NASCAR Title Tracker: Everything To Know About Season Finale At Homestead

The NASCAR season is set to end this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway as it crowns champions in all three of its national series. Here is your complete guide to the weekend, including what has happened so far and what is next. The Championship Is At Homestead-Miami Speedway? Yes. Back to the place where NASCAR crowned champions with its season finale from 2002-2019. It is a 1.5-mile oval that has progressive banking; it is banked 18 degrees at the start of the apron and increases to 20 degrees by the wall. That allows a driver up against the wall to have more momentum and potentially make a pass despite going a longer distance. Is The Format The Same As The Last Decade? No. The format of having a Champ 4 of four drivers and whoever finishes best is the champion was scrapped before this year. NASCAR went back to a revised Chase format, with points being reset (with a 100-point margin from first to 16th) after a regular season and then a 10-race mini-season (nine races in O’Reilly, seven in trucks) to crown a champion. So We’ll Have To Do Math? Yes, you will have to do math this weekend. Sorry. NASCAR awards points based on four factors: finish in the first stage (on a scale of 10-to-1 for the top 10), finish in the second stage (on a scale of 10-to-1 for the top 10), finish in the race (55 to the winner and then on a scale of 35-to-1 for second through 36th, with 37th-40th also getting one point) and one point to the driver with the fastest lap in the race. The tiebreaker is the best finish in The Chase. What Are The Numbers? — In Cup, Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports) has a 67-point lead on Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing) and 70-point lead on Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing). Larson owns all tiebreakers and needs just nine points in the race. So he can clinch, no matter what the others do, with eight stage points or 28th with no stage points. Bell needs to win and earn 14 stage points (13 if he also has the fastest lap) to have a chance. Hamlin needs to win and earn 17 stage points (12 if he also has the fastest lap) to have a chance. — In O’Reilly, Justin Allgaier (JR Motorsports) has a 22-point lead on Jesse Love (Richard Childress Racing), a 23-point lead on Corey Day (Hendrick Motorsports), a 31-point lead on Carson Kvapil (JR Motorsports) and a 42-point lead on Sheldon Creed (Haas Factory Team). Finishing scenarios will be determined after the stages. — In trucks, Kaden Honeycutt (Tricon Garage) has a 20-point lead on Layne Riggs (Front Row Motorsports). Finishing scenarios will be determined after the stages. So You’re Saying There’s A Chance? In O’Reilly and trucks, yes. In Cup, Bell or Hamlin would need everything to go right. Just how right? NASCAR didn’t even have Bell or Hamlin join Larson for the championship weekend media day Thursday. So there was Larson, by himself, doing the rounds and a 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.” What Has Happened So Far In Cup? Here’s the Cup schedule (all times ET): Friday: A 50-minute practice, 5:30 p.m. (TruTv)Saturday: One-lap qualifying, 2:30 p.m. (TruTv)Sunday: The race stages will be 80 laps, 85 laps and 102 laps, with green flag at 3:13 p.m. (NBC). Teams will have nine sets of tires. What Has Happened So Far In The O’Reilly Series? Here is the O’Reilly schedule (all times ET): Friday: A 50-minute practice at 4 p.m. (ESPN Unlimited)Saturday: One-lap qualifying, 1 p.m. (ESPN Unlimited)Saturday: The race stages will be 45 laps, 45 laps and 110 laps, with green flag at 5:11 p.m. (CW). Teams will have six sets of tires. What Has Happened So Far In Trucks? Here is the truck schedule (all times ET): Thursday: A 50-minute practice at 6:30 p.m. (NASCAR Channel)Friday: One-lap qualifying, 2:30 p.m. (FS2)Friday: The race stages will be 30 laps, 30 laps and 74 laps, with green flag at 7:51 p.m. (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 O’Reilly, 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 will deliver his state of the sport address at 10 a.m. ET on Friday. For the last several years, this has been the only time the NASCAR CEO or President has answered questions in a news conference setting with the NASCAR press. O’Donnell assumed the CEO role in April 2026. 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.