For almost 20 years, NASCAR fans made their annual trek to Homestead-Miami Speedway, or Homestead for short, for the sport’s Championship Weekend. Yesterday, NASCAR announced that it would be returning to the south Florida race track in 2026 to crown a champion for each of its three series: Cup, Xfinity, and Trucks. This move will begin a new cycle of rotating venues for the sport’s title event, aiming to keep things fresh and exciting for longtime and new fans alike.
Prior to Homestead being the home of NASCAR’s Championship Weekend, the event was held in Atlanta from 1986-2000, and in Southern California on various race tracks there from 1974-86. The event was hosted by New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2001.
NASCAR held its Championship Weekend at Homestead every year from 2002-19, electing in 2020 to move the event to Phoenix. Although officials claim the move has been successful overall, fans routinely lobby NASCAR to relocate the venue back to Miami, where for two decades the track consistently delivered some of the sport’s biggest and most unforgettable moments.
The celebrated move back to Homestead comes as NASCAR intends to create an annual rotation of venues to host its Championship Weekend events each fall. Those locations beyond 2026 are yet-to-be-determined.
Next season’s schedule hasn’t been announced yet, but NASCAR fans should be on the lookout for its release sometime later this summer. Last year, 2025’s schedule was released on August 29th, and tickets for each event went on sale in early October.
As far as how expensive it will be to get in the door at next year’s Championship Weekend, it’s hard to say. Given fans’ nostalgia associated with Homestead’s history and the popularity of the track in general, attendance at next year’s title event will likely be high and tickets could sell out quickly.
