HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Ryan Blaney stole the consolation prize from Tyler Reddick with two laps left in Sunday‘s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but it‘s Kyle Larson who will leave South Florida with the championship trophy.
Blaney passed Reddick on Lap 266 of 267 in the final race of the reconstituted NASCAR Cup Series Chase presented by Mobil 1 and powered his No. 12 Team Penske Ford across the finish line 0.314 seconds ahead of Reddick‘s 23XI Racing Toyota.
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Long before Blaney secured his fourth victory of the season and 21st of his career, Larson had clinched his second straight championship and third overall with a fourth-place finish in the first stage.
After multiple brushes with the outside wall, Larson eventually rolled home in 12th in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, becoming the first Cup Series driver to win back-to-back titles since Hendrick legend Jimmie Johnson claimed five straight from 2006 through 2010.
“I got word that we clinched it, and I started driving like an idiot,” Larson said with a laugh.
Larson became the 11th driver to win three or more championships in NASCAR‘s top division. As broadcaster Jeff Burton pointed out earlier in the weekend, more humans have walked on the moon (12) than have won three Cup titles.
Larson joined an elite group of three-time champions that includes NASCAR Hall of Famers Lee Petty, David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough, Tony Stewart and current Team Penske driver Joey Logano.
SHOP: Champion’s gear | Winner’s gear
The championship was the 16th for team owner Rick Hendrick, extending Hendrick Motorsports’ series record.
“I’m just so proud of my team, first and foremost,” said Larson, who finished 49 points ahead of second-place Christopher Bell and 56 in front of third-place Denny Hamlin. “Hendrick Motorsports, this was statistically probably one of our worst years. To still come away with the championship shows how resilient everybody at the race shop is, everybody on my 5 team, all my teammates, 24 (William Byron), the 9 (Chase Elliott), the 48 (Alex Bowman). GM (General Motors), too, Chevrolet, all the key partners there.
“We absolutely could not have done what we did in the Chase without the teamwork that it took. That’s what this championship is, makes it so meaningful, just the teamwork. This one, more than any of them, took teamwork.”
Larson‘s third championship was official when pole winner Chase Briscoe’s engine blew on Lap 78, ending the first stage. Larson was running fourth at the time, one position behind Bell, with Hamlin in sixth.
By scoring seven stage points to Bell‘s eight and Hamlin‘s five, Larson put the title mathematically out of the reach of his Joe Gibbs Racing pursuers. Hamlin and Bell were left to battle for second place in the final standings.
“They‘ve declared it — we‘ve got it,” crew chief Cliff Daniels radioed to Larson during the caution. With his third championship — all with Larson — Daniels is tied for fourth all-time among Cup Series crew chiefs.
“Like it‘s done — over?” asked Larson, just making sure. “That was a little anticlimactic, but that‘s cool. Good job, guys!”
WATCH: The moment that Larson clinched | NASCAR video highlights
Hendrick radioed his delight to the 34-year-old driver from Elk Grove, California.
“Congratulations,” Hendrick said. “Now you can run the wall.”
That‘s exactly what Larson did, but the freedom came with a price. On Lap 119, Larson steered the No. 5 Camaro to pit road with a cut right rear tire — the result of contact with the outside wall.
Larson‘s trip to the pits started a green-flag cycle, with Bell following from the race lead eight laps later and Reddick right behind him. But it was Hamlin, who pitted three laps earlier than Bell, who grabbed the lead and held on to win the second stage, as Larson faded to 17th on well-worn rubber.
Blaney‘s journey to the checkered flag was convoluted, to say the least. During the first stage break, he returned to pit road to remedy a loose wheel and restarted at the back of the field. By the end of Stage 2, he had climbed to fifth in the running order.
In the final stage, Blaney ran long and pitted on Lap 220 and was running down Byron and Reddick from five seconds back when a caution bunched the field and set up a restart with eight laps left.
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Blaney restarted fourth, passed Bell on Lap 263, slipped past Byron a lap later and made the winning pass on Reddick at Lap 266 of 267.
“Pretty cool night battling back from coming down pit road,” said Blaney, who avenged a haunting last-lap loss to Reddick at 1.5-mile Homestead in 2024. “Car was really, really fast. I appreciate everybody for sticking with it.
“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.”
The victory elevated Blaney three positions to fourth in the final standings, 94 points behind Larson.
Byron, who was leading by just over one second when Noah Gragson spun Daniel Suárez in Turn 1 to cause the third and final caution with 14 laps left, finished third in front of Bell and Bubba Wallace.
Hamlin came home sixth, followed by Austin Cindric, Suárez, Gragson, and Michael McDowell.
Bell and Hamlin were the only other two drivers still mathematically alive for the title entering Sunday‘s race, but winning would have required a perfect night from one of the two JGR drivers along with calamity for Larson.
Neither happened.
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“This year consistently we were in the mix,” Bell said. “We were in there for contention of race wins. Obviously disappointed we didn’t win more. Yeah, just happy and thrilled and thankful that I’m in position.
“Something to build on. Hopefully, we can execute a little bit better and get that grand prize at the end.”
A four-time winner this season, Hamlin echoed Bell‘s sentiments.
“We had a great year,” he said. “Every way you can measure the year, it’s been really, really good. Congrats to the 5 team. They deserve everything, the spoils of victory. They performed absolutely incredible during these last 10 races.
“We are extremely happy with the 36 races that we put together. It’s really tough to do in this sport. Certainly felt good to be competitive from the first race to the last.”
Stage 2 recap: Hamlin takes second frame
Denny Hamlin won Stage 2 of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Christopher Bell finished second, followed by Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney. William Byron, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, Zane Smith and Daniel Suárez completed the top 10.
Reddick fired back into the lead on the Stage 2 restart, touching fenders with Bell to briefly pull away. Three laps later on Lap 94, Bell crossed Reddick over, clearing the No. 45 23XI Toyota for the lead in Turn 2.
Newly minted three-time champion Kyle Larson pitted with a flat right-rear on Lap 118, surrendering his fourth-place position after contacting the wall. That pit stop came toward the beginning of the expected pit cycle, and Chase Elliott pitted for his Stage 2 service moments later.
MORE: Stage 2 results | Watch Hamlin clinch Stage 2 dub
Hamlin pitted on Lap 125, two circuits before leaders Bell and Reddick pitted on Lap 127 — just moments after Reddick washed up the track and nearly contacted the wall while battling for the lead. Once those two pitted, Hamlin cycled to the lead for his first advantage of the afternoon.
With a tire disadvantage for the second stint of the frame, Larson faded well outside of the top 10 by the green-white checkered flag, finishing 17th.
The stage was incident-free.
Stage 1 recap: Reddick wins opening frame, Larson clinches title
Tyler Reddick won Stage 1 of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway as Kyle Larson’s fourth-place finish clinched the 2026 championship.
Larson earned seven points in the frame, enough to clinch after Christopher Bell finished third and Denny Hamlin finished sixth in Stage 1. Ryan Blaney finished second and Austin Cindric finished fifth, with Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suárez, William Byron and Chase Elliott taking positions seventh through 10th.
Polesitter Chase Briscoe fired out to the lead at the green flag, leading the first 34 laps until pitting for four tires and fuel. The No. 19 team had a 16-plus second pit stop after a hangup on the left side, forcing him out of the top spot once the cycle completed. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Hamlin and Bell pitted one lap later, prompting many leaders to make their first stop of the day.
Reddick and Larson pitted together on Lap 40, exactly halfway through the opening frame. They pitted later in the cycle, losing time on old tires in the short term for an advantage later in the run.
On Lap 43, Bell cycled to the lead for his first advantage of the afternoon with Briscoe in fifth after the pit slipup.
MORE: Full Stage 1 results | Watch Stage 1’s conclusion
Eleven laps later, Reddick powered his No. 45 23XI Toyota to the lead for the first time, just moments before teammate Corey Heim suffered an issue. Heim reported no power in his No. 67 Toyota after running 14th, rolling down pit road for his team to analyze the problem.
With three laps left in the stage, Briscoe’s engine expired from seventh, ending Stage 1 prematurely.
Contributing: Staff report