History repeated itself at the 2026 NASCAR finale, but with a twist.
Ryan Blaney won the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami, while Kyle Larson was crowned champion – the same outcome as at Phoenix Raceway last year.
The difference is that Larson won the 2025 title by beating his Championship 4 contenders, Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe and William Byron across the line in overtime under the playoffs format, while he wrapped things up early this year.
Larson came into the race with a commanding lead in the revived NASCAR Cup Series Chase format standings and earned enough points in the first stage to clinch the title, making his 12th-place race finish something of an afterthought.
“I got word that we clinched it, and I started driving like an idiot,” Larson said after rubbing the wall several times as he ran high on the track.
It was more of a nail-biter for Blaney, who passed Tyler Reddick for the lead with one lap to go and held on for a .314-second win.
“Even though we weren’t part of the championship fight, our goal was to try to win the race, end on a high note, get the most points we can,” Blaney said.
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The final top five in the standings were Larson, Bell, Hamlin, Blaney and Reddick. The championship is Larson’s third and he is the first back-to-back winner since Jimmie Johnson’s 2006-2010 win streak.
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The response to The Chase’s return has been overwhelmingly positive, but many hoped it would would be closer at the finale. Larson even called winning the championship during a stage “anticlimactic,” but the format is not expected to change next year.
