Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch react to NASCAR Championship moving to Homestead

NASCAR announced last week that Championship Weekend is returning to Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2026 as part of a new yearly rotation model. Phoenix Raceway has been the site for the last five Championship races and will be once again this November, but there had been a renewed push to see NASCAR take its Championship back to the 1.5-mile Homestead. 

Denny Hamlin applauded Phoenix on its run during Monday’s “Actions Detrimental” podcast and put over the fans for showing support over the years. At the same time, he’s happy to see Championship Weekend back in South Florida.

“I’m glad to see it back at Homestead,” Hamlin said. “Phoenix is a great venue the way they upgraded the facilities. The fan interaction, the fan zone in there is fantastic. They spent money on the facility to upgrade and make it up to Championship standards. The town always supports us, and it’s always crowded, doesn’t matter if it’s spring or the fall Championship race. Phoenix fans show out for us, which is why they deserved to have the Championship race for so long.”

Homestead gets first crack at hosting Championship Weekend as part of new NASCAR model

Homestead hosted Championship Weekend from 2002-19. Beyond 2026, the Championship race will rotate tracks from year to year. Phoenix will be included in the rotation. The one-mile oval’s annual date will stay in the playoffs. It is set for a spot in the semifinal round next season.

“It is a change,” Ben Kennedy, NASCAR executive vice president, chief venue and racing innovation officer, told Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic. “We’ve also made a handful of other pretty bold changes to the schedule. We’ve gone to new venues, we’ve shook up The Clash, we’ve changed the playoff schedule. And one of the remaining things that we have on our checkoff list is to also begin a rotation of our championship and move it to different venues. So glad we were able to deliver on that one.”

Kyle Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion, won both of his Championships at Homestead in 2015 and ’19, respectively. He joined Hamlin on the podcast and commented on the racing that currently takes place at Phoenix during the Championship Race.

“If you just watch the race from eighth on back, that’s the Championship Race,” Busch said. “When you get the leader out front, it’s lights out.”