Kennedy Addresses NASCAR’s Championship Rotation

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — NASCAR Championship Weekend is returning to Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2026.

The 1.5-mile superspeedway hosted the event from 2002 through 2019. It moved to Phoenix Raceway in 2020 and has been held there every year since. This November’s championship races for the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series ends that run and signals the beginning of a rotation that will see the Championship Weekend in a different location annually.

NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Venue and Racing Innovation Officer Ben Kennedy discussed the move and the rotational process on Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s a handful of considerations that we take a look at, especially as we think about moving a championship. I would say, first and foremost, it’s fan feedback, and fans ranked Homestead-Miami Speedway as number one on the list of where they’d like to see a championship in the future,” Kennedy said. “From what you guys may have seen and some of the fan sentiment so far, it leans very positive, which is great to see.

“So we listen to our fans. All of our partners who are broadcast partners, our teams, our drivers have input to where they’d like to see the championship in the future, a lot of industry stakeholders we’ll collaborate with.

“I would say, on top of that, as you think about a championship race, ideally a warm weather kind of climate location,” he continued. “You can’t race everywhere in the world, especially in early November, so there’s a handful of venues and properties that we tend to gravitate toward. Thirdly, we want to make sure it’s marketed and promoted the right way.

“Fourthly, Phoenix is a great example of this. You saw the kind of $100 million project we put into the reimagine of Phoenix Raceway,” Kennedy noted. “Homestead isn’t a Phoenix Raceway, and it probably won’t be to that level when we come for the championship next year, but we are going to be putting some capital in that facility to make sure it is a championship caliber property when we show up to it next year.”

Kennedy said Phoenix and Homestead are both in the rotation to host Championship Weekend and said other locations are under consideration including Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which is owned by Speedway Motorsports.

“I think anything is on the table at this point, to be honest, whether it’s NASCAR property or elsewhere,” Kennedy said. “The great part about it is we have a good relationship with Speedway Motorsports, and they have many prominent events in the playoffs, cutoff races at the Charlotte oval and Bristol and a handful of others.

“Nothing to report today on exactly where we would be considering or where those properties might be, but I think all cards are on the table at this point.”

Kennedy also said the Daytona 500 will continue to be the season opener and that the Clash will run prior to Daytona and the location will remain in the United States at least in the near future.

“I think as far as next year goes, more than likely it will stay domestic here in the United States. I wouldn’t ever rule out international in the future, though,” Kennedy said. “We have thoughts about a lot of it being prior to the season, in the off-season, an exhibition race. It’s a great opportunity for us to bring NASCAR racing to other parts of the world.

“I think it’s going to be something that we’ll continue to consider, but at least for now we’ll more than likely keep it domestic.”