Wikipedia / NASCAR Championship Weekend
Wikipedia / NASCAR Championship Weekend
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.
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
Year | Race winner | Team | Series champion | Team | Notes |
Kvapil 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. | |||||
Hamilton became the first owner/driver to win a Truck Series Championship. | |||||
Musgrave'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. | |||||
Bodine won Toyota's first NASCAR championship. | |||||
This was Hornaday's third Truck title and his first since 1998. | |||||
Last Craftsman Truck Series champion. | |||||
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. | |||||
Bodine 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. | |||||
Dillon 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. | |||||
Crafton won the Championship by simply starting the race. | |||||
Crafton became the first driver in NCWTS history to win consecutive championships. | |||||
Jones 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.
Year | Race winner | Team | Series champion | Team | Championship Runners-Up | Notes |
Matt Crafton, ThorSport RacingChristopher Bell, Kyle Busch MotorsportsTimothy Peters, Red Horse Racing | Sauter becomes the fourth Truck Series former Rookie of the Year to win the championship. | |||||
Johnny Sauter, GMS Racing Austin Cindric, Brad Keselowski Racing Matt Crafton, ThorSport Racing | ||||||
Johnny Sauter, GMS Racing Justin Haley, GMS Racing Noah Gragson, Kyle Busch Motorsports | ||||||
Stewart Friesen, Halmar Friesen RacingRoss Chastain, Niece MotorsportsBrett Moffitt, GMS Racing | Crafton 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. | |||||
Sheldon Creed | GMS Racing | Brett Moffitt, GMS RacingZane Smith, GMS RacingGrant Enfinger, ThorSport Racing | ||||
Matt Crafton, ThorSport RacingJohn Hunter Nemechek, Kyle Busch MotorsportsZane Smith, GMS Racing | ThorSport Racing wins its fourth Truck Series championship, setting a new team record. | |||||
Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ty Majeski, ThorSport RacingBen Rhodes, ThorSport RacingChandler Smith, Kyle Busch Motorsports | Front Row Motorsports' first championship in NASCAR. Last Camping World Truck Series champion. | |||
Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Corey Heim, Tricon GarageCarson Hocevar, Niece MotorsportsGrant Enfinger, GMS Racing | Eckes' 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. | |||
Ty Majeski | ThorSport Racing | Ty Majeski | ThorSport Racing | Grant Enfinger, CR7 MotorsportsChristian Eckes, McAnally-Hilgemann RacingCorey Heim, Tricon Garage | Majeski wins first championship; ThorSport wins sixth Truck Series championship. | |
Corey Heim | Tricon Garage | Corey Heim | Tricon Garage | Kaden Honeycutt, Halmar Friesen RacingTy Majeski, ThorSport RacingTyler Ankrum, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Tricon Garage wins first ever Truck Series championship. Three-time champion Matt Crafton retires following the race. |
Busch/Nationwide/Xfinity/O'Reilly Auto Parts series
Year | Race winner | Team | Series champion | Team | Notes |
Biffle had clinched the series points championship following the Bashas' Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix. | |||||
Vickers, at the time, was the youngest driver to win the series championship at 20 years old. | |||||
Truex clinched the 2004 series championship following the BI-LO 200 at Darlington. In 2005, he became the first driver to win consecutive series championships since his car owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. accomplished the feat in 1998 and 1999. | |||||
Harvick had clinched the series championship following the Dollar General 300 at Charlotte. He had previously won the series championship in 2001. | |||||
Edwards had clinched the series championship following the O'Reilly Challenge at Texas. Last Busch Series champion. | |||||
First Nationwide Series Champion. | |||||
Busch's championship was the first for Toyota in Nationwide Series. | |||||
Keselowski had clinched the championship after the O'Reilly Challenge at Texas. Dodge's first and only Nationwide Series championship. Last season that Cup Series drivers were allowed to compete full time in multiple series and earn points. | |||||
First season under current NASCAR points system. | |||||
Smith's first win in the Nationwide Series. | |||||
Dillon made history by becoming the first driver to win the championship without winning a race. | |||||
Elliott had clinched the championship following the DAV 200 at Phoenix, making him the first driver to do so under the current points format. He broke Brian Vickers' record for youngest series champion and Austin Dillon's record for youngest ever NASCAR champion by winning title at age 18. Last Nationwide Series champion. | |||||
First Xfinity Series champion. Last season under normal points system; the Xfinity Series adopted a Chase system in 2016. |
Playoff era
Highest finishing driver among eligible drivers for championship wins series championship.
Year | Race winner | Team | Series champion | Team | Championship Runners-Up | Notes |
Elliott Sadler, JR MotorsportsJustin Allgaier, JR MotorsportsErik Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing | Suárez becomes the first driver of Mexican descent to win a NASCAR top three series championship. | |||||
Elliott Sadler, JR MotorsportsJustin Allgaier, JR MotorsportsDaniel Hemric, Richard Childress Racing | ||||||
JR Motorsports | JR Motorsports | Cole Custer, Stewart Haas RacingChristopher Bell, Joe Gibbs RacingDaniel Hemric, Richard Childress Racing | Reddick becomes first driver in Xfinity Series history to win championships in back to back years with two different teams. | |||
Richard Childress Racing | Richard Childress Racing | Justin Allgaier, JR MotorsportsChristopher Bell, Joe Gibbs RacingCole Custer, Stewart Haas Racing | ||||
Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Justin Allgaier, JR MotorsportsJustin Haley, Kaulig RacingChase Briscoe, Stewart–Haas Racing | ||||
Daniel Hemric | Joe Gibbs Racing | Austin Cindric, Team PenskeNoah Gragson, JR MotorsportsA. J. Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing | Hemric's championship race win was also his first career race victory in NASCAR's top three series. | |||
Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Noah Gragson, JR MotorsportsJosh Berry, JR MotorsportsJustin Allgaier, JR Motorsports | The morning following Gibbs' championship victory, his father Coy died. | |||
Stewart–Haas Racing | Cole Custer | Stewart–Haas Racing | Sam Mayer, JR MotorsportsJustin Allgaier, JR MotorsportsJohn Hunter Nemechek, Joe Gibbs Racing | Stewart–Haas Racing's first Xfinity Series championship. | ||
Stewart–Haas Racing | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Austin Hill, Richard Childress RacingA.J. Allmendinger, Kaulig RacingCole Custer, Stewart–Haas Racing | Allgaier's first championship comes on his eighth attempt in playoff era. Stewart–Haas Racing does not win the championship in its final season, they did however earn their final win in NASCAR as Herbst won the race, the team announced its dissolution earlier in the season. | ||
Richard Childress Racing | Richard Childress Racing | Connor Zilisch, JR MotorsportsCarson Kvapil, JR MotorsportsJustin Allgaier, JR Motorsports | Final Xfinity Series champion. Zilisch does not win championship despite recording ten victories during season. |
Cup Series
Year | Race winner | Team | Series champion | Team | Notes | Report |
Stewart's first championship and the final Winston Cup title for Pontiac as they pulled out of NASCAR following the 2003 season. | ||||||
Kenseth clinched the Winston Cup championship at the Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 at Rockingham. Last season under previous points format, last Winston Cup champion. Labonte's last win as a full-time Cup Series driver. | ||||||
Busch won the first Chase for the Nextel Cup. Biffle was the second of two drivers outside the Chase to win a Chase race in 2004. | ||||||
Stewart is the only driver in NASCAR history to win a Cup Series championship under the original points format and the Chase format. | ||||||
Biffle's second win in this race as a non-Chase driver. | ||||||
Johnson was the last Nextel Cup champion in 2007 and the first Sprint Cup champion in 2008. In 2009, he surpassed Cale Yarborough's record for most consecutive championships and tied his teammate, Jeff Gordon, for third-most championships with four. In 2010, his championship made him the third driver to win at least five championships, joining Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt who each recorded seven. | ||||||
Stewart became the first Owner–driver since Alan Kulwicki in 1992 to win a Cup championship. Stewart's third championship. Race concluded with Stewart and Carl Edwards tied in the final standings; Stewart won the championship by virtue of a tiebreaker, as he won five races while Edwards only won once. | ||||||
Penske's first ever NASCAR Cup championship. Dodge's first championship since Richard Petty in 1975; this was also their only one in their return to NASCAR competition as well as their last, as Chrysler decided to pull out after twelve seasons. | ||||||
Third win at Homestead by a non-Chase driver. Johnson's sixth championship. |
Championship Round era
Highest finishing driver among four eligible for championship wins series championship.
Year | Race winner | Team | Series champion | Team | Championship Runners-Up | Notes | Report |
Ryan Newman, Richard Childress RacingDenny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs RacingJoey Logano, Team Penske | Team owner Tony Stewart becomes the second owner-driver after Lee Petty to win championships as both a driver and an owner with Harvick's championship. | ||||||
Kevin Harvick, Stewart–Haas Racing Martin Truex Jr., Furniture Row RacingJeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports | Kyle Busch wins Toyota's first Cup Series championship. Busch only ran 25 races in 2015 after suffering a broken leg in the Xfinity Series race at Daytona in February; NASCAR issued him a waiver to allow him to compete in the Playoffs as long as he was in the top 30 in series points after the fall Richmond race and had won enough events to secure a wild card berth. Jeff Gordon retired from full-time competition following the race after twenty-three seasons. | ||||||
Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing Carl Edwards, Joe Gibbs Racing Joey Logano, Team Penske | Johnson's record-tying seventh and final championship. Edwards retired following the race. | ||||||
Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing Kevin Harvick, Stewart–Haas Racing Brad Keselowski, Team Penske | Martin Truex Jr.'s first Cup Series championship. Furniture Row's only Cup Series championship. | ||||||
Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing Kevin Harvick, Stewart Haas Racing Martin Truex Jr., Furniture Row Racing | All three races saw one of the Championship 4 drivers win both the race and championship. Brett Moffitt in the Truck Series, Tyler Reddick in the Xfinity Series, and Joey Logano in the Cup Series. | ||||||
Joe Gibbs Racing (2) | Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs RacingKevin Harvick, Stewart Haas RacingMartin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing | Kyle Busch becomes the only other active Cup Series driver with more than one Championship. | |||||
Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs RacingBrad Keselowski, Team PenskeJoey Logano, Team Penske | Elliott and his father Bill become the third father-son pairing to win the Cup, joining Lee and Richard Petty and Ned and Dale Jarrett. Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson retires from full-time racing after the event. | ||||
Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs RacingDenny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs RacingChase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports | Larson tied Tony Stewart's record of five victories during the Chase/Playoffs. The victory was his tenth of the season, making him the first driver since Jimmie Johnson in 2007 to record double-digit victories in a single season. | ||||
Joey Logano | Team Penske | Joey Logano | Team Penske (2) | Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs RacingRoss Chastain, Trackhouse RacingChase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports | Logano recorded his fourth win of the season to win the championship. He joined Kyle Busch as only the second active driver with multiple Cup Series championships.Elliott's No. 9 car did not contend for the owner's championship; Hendrick's No. 5 car, driven by Larson, was instead part of the owner's Championship 4. | ||
Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Team Penske | Kyle Larson, Hendrick MotorsportsChristopher Bell, Joe Gibbs RacingWilliam Byron, Hendrick Motorsports | Blaney finishes second in the race, marking the first time since the Championship Round was introduced that the Cup Series champion did not also win the race. Team Penske wins third Cup Series championship with third different driver (Keselowski, Logano). 2014 champion Kevin Harvick retires following the race. | |||
Joey Logano | Team Penske | Joey Logano | Team Penske (3) | Ryan Blaney, Team PenskeJoey Logano, Team PenskeTyler Reddick, 23XI RacingWilliam Byron, Hendrick Motorsports | Team Penske joins Hendrick Motorsports and Junior Johnson & Associates as the only teams to win three consecutive Cup Series championships. First time in Playoff Era that Joe Gibbs Racing does not qualify for Championship Round. 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr. retires following the race. Two-time champion team Stewart–Haas Racing ceases operations after the event. | ||
Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs RacingWilliam Byron, Hendrick MotorsportsDenny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing | Larson finishes third in championship race. He joins Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson as drivers who have won multiple Cup Series championships while driving for Hendrick Motorsports. |
See also
References