Nascar ‘expected’ to move championship race to Homestead in 2026

• Phoenix set to retain two dates on next season’s schedule
• Both Homestead and Phoenix may form part of rotation for future season finales

Nascar is expected to move next season’s championship race to Homestead-Miami Speedway, according to The Athletic.

The track previously hosted the season finale for all three of Nascar’s national series between 2002 and 2019 before it was replaced by Phoenix Raceway.

Homestead will reportedly host the 2026 decider only, with a new track coming in for 2027. The idea is for a rotation of tracks to host Nascar’s championship race, which Homestead and Phoenix are expected to be part of.

Despite appearing set to lose next year’s season finale, Phoenix will retain two dates on the schedule.

“It’s definitely something I want to see happen,” Homestead track president Guillermo Santa Cruz said last month. “And I’m hopeful in the not-too-distant future the championship will come back.”

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Previous attempts for a return have been scuppered by a lack of financial support for the event but The Athletic reports that Nascar is ready to overlook this and stage the race at Homestead anyway, covering any necessary expenses to ensure the event’s success.

Elsewhere, momentum is building for a full Cup Series return to Rockingham Speedway after the historic track held a revival weekend with the Xfinity Series and Truck Series.

Rockingham has not hosted a Cup Series race since 2004, but a successful return last weekend has raised hopes of a full revival.

Bob Sargent, president and chief executive of Track Enterprises and the man who handled communications between Rockingham and Nascar for the circuit’s return, is positive on the topic of a Cup Series return.

“Yes, absolutely, [Rockingham could return] with the caveat that Nascar is a big, worldwide entity, and when you look at dates, there are only so many,” he told The Charlotte Observer. 

“There are only so many geographic regions and things like that. So there are many factors that go into when dates get put where. So it’s not a magic wand.

“But I feel comfortable, and am not saying anything out of line that, yes, we did everything we needed to do.”

He added: “It’s a process. But we are on the radar. We are in that process.”