thank you everybody that's let me drive the race car, whether it was dirt, asphalt, road course, doesn't matter." He continued, "Thank you, fans, for showing up. We just won Homestead!”

Saturday's O'Reilly Auto Parts Championship 300 began with five drivers mathematically eligible for the championship, with Justin Allgaier in first, trailed by Jesse Love, Corey Day, Carson Kvapil and Sheldon Creed.

Creed started on the pole and would go on to lead a race-high 99 laps. Both the first and second stages would be won by his teammate Sam Mayer, with Creed and Love finishing second and third in each stage. Allgaier was content to sit inside the top 10 but not to push too hard.

After Ryan Ellis in the No. 32 spun on Lap 144 into the sand barrels at the entrance to pit road, resulting in a red flag for replacement of the damaged barrels and cleanup of the sand, the field settled in for what was to be 49 caution-free laps.

Brandon Jones had been working his way to the front with good long-run speed, and on Lap 187 was able to pass Kvapil for the lead.

Jones built his lead, winning the race by 3.937 seconds over Kvapil. Brent Crews finished third, followed by Jesse Love and Parker Retzlaff. Jones' win at Homestead was his second of the 2026 season and his ninth in the series.

Allgaier clinched the championship, his second, finishing in seventh place.

Postrace, Justin said, "Means more than you'll ever know. It's obviously not the finish we wanted tonight. Wanted to be in Victory Lane. But this team never quits."

Later, surrounded by his wife, two daughters and his parents, Allgaier, who at 40 is the second-oldest series champion, reflected back on his first championship in 2024.

"The first one was for me and the first one I really enjoyed," Allgaier said of the 2024 championship. "But this one is for all these men and women standing back here. They have worked their tail off. … Congrats to all the guys in the Chase this year. It was super fun. Really proud of our whole team."

The entire weekend, from the fan experience to the great on-track action, showed why Homestead-Miami Speedway, America's Racing Paradise, is the place for NASCAR championships.