Kyle Larson Wins Third NASCAR Cup Title as Ryan Blaney Takes Homestead Finale

Kyle Larson clinched his third NASCAR Cup Series championship and second in a row during the first stage of the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, becoming the first back-to-back champion since Jimmie Johnson in 2010. Ryan Blaney won the race with a pass of Tyler Reddick on the next-to-last lap.

Nov 09, 2026 - 15:19

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Kyle Larson won his third NASCAR Cup Series championship on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, clinching the title before the first third of the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway was complete. The driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet became the first Cup Series driver to win back-to-back titles since Jimmie Johnson claimed five straight from 2006 through 2010, NASCAR Wire Service reported.

Ryan Blaney won the race itself, passing Tyler Reddick on Lap 266 of 267 and finishing 0.314 seconds ahead of him. Larson, who had several brushes with the outside wall after the title was secured, finished 12th.

How the title was clinched

Larson entered the finale needing nine points to guarantee the championship regardless of his rivals' results, according to NASCAR.com. He led Christopher Bell by 67 points and Denny Hamlin by 70 heading into Homestead, with both Joe Gibbs Racing drivers the only others still mathematically in contention.

The first stage ended early on Lap 78 when the engine in pole winner Chase Briscoe's No. 19 Toyota failed, bringing out a caution. Reddick won the stage, Blaney was second and Bell third, with Larson fourth and Hamlin sixth. Larson's seven stage points, against eight for Bell and five for Hamlin, put the title mathematically out of reach, NASCAR reported. Motorsport.com noted that Larson had been battling Bell for third place when the stage-ending caution came out.

"They've declared it – we've got it," crew chief Cliff Daniels told Larson over the team radio during the caution, according to the NASCAR Wire Service. Larson replied, "Like it's done – over? That was a little anticlimactic, but that's cool. Good job, guys!"

Later in the race, Larson pitted with a cut right-rear tire after contact with the outside wall and finished the second stage in 17th on worn tires. "I got word that we clinched it, and I started driving like an idiot," Larson said afterward.

Blaney's last-lap win

Blaney's path to the win began from the back of the field. During the first stage break he returned to pit road to fix a loose wheel, then climbed to fifth by the end of Stage 2, NASCAR reported. A caution for Noah Gragson's spin of Daniel Suárez set up a restart with eight laps left. Blaney restarted fourth, passed Bell on Lap 263 and William Byron a lap later, then took the lead from Reddick on Lap 266.

The victory was Blaney's fourth of the season and the 21st of his Cup career, Sports Illustrated reported. Reddick had beaten Blaney at Homestead in 2024 with a last-lap pass. "Every time I come here, that race haunts me," Blaney said, according to NBC Sports. "I kind of gave that one away."

Byron finished third, followed by Bell, Bubba Wallace and Hamlin. NBC Sports reported that it was the second consecutive year Blaney won the finale while Larson won the championship, and that Reddick finished the season with a Cup-leading six victories.

Final standings and reaction

Larson finished the season 49 points ahead of Bell and 56 ahead of Hamlin, according to the final Chase standings published by NBC Sports. Blaney's win moved him up three positions to fourth, 94 points behind Larson.

"I'm just so proud of my team, first and foremost," Larson said. "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."

Bell said his team had been in contention for race wins all season. "Obviously disappointed we didn't win more," he said. Hamlin, a four-time winner in 2026, congratulated the No. 5 team. "They performed absolutely incredible during these last 10 races," he said.

A turnaround in the Chase

Larson did not win a race during the 26-race regular season and entered the 10-race Chase as the seventh seed, 55 points behind top seed Hamlin, NASCAR.com reported. The Chase format returned in 2026 with a single points reset after the regular season, a 16-driver field and no eliminations.

Larson ended a 51-race winless streak at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in the second Chase race, then added wins at Kansas Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. At Kansas he swept both stages and led 235 laps. A 34th-place finish at Phoenix cut his lead to five points, but his win at Talladega, his first on a superspeedway, raised it to 73. He then finished ninth at Martinsville Speedway, the last race before the finale.

A place in the record book

Larson, 34, is the 11th driver to win at least three Cup Series titles. He joins Lee Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Tony Stewart and Joey Logano as three-time champions, behind seven-time champions Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Johnson and four-time champion Jeff Gordon. His previous titles came in 2021 and 2025.

The championship is the 16th Cup title for team owner Rick Hendrick, extending the series record. According to Hendrick Motorsports, Larson is the third driver to win three or more championships with the organization, after Johnson and Gordon, and the third-youngest three-time champion behind them. The team said Daniels became the eighth crew chief to win three or more Cup titles, all of them with Larson.