NASCAR exec addresses possibility of using Las Vegas Motor Speedway as future Championship venue

NASCAR Championship Weekend will soon be on the move. As announced Tuesday by Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski, Championship Weekend is returning to Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2026.

Beyond 2026, the Cup, Xfinity and Truck series title races will rotate tracks from year to year. Phoenix Raceway, which has hosted the weekend since 2020, will be included in the rotation. But what about Las Vegas Motor Speedway? Ben Kennedy, NASCAR executive vice president, chief venue and racing innovation officer, told Davey Segal of SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that “anything is on the table.”

The 1.5-mile oval currently has two dates on the NASCAR schedule. The first date is in the spring, with the second being a Round of 8 playoff race. Las Vegas is owned by Speedway Motorsports (SMI), as opposed to NASCAR itself. That shouldn’t be a problem, as other SMI-owned tracks host playoff races.

NASCAR Championship Weekend returning to Homestead in 2026

But for now, all eyes are on Homestead for next season. Homestead hosted Championship Weekend from 2002-19. There had been a renewed push to see NASCAR take its Championship back to Homestead. It has been lauded as one of the more entertaining tracks on the schedule. The Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series title races will occur Nov. 6-8, 2026.

“We talked about it for quite a while. But we felt this was the right opportunity, the right time to do it,” Kennedy told Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic. “We have a great new president down there with [Homestead track president] Guillermo [Santa Cruz] taking the lead; [the track] has put on some amazing races, and this was a big opportunity for us to shake things up.”

Homestead, built in 1995, has begun to show its age. It was one of the main reasons NASCAR shifted its Championship Weekend to Phoenix in 2020, as the track had undergone massive renovations. Bianchi said that plans are underway for Homestead to see infrastructural improvements.

“We have a very long menu list of items that we could do to [Homestead],” Kennedy said. “I think a lot of it is going to be looking to expand our hospitality footprints to make the midway and activation areas more user-friendly. And then we’ve also looked at some options in the infield, as well.

“We just really want to overall enhance some of the elements for the fan experience.”