Homestead Hosts the NASCAR Season Finale: What Drivers and Title Scenarios Need to Know

The NASCAR season will conclude this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where it will crown champions in all three national series.

Here is your complete guide to the weekend, including what has happened so far and what comes next.

The Championship Is At Homestead-Miami Speedway?

Yes. It returns to the track that hosted NASCAR’s season finale from 2002 through 2019. The venue is a 1.5-mile oval with progressive banking, beginning at 18 degrees at the start of the apron and increasing to 20 degrees by the wall. That allows a driver running near the wall to carry more momentum and potentially make a pass despite running a longer distance.

Is The Format The Same As The Last Decade?

No. The former format, which included a Champ 4 of four drivers and awarded the title to the best final result, was scrapped before this year. NASCAR has since returned to a revised Chase format, resetting points with a 100-point advantage for the first through 16th in the standings after the regular season and then running a 10-race mini-season, with nine races in the O’Reilly Series and seven in trucks, to crown a champion.

So We’ll Have To Do Math?

Yes, math will be required this weekend. NASCAR awards points based on four factors: stage finishes, with the first stage scored on a 10-to-1 scale for the top 10 and the second stage scored similarly; race finish, with 55 points for the winner and then a 35-to-1 scale for second through 36th, while 37th through 40th also receive one point; and one point for the fastest lap. The tiebreaker is the best finish in the Chase.

Kyle Larson is on a quest to win his third NASCAR title this weekend at Homestead. (Getty Images)

What Are The Numbers?

In the Cup Series, Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports leads Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing by 67 points and Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing by 70 points. Larson owns all tiebreakers and needs just nine points in the race, so he can clinch regardless of what the others do with eight stage points or by finishing 28th without stage points. Bell needs to win and earn 14 stage points, or 13 if he also records the fastest lap, to have a chance. Hamlin needs to win and earn 17 stage points, or 12 if he also records the fastest lap, to have a chance.

In the O’Reilly Series, Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports leads Jesse Love of Richard Childress Racing by 22 points, Corey Day of Hendrick Motorsports by 23 points, Carson Kvapil of JR Motorsports by 31 points and Sheldon Creed of Haas Factory Team by 42 points. The finishing scenarios will be determined after the stages.

In trucks, Kaden Honeycutt of Tricon Garage leads Layne Riggs of Front Row Motorsports by 20 points. The finishing scenarios will be determined after the stages.

So You’re Saying There’s A Chance?

In the O’Reilly Series and trucks, yes. In the Cup Series, Bell or Hamlin would need everything to go right. Just how right? NASCAR did not even have Bell or Hamlin join Larson for the championship weekend media day Thursday.

Larson, then, was the only contender holding the moment during the news conference.

“I’ll be honest, it’s an awkward sort of media day for me,” Larson said at the news conference. “But we’ve earned the right for it to be awkward. I like awkwardness. Or I’m OK with it.”

Will Kaden Honeycutt bring home the crown in the trucks series? (Getty Images)

What Has Happened So Far In Cup?

Here is the Cup Series schedule, all times Eastern:

Friday: Chase Briscoe led the final practice. None of the three championship contenders had significant issues, as Denny Hamlin was third, Christopher Bell was fourth and Kyle Larson was 10th. Larson told USA Sports that he did not feel as comfortable as he wanted and did scrape the car. Larson said, “Not a great practice.” There was also an incident when Tyler Reddick spun on entry to pit road and made contact with Zane Smith.

Saturday: One-lap qualifying was scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on TruTv. Sunday: The race stages will be 80 laps, 85 laps and 102 laps, with the green flag at 3:13 p.m. on NBC. Teams will have nine sets of tires.

What Has Happened So Far In The O’Reilly Series?

Here is the O’Reilly Series schedule, all times Eastern:

Friday: Anthony Alfredo led the final practice, where Jesse Love had to stop on the track after possibly breaking something at the rear of his car. Of the championship contenders, Creed was fifth, Day was seventh, Love was 11th, Kvapil was 17th and Allgaier was 20th.

Saturday: One-lap qualifying was scheduled for 1 p.m. on ESPN Unlimited. The race stages will be 45 laps, 45 laps and 110 laps, with the green flag at 5:11 p.m. on CW. Teams will have six sets of tires.

What Has Happened So Far In Trucks?

Here is the truck schedule, all times Eastern:

Thursday: In a 50-minute practice, Ty Majeski posted the fastest speed while Honeycutt was fifth and Riggs was sixth. In 10-lap averages, Jake Garcia was fastest, ahead of Ben Rhodes, Riggs, Honeycutt and Christian Eckes. There were no incidents.

Friday: Nick Sanchez of Spire Motorsports won the pole in qualifying, followed by Chandler Smith, Corey Heim, Riggs and Honeycutt, so the two championship finalists are starting fourth and fifth.

Friday: The race stages will be 30 laps, 30 laps and 74 laps, with the green flag at 7:51 p.m. on FS1. Teams will have five sets of tires.

How Many Championships Have These Drivers Won In Their Series?

Kyle Larson is the only championship contender with a title. He won Cup titles in 2021 and 2025.

In the O’Reilly Series, Jesse Love won the title last year while Justin Allgaier won in 2024.

Neither of the truck finalists has won a truck title.

Is Anyone Retiring After This Race?

No. There are no announced retirements for drivers in any of the three series, which is somewhat of a rarity for the season finale.

When Is The State Of The Sport Address?

NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell delivered his state of the sport address Friday morning at Homestead.

What Dignitaries Will Be There?

As of Thursday morning, NASCAR had not announced its primary dignitaries for the race. University of Miami men’s basketball coach Jai Lucas will be an honorary official.

Performing the national anthem will be the United States Air Force Band, The Singing Sergeants.

When Are The Awards?

NASCAR will have its postseason awards Tuesday night in Miami at the Adreinne Arsht Center.

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