Homestead-Miami Speedway (Homestead, Fla.) — Ryan Blaney got beat on a late pass by Tyler Reddick two years ago at Homestead-Miami Speedway and was able to return the favor Sunday in the 2026 season finale.
Blaney won in dramatic fashion, capturing the season finale for the second consecutive year, while Kyle Larson won the championship.
“The last two years, I’ve had nightmares about that finish,” Blaney said in his post-race news conference. “It’s nice to get a little redemption from that.”
Here are my takeaways after Larson earned his third Cup title:
1. Larson Clinches Early
Kyle Larson clinched the title after the end of Stage 1. (Getty Images)
Larson entered the race with a hefty lead in the point standings, needing just nine points to clinch the title even if Denny Hamlin or Christopher Bell dominated and won the race.
A fourth-place finish in the opening stage clinched the title, as Bell was third and Hamlin was sixth, putting them just outside of catching Larson.
Larson said on his radio to the team that it seemed a little anticlimactic. Larson ended up 12th in the race after scrubbing the wall a number of times.
But that couldn’t dampen Larson’s happiness, as he snapped a 51-race winless streak to win three of the final nine races to win the title in the first year of a revised 10-race Chase format that removed eliminations in favor of pretty much a 10-race mini-season.
“We absolutely could not have done what we did in the Chase without the teamwork that it took,” Larson, who entered as the seventh seed, said in his NBC post-race interview.
“That’s what this championship is, makes it so meaningful, just the teamwork. This one more than any of them took teamwork.”
2. Hamlin, Bell Come Up Short
Denny Hamlin misses the championship again. (Getty Images)
Both Bell and Hamlin knew they would need a miracle to win the title. They both showed speed early and Hamlin won the second stage. Bell finished fourth and Hamlin finished sixth.
Larson ended the year 49 points ahead of Bell and 56 ahead of Hamlin.
“Obviously, disappointed we didn’t win more,” Bell told NBC after his one-win season. “[But] just happy and thrilled and thankful that I’m in position.”
Hamlin said this one was easier to take compared to last year when he dominated the finale but a late four-tire pit stop lost too much track position for him to seal the championship.
“I feel OK,” Hamlin told me and other reporters. ‘Knowing the outcome coming in made it way, way easier. … I was definitely at peace with this well before this weekend.”
3. Brad Keselowski Not Emotional
It’s the end of an era for Keselowski at RFK. (Getty Images)
Brad Keselowski got out of his car after a 28th-place finish and gave fist bumps and hugs to his crew following his final race with RFK Racing, a team he co-owns but a team whose management has opted to release him from driving and eventually sell his interest in the team.
“I haven’t soaked it all in yet,” Keselowski told me. “I wish we could have got a better finish.”
He took a photo with his team and Jack Roush (the R in RFK) before the race.
“He was telling me about an IMSA race he ran here 20 years ago when he started last and won and it’d be nice to do it again,” said Keselowski, who started last Sunday after a wreck in qualifying.
4. Noah Gragson Apologizes To Daniel Suárez
Noah Gragson owned up to a mistake at Miami. (Getty Images)
Noah Gragson apologized to Suárez after contact with him late in the race. Gragson went up to him and patted himself to indicate it was his fault.
“I hit the seam and got loose and was chasing [the car],” Gragson told me after the race. “I didn’t mean to get into Daniel. … I try to race as clean as I can, and that was just a mistake on my part.”
4 ½. What’s Next
Some rest for the teams and drivers, although some anticipated movement of crew chiefs and others.
Among the anticipated movement is Alex Bowman crew chief Blake Harris to crew chief for Shane van Gisbergen, whose crew chief (Stephen Doran) is likely headed to Spire Motorsports to work with Michael McDowell.
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