NASCAR Announces Championships Return to Homestead- Miami Speedway

On Tuesday, April 6th, NASCAR made fans nationwide and drivers throughout all three Racing Series happy by announcing that the Championship Weekend would return to Homestead-Miami Speedway (HMS) in 2026.

The November 6-8th 2026 weekend will mark the first time since 2019 that Cup, Xfinity, and Craftsman Truck will be crowned in Homestead.

HMS hosted the NASCAR Championships, which brought a Super Bowl sized economic impact to South Florida from 2002 through 2019.

In a media interview after the announcement, Ben Kennedy, NASCAR Executive Vice President ,said when asked about the decision, “I would say, first and foremost, it’s fan feedback, and fans ranked Homestead-Miami Speedway as number one on the list of where they’d like to see a championship in the future. From what you guys may have seen and some of the fan sentiment so far, it leans very positive, which is great to see. So we listen to our fans. All of our partners who are broadcast partners, our teams, and our drivers have input on where they’d like to seethe Championship in the future. There are a lot of industry stakeholders we’ll collaborate with.”

Later, when asked about input from drivers and teams, he said, “I would say from the conversations that we had, a lot of it had to do with the racing product. Homestead has put on some of the most phenomenal finishes, especially when we had the Championship there. Still, even since then, and we’ve crowned so many legends and Hall of Famers over the past 15 years when we did have the Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway.”

HMS Track President Guillermo Santa Cruz told the media, “It’s a huge day for us. Clearly, it’s a big honor to begin the rotation in Homestead and welcome the Championship back to a track that has a strong history with NASCAR, particularly with the championships. Just a very big deal and a big honor for me and for the team to be able to welcome the Championship back.”

He continued, “One of the reasons that I took the job, one of the factors that came into consideration, was when I found out how much the drivers love the track. I have been around NASCAR for a longtime. It took the hiring process for me to really pay attention to certain things. One of them was when I was told how much the drivers love the track. It started with that. After that, how much the fans love it. Keep adding things what Homestead-Miami Speedway means to the community in Homestead, to the history of Homestead”

Santa Cruz concluded, “When you look at that history and now be able to bring it back, to bring the Championship back, to me it’s a huge responsibility, it’s a great honor. I know the team (at HMS) is incredibly pleased and proud, as well as they should be, because it’s all their hard work that brought the Championship back. We don’t take that lightly. We look forward to working with the people of Homestead and the city and the mayor, not only Homestead but Miami-Dade County, to put on the best show possible. It’s a huge responsibility but it’s also a lot of fun and I know we’re up to it.”

In addition to the news about Homestead, a press release also announced that the Championship would rotate yearly among a group of tracks.

Look for more coverage of the Championships return to Homestead-Miami in future editions.