Since 2002, NASCAR's top three racing series have closed their season with a weekend designed to crown each series' champion, officially known as NASCAR Championship Weekend. The weekend has taken place at Homestead–Miami Speedway, which hosted it from 2002 through 2019 and will again beginning in 2026, and at Phoenix Raceway, which held it from 2020 through 2025. https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2025/05/06/homestead-miami-returns-as-host-of-nascar-championship-weekend-in-2026/
History
NASCAR decided after the 2001 season to move the final Truck and Cup Series races of the season to the same track so all three series could conclude in the same place in the same weekend. Prior to this, each series ended its season at a different track. The Cup Series had run its final scheduled race at Atlanta Motor Speedway since 1987 (save for a 9/11 related postponement of the fall race at New Hampshire). The Truck Series had always ended its season in the western United States, with Phoenix hosting that event in 2001. The then-Busch Series' finale helped open what was then referred to as the Homestead Motorsports Complex in Florida in 1995, and NASCAR had run its final race there ever since. Ford Motor Company was signed on to be the title sponsor for the three races, and the weekend was referred to as Ford Championship Weekend. This remained in effect until 2019.
The races are run over three consecutive days, with the Truck Series running on Friday, the second tier series race on Saturday, and the Cup Series on Sunday. When the races were initially run at Homestead, the Truck Series ran for 200 miles, the Busch/Nationwide/Xfinity Series race for 300 miles, and the Cup race for 400 miles. At Phoenix, those distances were set at 150 miles, 200 miles, and 312 miles/500 kilometers.
After each race, an official ceremony is conducted in victory lane where the final points leader in each series is given his championship trophy.
In 2016, NASCAR adopted a championship format that is similar in function to one used by the National Hot Rod Association. Over the course of the final races of the season, qualifying drivers are eliminated from championship contention if they are not above a certain threshold following a specific event. Once the field for each series is reduced to four contenders, the Championship Weekend races are then run with the highest finishing driver among the four in each series being crowned champion.
Pre-playoff history Prior to 2004, when the first Chase for the Nextel Cup was conducted, all three series' championships were decided over the course of the entire season. The driver that was able to accumulate the most points over the course of the season was declared champion. However, the old system had the chance that one driver would be so dominant over the course of the season that he would clinch the championship before the final race; this was especially the case during the era of Cup Series drivers running the full season in the second national series in addition to the entire Cup schedule, as the championship was clinched six times prior to the finale before the now-O'Reilly Auto Parts Series adopted its own playoff format.
In the pre-playoff era, there were a total of four occasions where a series points leader entering the race did not end it as champion. The first two occurrences happened during the Ford 200 Truck Series race. In 2003, Brendan Gaughan crashed out of the event late, finished 29th, and fell from first to fourth in the standings while Travis Kvapil won the championship. In 2007, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Mike Skinner were separated by 29 points going into the race, but points leader Skinner had a problem with one of his truck's tires and axles and finished 35th. Hornaday finished seventh and won the title by 54 points. In 2010, 46 points separated first place Denny Hamlin, second place Jimmie Johnson, and third place Kevin Harvick in the Sprint Cup standings. At various times in the Ford 400 each driver held the points lead, but in the end Johnson clinched his fifth consecutive Sprint Cup championship by finishing second in the race. Hamlin fell to second place, 39 points behind Johnson, with his 14th-place finish. Harvick finished 3rd in both the race and the points, 41 points behind Johnson. In 2011, Tony Stewart entered the race three points behind Carl Edwards for the Sprint Cup lead. Stewart won the Ford 400 with Edwards finishing second and the points race ended in a tie. However, due to Stewart holding more victories than Edwards over the course of the season (Stewart's win gave him five while Edwards only won once), Stewart won the tiebreaker and became series champion for a third time.
Television and radio coverage
Current The Truck Series race is carried by Fox Sports, which has the exclusive rights to air Truck Series events. The race is aired on Fox Sports 1, which has aired the event since 2013; under its previous branding, Speed Channel, it aired the race from 2003 until 2012.
The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race is carried by CW Sports, which has been the exclusive home to the second tier series since 2025.
NBC Sports, under the terms of the current broadcasting contract, has had the broadcast rights to the Cup Series race since 2015.
Previous When Championship Weekend began, the Truck Series race was carried by ESPN2 as ESPN retained the rights to the series after losing its NASCAR broadcast rights following the 2000 season. Speed Channel took over all rights beginning in 2003; the network became Fox Sports 1 in August 2013.
When Homestead first received a Cup Series race in 1999, NBC struck a deal to televise both it and the pre-existing race in the then-Busch Series, which had launched in 1995 and was previously covered by CBS and ESPN. When the 2001 television contract took effect, NBC kept the rights to the Cup Series event and shared the second-tier race with its then-cable partner, TNT.
As part of the 2007 television contract, ESPN took over exclusive coverage of what was still the Busch Series and thus aired every race in that series over the course of the season on either ESPN, ESPN2, or ABC. ESPN also had rights to the Cup Series race during this time, airing many of the same races that NBC and TNT had been airing during the previous contract (with the exception of the races TNT decided to keep for itself during the summer months).
Race results As noted above, final races were run at Homestead–Miami Speedway from 2002 until 2019 and at Phoenix Raceway from 2020.
Truck Series YearRace winnerTeamSeries championTeamNotes2002Ron Hornaday Jr.Xpress MotorsportsMike Bliss Xpress Motorsports2003Bobby HamiltonBobby Hamilton RacingTravis KvapilKvapil won the championship after NASCAR reviewed and upheld a black flag given to Ted Musgrave for attempting to pass Kvapil under caution. Had the penalty been reversed, Musgrave would have been granted a sixth-place finish and won the championship over seventh-place Kvapil. He is also the second Truck Series former Rookie of the Year to win the Championship.2004Kasey KahneUltra MotorsportsBobby HamiltonBobby Hamilton RacingHamilton became the first owner/driver to win a Truck Series Championship.2005Todd BodineGermain RacingTed MusgraveUltra MotorsportsMusgrave's championship was Dodge's last in the Truck Series; the company pulled out of most NASCAR competition following the 2012 season, by which time the Ram Trucks brand had replaced Dodge's on its line of trucks.2006Mark MartinRoush RacingTodd BodineGermain RacingBodine won Toyota's first NASCAR championship.2007Johnny Benson Jr.Bill Davis RacingRon Hornaday Jr.Kevin Harvick, Inc.This was Hornaday's third Truck title and his first since 1998.2008Todd BodineGermain RacingJohnny Benson Jr.Bill Davis RacingLast Craftsman Truck Series champion.2009Kevin HarvickKevin Harvick, Inc.Ron Hornaday Jr.Kevin Harvick, Inc.Hornaday had clinched the series points title following the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix. Hornaday's fourth and final championship. First Camping World Truck Series champion.2010Kyle BuschKyle Busch MotorsportsTodd BodineGermain RacingBodine had clinched the series points title following the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix; this was his second and final championship. Busch won the series owner's championship for his team with his victory.2011Johnny SauterThorSport RacingAustin DillonRichard Childress RacingDillon became the youngest NASCAR top series champion ever. First season under current NASCAR points system. He is also the third Truck Series former Rookie of the Year to win the championship.2012Cale GaleEddie Sharp RacingJames BuescherTurner Motorsports2013Kyle Busch Kyle Busch Motorsports Matt Crafton ThorSport RacingCrafton won the Championship by simply starting the race.2014Bubba WallaceCrafton became the first driver in NCWTS history to win consecutive championships.2015Matt CraftonThorSport RacingErik JonesKyle Busch MotorsportsJones became the youngest champion in NCWTS history. Last season under normal points format, as the NCWTS adopted a Chase format in 2016. He is also the first Rookie champion in the history of the series therefore also winning the Rookie of the Year that season as well.
Playoff era Highest finishing driver among four eligible for championship wins series championship.
YearRace winnerTeamSeries championTeamChampionship Runners-UpNotes2016William ByronKyle Busch MotorsportsJohnny SauterGMS RacingMatt Crafton, ThorSport RacingChristopher Bell, Kyle Busch MotorsportsTimothy Peters, Red Horse RacingSauter becomes the fourth Truck Series former Rookie of the Year to win the championship.2017Chase BriscoeBrad Keselowski RacingChristopher BellKyle Busch MotorsportsJohnny Sauter, GMS Racing Austin Cindric, Brad Keselowski Racing Matt Crafton, ThorSport Racing2018Brett MoffittHattori Racing EnterprisesBrett MoffittHattori Racing EnterprisesJohnny Sauter, GMS Racing Justin Haley, GMS Racing Noah Gragson, Kyle Busch Motorsports2019Austin HillMatt CraftonThorSport Racing Stewart Friesen, Halmar Friesen RacingRoss Chastain, Niece MotorsportsBrett Moffitt, GMS RacingCrafton was the first Truck Series Champion to win the Championship without winning a race in the season he won the Championship in. Championship is Crafton's third as a driver. ThorSport Racing ties Hendrick Motorsports for most championships as a Truck Series team with three.2020Sheldon CreedGMS RacingSheldon CreedGMS RacingBrett Moffitt, GMS RacingZane Smith, GMS RacingGrant Enfinger, ThorSport Racing2021Chandler SmithKyle Busch MotorsportsBen RhodesThorSport RacingMatt Crafton, ThorSport RacingJohn Hunter Nemechek, Kyle Busch MotorsportsZane Smith, GMS RacingThorSport Racing wins its fourth Truck Series championship, setting a new team record. 2022Zane SmithFront Row MotorsportsZane SmithFront Row Motorsports Ty Majeski, ThorSport RacingBen Rhodes, ThorSport RacingChandler Smith, Kyle Busch MotorsportsFront Row Motorsports' first championship in NASCAR. Last Camping World Truck Series champion. 2023 Christian EckesMcAnally–Hilgemann RacingBen Rhodes ThorSport RacingCorey Heim, Tricon GarageCarson Hocevar, Niece MotorsportsGrant Enfinger, GMS RacingEckes' fourth win of the season. Rhodes' second championship, and fifth overall for ThorSport Racing. First champion crowned under return of Craftsman sponsorship to the Truck Series. 2024Ty MajeskiThorSport RacingTy MajeskiThorSport RacingGrant Enfinger, CR7 MotorsportsChristian Eckes, McAnally–Hilgemann RacingCorey Heim, Tricon GarageMajeski wins first championship; ThorSport wins sixth Truck Series championship. 2025Corey HeimTricon GarageCorey HeimTricon GarageKaden Honeycutt, Halmar Friesen RacingTy Majeski, ThorSport RacingTyler Ankrum, McAnally–Hilgemann RacingTricon Garage wins first ever Truck Series championship. Three-time champion Matt Crafton retires following the race.
Busch/Nationwide/Xfinity/O'Reilly Auto Parts series