{"id":62422,"date":"2026-11-08T18:46:35","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T00:46:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=62422"},"modified":"2026-11-09T09:05:48","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T15:05:48","slug":"ryan-blaney-steals-homestead-win-as-kyle-larson-claims-nascar-cup-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/08\/ryan-blaney-steals-homestead-win-as-kyle-larson-claims-nascar-cup-title\/","title":{"rendered":"Ryan Blaney steals Homestead win as Kyle Larson claims NASCAR Cup title"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 08: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards\/Dutch Boy Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 08, 2026 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Reid Spencer <\/b>| <\/b>NASCAR Wire Service<\/b><\/p>\n

HOMESTEAD, Fla. \u2014 Ryan Blaney stole the consolation prize from Tyler Reddick with two laps left in Sunday\u2019s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but it\u2019s Kyle Larson who will leave South Florida with the championship trophy.<\/p>\n

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HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 08: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards\/Dutch Boy Ford, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 08, 2026 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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 the Reddick\u2019s 23XI Racing Toyota.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 08: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards\/Dutch Boy Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 08, 2026 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI got word that we clinched it, and I started driving like an idiot,\u201d Larson said with a laugh.<\/p>\n

Larson became the 11th driver to win three or more championships in NASCAR\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The championship was the 16th for team owner Rick Hendrick, extending Hendrick Motorsports\u2019 series record.<\/p>\n

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HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 08: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates with his son, Cooper Larson, and daughter, Audrey Larson after wining the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Championship after the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 08, 2026 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI’m just so proud of my team, first and foremost,\u201d said Larson, who finished 49 points ahead of second-place Christopher Bell and 56 in front of third-place Denny Hamlin. \u201cHendrick 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 08: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 08, 2026 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Larson\u2019s third championship was official when pole winner Chase Briscoe\u2019s engine blew on Lap 78, ending the first stage. Larson was running fourth at the time, one position behind Bell, with Hamlin in sixth.<\/p>\n

By scoring seven stage points to Bell\u2019s eight and Hamlin\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve declared it\u2014we\u2019ve got it,\u201d crew chief Cliff Daniels radioed to Larson during the caution. With his third championship\u2014all with Larson\u2014Daniels is tied for fourth all-time among Cup Series crew chiefs.<\/p>\n

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HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 08: The NASCAR Official pace car leads the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 08, 2026 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cLike it\u2019s done\u2014over?\u201d asked Larson, just making sure. \u201cThat was a little anticlimactic, but that\u2019s cool. Good job, guys!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hendrick radioed his delight to the 34-year-old driver from Elk Grove, California.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongratulations,\u201d Hendrick said. \u201cNow you can run the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s 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\u2014the result of contact with the outside wall.<\/p>\n

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HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 08: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Progressive Insurance Toyota, leads the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 08, 2026 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Larson\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Blaney\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 08: Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 08, 2026 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Blaney restarted fourth, passed Bell on lap 263, slipped past Byron a lap later and made the winning pass of Reddick on Lap 266 of 267.<\/p>\n

\u201cPretty cool night battling back from coming down pit road,\u201d said Blaney, who avenged a haunting last-lap loss to Reddick at 1.5-mile Homestead in 2024. \u201cCar was really, really fast. I appreciate everybody for sticking with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 08: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Progressive Insurance Toyota, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 08, 2026 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The victory elevated Blaney three positions to fourth in the final standings, 94 points behind Larson.<\/p>\n

Byron, who was leading by just over one second when Noah Gragson spun Daniel Suarez in Turn 1 to cause the third and final caution with 14 laps left, finished third in front of Bell and Bubba Wallace.<\/p>\n

Hamlin came home sixth, followed by Austin Cindric, Suarez, Gragson, and Michael McDowell.<\/p>\n

Bell and Hamlin were the only two drivers still mathematically alive for the title entering Sunday\u2019s race, but winning would have required a perfect night from one of the two JGR drivers along with calamity for Larson.<\/p>\n

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HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 08: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Progressive Insurance Toyota, and Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Chumba Casino Toyota, lead the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 08, 2026 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Neither happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year consistently we were in the mix,\u201d Bell said. \u201cWe 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething to build on. Hopefully, we can execute a little bit better and get that grand prize at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

A four-time winner this season, Hamlin echoed Bell\u2019s sentiments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a great year,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Notes: Hamlin led a race-high 87 laps, followed by Reddick with 53, Bell with 46 and Byron with 38. Blaney led seven laps\u2026 J.J. Yeley finished 36th in his 400th Cup start, one spot ahead of Casey Mears, who achieved his personal goal of 500 Cup starts\u2026 Justin Haley ran 21st, subbing for suspended Spire Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar.<\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series Race – NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race<\/b><\/p>\n

Homestead-Miami Speedway<\/b><\/p>\n

Homestead, Florida<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunday, November 8, 2026<\/b><\/p>\n

                1. (9)  Ryan Blaney (C), Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

                2. (3)  Tyler Reddick (C), Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

                3. (8)  William Byron (C), Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                4. (6)  Christopher Bell (C), Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

                5. (18)  Bubba Wallace (C), Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

                6. (2)  Denny Hamlin (C), Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

                7. (5)  Austin Cindric (C), Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

                8. (10)  Daniel Suarez (C), Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                9. (33)  Noah Gragson, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

                10. (12)  Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                11. (20)  Ty Gibbs (C), Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

                12. (4)  Kyle Larson (C), Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                13. (14)  Josh Berry, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

                14. (27)  Zane Smith, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

                15. (11)  Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                16. (13)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                17. (19)  Joey Logano (C), Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

                18. (25)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

                19. (23)  Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                20. (24)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

                21. (26)  Justin Haley(i) (C), Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                22. (7)  Chase Elliott (C), Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                23. (29)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                24. (17)  Chris Buescher (C), Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

                25. (32)  Ryan Preece (C), Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

                26. (21)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 266.<\/p>\n

                27. (15)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 266.<\/p>\n

                28. (40)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 266.<\/p>\n

                29. (28)  Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 266.<\/p>\n

                30. (36)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 266.<\/p>\n

                31. (31)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 266.<\/p>\n

                32. (22)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Chevrolet, 266.<\/p>\n

                33. (30)  Riley Herbst, Toyota, 265.<\/p>\n

                34. (34)  Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 265.<\/p>\n

                35. (35)  Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 264.<\/p>\n

                36. (38)  JJ Yeley(i), Chevrolet, 262.<\/p>\n

                37. (37)  Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 261.<\/p>\n

                38. (39)  Chad Finchum(i), Ford, 257.<\/p>\n

                39. (1)  Chase Briscoe (C), Toyota, Engine, 77.<\/p>\n

                40. (16)  Corey Heim(i), Toyota, Electrical, 57.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  133.5 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 0 Mins, 0 Secs. Margin of Victory:  .314 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  3 for 23 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  18 among 8 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   C. Briscoe (C) 1-33;T. Reddick (C) 34-39;B. Wallace (C) 40;*. Heim(i) 41-42;C. Bell (C) 43-52;T. Reddick (C) 53-88;C. Bell (C) 89-90;T. Reddick (C) 91-92;C. Bell (C) 93-126;T. Reddick (C) 127;D. Hamlin (C) 128-214;R. Blaney (C) 215;T. Reddick (C) 216-217;R. Blaney (C) 218-221;W. Byron (C) 222-254;T. Reddick (C) 255;W. Byron (C) 256-260;T. Reddick (C) 261-265;R. Blaney (C) 266-267.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Denny Hamlin (C) 1 time for 87 laps; Tyler Reddick (C) 7 times for 53 laps; Christopher Bell (C) 3 times for 46 laps; William Byron (C) 2 times for 38 laps; Chase Briscoe (C) 1 time for 33 laps; Ryan Blaney (C) 3 times for 7 laps; * Corey Heim(i) 1 time for 2 laps; Bubba Wallace (C) 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 45,12,20,5,2,11,23,7,24,9<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 11,20,45,2,12,24,48,9,38,7<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service HOMESTEAD, Fla. \u2014 Ryan Blaney stole the consolation prize from Tyler Reddick with two laps left in Sunday\u2019s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but it\u2019s Kyle Larson who will leave South Florida with the championship trophy. Blaney passed Reddick on Lap 266 of 267 in the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":62430,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1213,11],"tags":[527,16,435],"class_list":["post-62422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-editors-picks","category-nascar","tag-homestead-miami-speedway","tag-nascar","tag-ryan-blaney"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-geO","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/GettyImages-2304195426-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1739&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62422"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62442,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62422\/revisions\/62442"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}