Parity is a word that has been at the forefront of NASCAR’s vocabulary for decades and when the checkered flag waved on the 2026 Cup Series season there was little doubt that this year achieved the sanctioning body’s objective.
Chevrolet driver Kyle Larson won his third championship in six years. Toyota driver Tyler Reddick claimed the most race victories with six. Ford driver Ryan Blaney won the season finale, tying him with Toyota driver Denny Hamlin for the second most victories this year at four. And when it came to Stage victories, Larson and Blaney tied for the most with nine each.
With Larson possessing a 67-point advantage over Christopher Bell entering the season finale, the Hendrick Motorsports driver clinched his second consecutive title when he finished fourth in the first Stage. Larson’s accomplishment provided Hendrick Motorsports with its record 16th Cup championship since 1984 when the organization made its debut.
“I got the word that we had clinched it. I started driving like an idiot,” Larson said with a smile. “I’m more mad at myself.”
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Known for ripping the high line just inches from the wall at the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway, Larson scrapped the wall several times. Crew Chief Cliff Daniels told Larson his car’s nose had separated from the splitter. He said they repaired it with bear bond, also known as 200 mph tape.
Larson never led in the season finale, he left that to teammate William Byron who fought Hamlin, Reddick and Blaney for the victory in the race’s closing laps. Hamlin was the race’s top lap leader, setting the pace for 87 laps in the 267-lap race. However, with six laps to go while fighting Reddick, Blaney and Byron for the win, Hamlin scrapped the wall, removing himself from victory contention.
Byron fell back after Reddick passed him, but the 23XI Racing driver couldn’t shake Blaney. The duel between the two was reminiscent of two years ago when Reddick dramatically passed Blaney on the final lap for the victory.
“I tell you, last two years I’ve had nightmares about that finish,” Blaney said with a smile.
This year Blaney was the pursuer, and with two laps remaining, the Team Penske driver reversed the ending to claim his 21st career victory.
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Ryan Blaney (left) and Kyle Larson.
“It’s nice to get a little redemption from that,” Blaney admitted after taking a 0.314-second victory over Reddick. “Sometimes being the pursuer is almost a little bit easier than the leader.”
Even though Blaney didn’t have a chance at the championship entering the season finale, he achieved his objective of moving from seventh to fourth in the standings. In fact, Team Penske had all three of its drivers finish in the top 10 in the standings this year. Joey Logano placed seventh while Austin Cindric took 10th.
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“I think definitely being top five is fantastic,” Blaney said. “It’s financially beneficial to finish as high as you can. That part was our goal.”
Blaney admitted that gaining three positions in the standings in the final race was a tall order, but when Chase Briscoe’s Toyota suffered engine failure on lap 78, that opened the door for him to make it into the top five in the standings “if we had a monster day.”
“Fortunately, we were able to,” Blaney said.
NASCAR CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP RACE — RACE RESULTS
Homestead-Miami Speedway — Homestead, Florida, November 8, 2026
Pos/Driver/Team/Laps/Status/Pts
1. Ryan Blaney (C), Menards/Dutch Boy Ford, Running (267 laps), 71
2. Tyler Reddick (C), Chumba Casino Toyota, Running (267 laps), 53
3. William Byron (C), Valvoline Chevrolet, Running (267 laps), 41
4. Christopher Bell (C), Interstate Batteries/DeWalt Toyota, Running (267 laps), 50
5. Bubba Wallace (C), Columbia PFG Toyota, Running (267 laps), 36
6. Denny Hamlin (C), Progressive Insurance Toyota, Running (267 laps), 46
7. Austin Cindric (C), Discount Tire Ford, Running (267 laps), 43
8. Daniel Suarez (C), Modo Super Gaming App Chevrolet, Running (267 laps), 33
9. Noah Gragson, Long John Silver’s Ford, Running (267 laps), 28
10. Michael McDowell, The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge Chevrolet, Running (267 laps), 27
11. Ty Gibbs (C), Monster Energy Toyota, Running (267 laps), 26
12. Kyle Larson (C), HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, Running (267 laps), 32
13. Josh Berry, Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, Running (267 laps), 24
14. Zane Smith, Patriot Mobile Ford, Running (267 laps), 25
15. Austin Hill (i), Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet, Running (267 laps), 0
16. Alex Bowman, Ally Chevrolet, Running (267 laps), 25
17. Joey Logano (C), Shell Pennzoil Ford, Running (267 laps), 20
18. Todd Gilliland, Love’s Travel Stops/Fleetguard Ford, Running (267 laps), 19
19. Connor Zilisch, Red Bull Chevrolet, Running (267 laps), 18
20. Erik Jones, Dollar Tree Toyota, Running (267 laps), 17
21. Justin Haley (i) (C), Spectrum Chevrolet, Running (267 laps), 0
22. Chase Elliott (C), NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, Running (267 laps), 19
23. AJ Allmendinger, Celsius Chevrolet, Running (267 laps), 14
24. Chris Buescher (C), Body Guard by Fastenal Ford, Running (267 laps), 13
25. Ryan Preece (C), Kroger/Thomas’ High Protein Bagels Ford, Running (267 laps), 12
26. Austin Dillon, BREZTRI Chevrolet, Running (266 laps), 11
27. Ross Chastain, Busch Light Chevrolet, Running (266 laps), 10
28. Brad Keselowski, BuildSubmarines.com Ford, Running (266 laps), 9
29. Cole Custer, Sysco/Hooters Chevrolet, Running (266 laps), 8
30. John Hunter Nemechek, Dollar Tree Toyota, Running (266 laps), 7
31. Ty Dillon, Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet, Running (266 laps), 6
32. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 7th Level/Commas Chevrolet, Running (266 laps), 5
33. Riley Herbst, Basic Water Toyota, Running (265 laps), 4
34. Shane Van Gisbergen, Kubota New Zealand Edition Chevrolet, Running (265 laps), 3
35. Cody Ware, Super.com Chevrolet, Running (264 laps), 2
36. JJ Yeley (i), PCNY Turkey Drive Chevrolet, Running (262 laps), 0
37. Casey Mears, The Gracie Foundation Chevrolet, Running (261 laps), 1
38. Chad Finchum (i), Protection Technologies Ford, Running (257 laps), 0
39. Chase Briscoe (C), Bass Pro Shops Toyota, Engine (77 laps), 0
40. Corey Heim (i), Mobil 1 Toyota, Electrical (57 laps), 0
Fastest Lap: Ryan Blaney (No. 12 Ford) — Lap 261, 32.616 seconds.
Time of Race: 3 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds
Average Speed: 133.5 mph
Margin of Victory: 0.314 seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Austin Cindric, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suarez, William Byron, Chase Elliott.
Stage 2 Top 10: Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, Zane Smith, Daniel Suarez.
Race Winner: Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford. Blaney won the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race for his 21st career Cup Series victory, his fourth win and 23rd top-10 finish of 2026. It was his first victory and fourth top-10 finish in 12 races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Race Notes: Tyler Reddick finished second for his sixth top-10 finish in seven races at Homestead-Miami and his 21st top-10 of 2026. William Byron finished third for his fifth top-10 finish in nine races at the track. Connor Zilisch was the highest-finishing rookie in 19th and won the NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year Award. Kyle Larson won the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series championship, finishing 49 points ahead of Christopher Bell. Toyota won the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer’s Championship.
Caution Flags: 3 cautions for 23 laps.
Lead Changes: 18 among 8 drivers.
A North Carolina native, Deb Williams is an award-winning motorsports journalist who is in her fourth decade covering auto racing. In addition to covering the sport for United Press International, she has written motorsports articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites including espnW.com, USA Today, and The Charlotte Observer. Her awards include the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence, two-time National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, and two-time recipient of the Russ Catlin award. She also has won an award in the North Carolina Press Association’s sports feature category. During her career, Deb has been managing editor of GT Motorsports magazine and was with Winston Cup Scene and NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for 18 years, serving as the publication’s editor for 10 years. In 2024 she was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.