The 2026 NASCAR season will end in South Florida. — NASCAR asked its fans where they would prefer seeing championship weekend held, and the majority of those who responded picked Homestead-Miami Speedway. And NASCAR listened. The 2026 NASCAR season will end in South Florida, with stock car racing’s championship weekend returning to Homestead-Miami next year. […]
The 2026 NASCAR season will end in South Florida. — NASCAR asked its fans where they would prefer seeing championship weekend held, and the majority of those who responded picked Homestead-Miami Speedway.
And NASCAR listened.
The 2026 NASCAR season will end in South Florida, with stock car racing’s championship weekend returning to Homestead-Miami next year. It’ll be the first time since 2019 that the title-winners will be crowned there and will start a rotation where NASCAR will move its final weekend around various tracks.
How that’ll work in 2027 and beyond remains unclear. But in 2026, Homestead is the spot.
“I like that we move it around,” said reigning NASCAR champion Joey Logano, who won the crown last fall at Phoenix — this year’s title-deciding spot as well — and the first of his three titles at Homestead-Miami in 2018. “That was one of the things that I always thought would be a great idea if we were able to pull it off, right? The Super Bowl doesn’t stay in the same place every year. Why should our Super Bowl, our championship race, stay in same place every year?”
NASCAR made the announcement Tuesday, and it was not exactly a stunner. (“I’m sure everyone was surprised to see this coming,” Logano said, smiling.) Its three series — the truck series, the Xfinity Series and the Cup Series — will see their seasons come to a close at Homestead from Nov. 6-8, 2026.
It isn’t a permanent return, though: NASCAR said that championship weekends are going to be on a rotation “to ensure that the season’s exciting conclusion is shared amongst NASCAR’s marquee venues and key markets.” Phoenix will be part of that rotation, somehow, but NASCAR isn’t ready to say which other tracks may be involved and when all that will be announced.
“We have a lot of confidence, when we go to Homestead-Miami Speedway, it’s going to deliver from a racing product perspective,” NASCAR executive vice president Ben Kennedy said. “It’s also going to create a good amount of unpredictability for many of our fans that come to that race or tune in on TV just going to a different championship venue and having it on the line. We’re excited to see all that.”
Part of NASCAR’s commitment to Homestead-Miami, Kennedy said, includes a capital investment to “make sure it is a championship-caliber facility when we show up next year.”
NASCAR routinely makes tweaks to schedules and now will tinker again with where seasons end, but one non-negotiable appears to be the start of the season: Daytona will remain the first points race for the foreseeable future, Kennedy said.
“We ran a survey a couple years ago, and it was over 95% of our fan base wants to see their first points race be the Daytona 500,” Kennedy said. “That was a statistic that was strong enough for us to say we’re not even going to explore that for now.”
Homestead-Miami was the championship weekend site from 2002 through 2019. There are three active drivers who were crowned NASCAR champions at Homestead — Kyle Busch in 2015 and 2019, Brad Keselowski in 2012 and Logano in 2018. Logano has also won the title at Phoenix in two of the last three seasons, including last year.
And all seven of Jimmie Johnson’s NASCAR titles came at Homestead, which has renamed a tunnel in his honor to commemorate those championships.
“If you’re asking drivers, it’s about the track, right? The environment obviously is really cool. It’s different being in Miami. That’s a neat thing,” Logano said. “But the drivers, what we care about is the racing, right? Can we move around the racetrack, can we do different things, are the tires falling off, is that fun. To us, yeah, that’s fun.”
NASCAR decided after the 2001 season to move its truck and Cup series races to one track, in order to create a season-ending championship celebration. Homestead-Miami was the original site after that decision, and then things moved to Phoenix starting in 2020.
Kennedy said racing in early November isn’t exactly possible at all of the tracks on the NASCAR schedule, meaning that the series would prefer a warm-weather climate for its finish — something that Phoenix and Homestead-Miami provide. And Homestead-Miami’s history isn’t lost on NASCAR, either.
“Homestead has put on some of the most phenomenal finishes, especially when we had the championship there,” Kennedy said. “But 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. So, competition is a part of it, variability, and I think diversity in where you’re crowning the champion was another consideration.”
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MEXICO CITY – Amid much anticipation from fans and NASCAR teams alike, the NASCAR Cup Series has arrived in Mexico City for the series’ first points-paying international race in seven decades, Sunday’s aptly-named Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (3 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The industry has long been […]
MEXICO CITY – Amid much anticipation from fans and NASCAR teams alike, the NASCAR Cup Series has arrived in Mexico City for the series’ first points-paying international race in seven decades, Sunday’s aptly-named Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (3 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The industry has long been preparing for this inaugural visit to the renowned 2.42-mile, 15-turn road course in the middle of bustling Mexico City. And perhaps no one is more eager for NASCAR’s Mexican arrival than Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez, who has made multiple visits to his home country in support of the event, excited to show the world-class facility NASCAR’s brand of Cup racing.
“I’m super excited, regardless of what happens on Sunday,” said the Monterrey, Mexico-native Suarez, who has competed – and won three times – on the track’s oval-configuration while racing in the NASCAR Mexico Series, which will also be competing this weekend.
“I’m super excited for the event. I’m super excited to live in the moment because the first time is going to only happen once. I’m really trying to be as present as possible; enjoy the moment and try to execute the best possible weekend that we can. We know that we are capable of winning the race, but that’s not the goal. The goal is the execution of the entire weekend, and hopefully the win is the result of the execution part.”
Suarez, who scored his first NASCAR Cup Series win on a road course at Sonoma, Calif. in 2022, has been a vital supporter of this initiative. For months, the popular driver has starred in the NASCAR commercials promoting the Mexican race – the script depicting him trying to teach fellow racers how to speak in Spanish.
“At first, I thought man, I don’t know if this is going to work out, like, I don’t think this is going to be funny,” Suarez said smiling. “And honestly, it turned out amazing. I give a lot of credit to NASCAR for trying all these different things. I think people are liking it. Drivers are embracing it. And, obviously, I’m having fun with it. I’m the one teaching the language, so for the first time, I feel like I’m in my zone, so that’s good.”
Suarez is certainly among the group of drivers hoping a new venue may produce different results on the season. The driver of the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet is ranked 28th in the championship with 11 regular season races remaining to set the 16-driver Playoff field.
Others traditionally considered road course aces similarly see this as a big opportunity to punch a Playoff ticket. Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman, Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger, Spire Motorsports’ Michael McDowell and Suarez’ Trackhouse teammate Shane Van Gisbergen are all some of the most talented road racers in the sport and all are still looking to earn a victory this season. Many still well below the 16th place Playoff cutoff line.
Interestingly, six of the 14 regular season races in the Next Gen Era have been won by drivers ranked 16th or worse in the standings at the time of their victory.
“Everyone expects us to perform on road courses,” said the New Zealand-native Van Gisbergen, who made the ultimate NASCAR debut winning at the Chicago street race two years ago in his very first start.
“Not that we have been hanging out for it (road courses), but the ovals have been a big learning process the last couple of months. It will be nice for sure to have a bit of a break and races on the types of courses I’m used to which means turning right.”
Hendrick Motorsports has won at eight different road courses – the most in NASCAR history. And four of the remaining 11 races will be on road courses.
Hendrick’s William Byron continues to lead the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings – up by 41 points on his teammate Kyle Larson heading to south of the border – and both are also considered favorites this weekend. Hendrick drivers – Byron (two), Larson (two) and Bowman (one) – have won five of the last eight road course races. If Elliott wins this weekend he would tie NASCAR Hall of Famer for second most road course wins all-time (eight).
Last week’s race winner, Denny Hamlin claimed his first career Xfinity Series win at the Mexico road course in 2006. He, Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch (who won the 2008 Xfinity Series race) and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Brad Keselowski are the only drivers to have raced at the circuit – competing in the Xfinity Series there.
RFK’s Chris Buescher, who finished runner-up to Hamlin last week at Michigan, boasts the best road course average finish (8.7) in the Next Gen cars.
Busch Light Pole Qualifying is set for Saturday at noon ET (Amazon Prime, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
NASCAR Xfinity Series is set to return to Mexico
The NASCAR Xfinity Series marks its return to Mexico with Saturday afternoon’s The Chilango 150 (4:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The series has held four previous races at the famed Autodrome Hermanos Rodriquez – the last in 2008 won by Kyle Busch.
This is the second of seven road course races on the schedule. Series rookie, JR Motorsports’ Connor Zilisch won at Circuit of The Americas from pole position.
Reigning series champion, JR Motorsports Justin Allgaier earned his third win of the season in the series’ most recent race, two weeks ago at Nashville. It marks the fifth time in the last eight years, the veteran has scored at least three victories in a season. He holds a 92-point advantage in the championship standings over fellow three-race winner, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill.
The Illinois native has answered his first career title run with another top-shelf season in the No. 7 JRM Chevrolet. He leads all drivers in laps led (638) and top-10 finishes (10). He’s only eight top-10 finishes from 300 in his career – a feat never before accomplished in the series.
With 12 regular season races remaining and six Playoff spots still to be claimed, Mexico City certainly presents all the makings of an ultra-competitive weekend.
Sam Mayer and Ty Gibbs have the most road course wins (four) in this weekend’s field. Interestingly, nine of the series’ last 11 road course races have been won by just three drivers (Mayer, Shane Van Gisbergen and Zilisch). And Mayer, who is ranked third in the standings, is still looking for his first win of the year.
Gibbs (No. 19 Toyota) is among three NASCAR Cup Series regulars – also Suarez (No. 9 Chevy) and Christopher Bell (No. 24 Toyota) – racing Saturday. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series rookie, Andres Perez De Lara will be making his Xfinity Series debut.
Kennametal Pole Qualifying is slated for 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday (CW App) and historically has proven very significant on road courses with the polesitter winning 10 of the last 18 road course races.
Air Mail performing at the Ottawa County Fairgrounds in Miami, Oklahoma. Map Motorsports visited the Ottawa County Fairgrounds in Miami, Oklahoma, for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Outlaw Nationals featuring the best trick competition, racing, and freestyle. The trucks that competed in the show were Terminal Velocity, Uproar, The Monster Blog 20th Anniversary, Air Mail, Tailgator, […]
Map Motorsports visited the Ottawa County Fairgrounds in Miami, Oklahoma, for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Outlaw Nationals featuring the best trick competition, racing, and freestyle.
The trucks that competed in the show were Terminal Velocity, Uproar, The Monster Blog 20th Anniversary, Air Mail, Tailgator, Wild Side, Over Board, Dirt Crew, Blockhead, Bad Decision, Crush-A-Roo, and Shaker.
Tirbert filmed these events. Subscribe to their YouTube Channel today.
MEXICO CITY — NASCAR’s first Cup Series race outside the United States was off to a bumpy start Friday with several teams yet to arrive in Mexico City because of travel issues in North Carolina. At least one chartered flight to Mexico City was grounded Thursday with an engine issue, leaving teams scrambling to find […]
MEXICO CITY — NASCAR’s first Cup Series race outside the United States was off to a bumpy start Friday with several teams yet to arrive in Mexico City because of travel issues in North Carolina.
At least one chartered flight to Mexico City was grounded Thursday with an engine issue, leaving teams scrambling to find alternative routes to get to Mexico. Some drove to Atlanta to catch a commercial flight.
But when the track opened Friday, many were not at Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Trackhouse Racing was among them — Daniel Suarez arrived Tuesday with some support personnel so he was not affected — but the communications director for the Cup team had been summoned to help unload the Trackhouse cars off the truck because no crew members were available.
The trucks came directly from last Sunday’s race in Michigan and arrived at the Mexico City track on Thursday.
NASCAR said only “a select few” teams aren’t on site Friday morning. But, it seems most are Xfinity Series teams based on a revamping of the weekend schedule.
“Due to two aircraft issues that grounded multiple race teams in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday, NASCAR has adjusted the on-track schedule for this weekend’s activities at Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez,” NASCAR said in a statement.
NASCAR delayed Friday’s originally planned Cup Series practice to later in the afternoon. NASCAR also pushed all Xfinity Series practice sessions from Friday to Saturday. And, the first of two NASCAR Mexico Series races will run earlier than originally scheduled on Friday.
The Xfinity Series will lose some practice time, with just one 50-minute session on Saturday morning, right before qualifying. There are other slight adjustments as well, but Cup teams will not lose any practice.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Thirty years after winning the Le Mans 24 Hours for the first time, McLaren has officially announced the launch of the new McLaren Racing Endurance team – McLaren United AS – which will compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar class beginning in 2027. Having announced back in April its plans to enter the […]
Thirty years after winning the Le Mans 24 Hours for the first time, McLaren has officially announced the launch of the new McLaren Racing Endurance team – McLaren United AS – which will compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar class beginning in 2027.
Having announced back in April its plans to enter the premier category of the WEC with an LMDh prototype, McLaren shared key details about its program today. The new McLaren Hypercar will be designed internally and run in conjunction with two-time Le Mans 24 Hours class-winning team United Autosports. The new McLaren prototype will be powered by a V6 twin-turbo engine designed by McLaren Racing and McLaren Automotive, with the chassis to be supplied by Italian constructor Dallara.
James Barclay (pictured above) will join as team principal of McLaren United AS, beginning in September. Barclay will join McLaren after concluding his work as managing drector of JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) Motorsport and team principal of the Jaguar TCS Racing Formula E team in July.
Barclay was a fundamental figure in establishing the Jaguar Formula E team in 2016, and led the marque to its first motorsport world championship win since 1991.
“I am honored to be joining a brand with such an incredible history of racing excellence,” Barclay said. “The passion and commitment to success that McLaren Racing embodies is something I’ve always admired. I look forward to the challenge of building a team that competes at the highest level of racing and represents the pioneering spirit that McLaren is known for.”
Zak Brown, McLaren Racing CEO, said: “McLaren Racing’s return to the FIA World Endurance Championship marks the beginning of a new and exciting chapter for us, and James’s leadership will be crucial in guiding us through the coming months as we prepare for our 2027 entry. We have a rich history in the sport, and with James at the helm, we are confident that McLaren Endurance Racing will quickly establish itself as a competitive and successful team.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the team’s future take shape under his leadership and can’t wait to give fans an exclusive preview of our 2027 race car.”
That preview will come tomorrow, before the start of the 93rd Le Mans 24 Hours, when McLaren will reveal its Hypercar challenger at the Manufacturers’ Village in Le Mans.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — NASCAR’s first Cup Series race outside the United States was off to a bumpy start Friday with several teams yet to arrive in Mexico City because of travel issues in North Carolina. At least one chartered flight to Mexico City was grounded Thursday with an engine issue, leaving teams scrambling to […]
MEXICO CITY (AP) — NASCAR’s first Cup Series race outside the United States was off to a bumpy start Friday with several teams yet to arrive in Mexico City because of travel issues in North Carolina.
At least one chartered flight to Mexico City was grounded Thursday with an engine issue, leaving teams scrambling to find alternative routes to get to Mexico. Some drove to Atlanta to catch a commercial flight.
But when the track opened Friday, many were not at Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Trackhouse Racing was among them — Daniel Suarez arrived Tuesday with some support personnel so he was not affected — but the communications director for the Cup team had been summoned to help unload the Trackhouse cars off the truck because no crew members were available.
The trucks came directly from last Sunday’s race in Michigan and arrived at the Mexico City track on Thursday.
NASCAR said only “a select few” teams aren’t on site Friday morning. But, it seems most are Xfinity Series teams based on a revamping of the weekend schedule.
“Due to two aircraft issues that grounded multiple race teams in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday, NASCAR has adjusted the on-track schedule for this weekend’s activities at Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez,” NASCAR said in a statement.
NASCAR delayed Friday’s originally planned Cup Series practice to later in the afternoon. NASCAR also pushed all Xfinity Series practice sessions from Friday to Saturday. And, the first of two NASCAR Mexico Series races will run earlier than originally scheduled on Friday.
The Xfinity Series will lose some practice time, with just one 50-minute session on Saturday morning, right before qualifying. There are other slight adjustments as well, but Cup teams will not lose any practice.
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
MEXICO CITY — NASCAR’s first Cup Series race outside the United States was off to a bumpy start Friday with several teams yet to arrive in Mexico City because of travel issues in North Carolina. At least one chartered flight to Mexico City was grounded Thursday with an engine issue, leaving teams scrambling to find […]
MEXICO CITY — NASCAR’s first Cup Series race outside the United States was off to a bumpy start Friday with several teams yet to arrive in Mexico City because of travel issues in North Carolina.
At least one chartered flight to Mexico City was grounded Thursday with an engine issue, leaving teams scrambling to find alternative routes to get to Mexico. Some drove to Atlanta to catch a commercial flight.
But when the track opened Friday, many were not at Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Trackhouse Racing was among them — Daniel Suarez arrived Tuesday with some support personnel so he was not affected — but the communications director for the Cup team had been summoned to help unload the Trackhouse cars off the truck because no crew members were available.
The trucks came directly from last Sunday’s race in Michigan and arrived at the Mexico City track on Thursday.
NASCAR said only “a select few” teams aren’t on site Friday morning. But, it seems most are Xfinity Series teams based on a revamping of the weekend schedule.
“Due to two aircraft issues that grounded multiple race teams in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday, NASCAR has adjusted the on-track schedule for this weekend’s activities at Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez,” NASCAR said in a statement.
NASCAR delayed Friday’s originally planned Cup Series practice to later in the afternoon. NASCAR also pushed all Xfinity Series practice sessions from Friday to Saturday. And, the first of two NASCAR Mexico Series races will run earlier than originally scheduled on Friday.
The Xfinity Series will lose some practice time, with just one 50-minute session on Saturday morning, right before qualifying. There are other slight adjustments as well, but Cup teams will not lose any practice.
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