The Homestead-Miami Speedway in South Florida will become all the heat in 2026 as it returns to host the season finale for all three NASCAR national series. The 1.5-mile track held the post from 2002 to 2019, before it was replaced by the Phoenix Raceway for six seasons. Thanks to NASCAR’s decision to implement a rotational championship weekend format, it is back in its position again.
Advertisement
The track appointed Guillermo Santa Cruz as its president in July 2024. Ever since he took the role up, he has been fixated on bringing the championship weekend back to the track.
Now that the mission has been accomplished, he can’t contain his excitement. He recently spoke to Racer Magazine about the achievement and explained why it meant so much to him and the fans.
“You know the expression, ‘You don’t know what you have until you lose it’? Well, they lost the championship, and that hurt,” he said. “So, bringing it back is a big deal. It’s an opportunity to, I don’t want to say ‘correct’ some things, but make sure you’re doing things right, maybe you didn’t do before. Maybe you did things right for a long time and then stopped doing them.”
“You know the expression, ‘You don’t know what you have until you lose it’? Well, they lost the championship, and that hurt.”
Homestead-Miami is relishing its NASCAR title host return, which will cap off the biggest sports year in South Florida history:https://t.co/5Z4QYfCpqR
— Kelly Crandall (@KellyCrandall) November 18, 2025
From 2020 to 2025, the venue kept moving around the calendar from summer to spring to fall. All the while, the racing standard remained top tier. Phoenix Raceway, meanwhile, powered by the $178 million that was allotted for its renovation, became the season finale venue. Fortunately, now, the balance is set right again. It remains to be seen for how long.
What excites Santa Cruz the most about 2026
Many drivers named Homestead-Miami when asked to cite their favorite race track. The intermediate oval’s progressive banking and wide lanes have always been a hit among the field, especially ones like Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick, who pride themselves on running as close to the track’s wall as possible, making as much laptime as they can at the facility.
Looking forward to the racing action with the ramped-up stakes of the championship on the line, Santa Cruz added, “Next year is going to be the biggest sports year in the history of South Florida. We start out with the Orange Bowl (January 1), then we have hockey’s Winter Classic (January 2), the (College Football) National Championship game (January 19), the World Baseball Classic (March 6-11), the Miami Open (March 15-19), Miami Grand Prix (May 1-3), FIFA (June-July), and then to cap it all off, NASCAR championship (Nov. 6-8).”
The notion that one market and one city will be hosting all these events is a massive deal. And for NASCAR to be at the end of the line is truly exhilarating. As things stand, the Homestead-Miami Speedway is preparing to throw the biggest party in town yet.
