NASCAR Cup Series: Blaney wins, Larson clinches third Cup title in Homestead

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Kyle Larson became a three-time Cup champion at Homestead-Miami Speedway, while Ryan Blaney concluded the 2026 season with another victory.

As it unfolded

Chase Briscoe started on pole, with Denny Hamlin to his outside. Points leader Kyle Larson started fourth, with rival championship contender Christopher Bell in sixth. Briscoe shot to the front as Hamlin, Larson and Reddick fanned out three wide behind on the first lap. Bell settled into second through the early stages, with Reddick third. Hamlin, Larson and Austin Cindric battled within the top five.

Green flag pit stops started on Lap 35. Briscoe led the charge but mistakes during his stop cost him track position. Cindric, Hamlin and Bell came for service next. Reddick stayed out in first place until Lap 40, bringing Larson with him. When the cycle ended, Bell emerged with the lead. Hamlin was in second before but was overtaken by Reddick later.

Reddick took the lead on Lap 53. Ryan Blaney made progress through the field, passing Hamlin for third and advancing to second. After a battle with Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson surged ahead inside the final 10 laps of the stage and launched an attack on Bell.

Polesitter Chase Briscoe's engine expired with three laps to go in Stage 1, bringing it to a close under caution. Reddick took the stage victory. Having earned enough stage points with his fourth place result, Kyle Larson locked up the championship.

Stage 1 Results:

1. No. 45 - Tyler Reddick (23XI Racing)

2. No. 12 - Ryan Blaney (Team Penske)

3. No. 20 - Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing)

4. No. 5 - Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports)

5. No. 2 - Austin Cindric (Team Penske)

6. No. 11 - Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing)

7. No. 23 - Bubba Wallace (23XI Racing)

8. No. 7 - Daniel Suárez (Spire Motorsports

9. No. 24 - William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports)

10. No. 9 - Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports)

Credit: Patrick Vallely via NASCAR Digital Media

Reddick and Bell led the restart. After swapping the top spot for multiple laps, Bell moved ahead and put a gap between him and the field.

Larson made slight contact with the wall on Lap 118 and came to pit road to address the issue. More cars pitted in the subsequent laps, such as Cindric, Elliott and Logano.

The leaders headed to the pits on Lap 127, handing the lead to Hamlin. Bell and Reddick maintained their positions in the top three for most of the stage. Hamlin won Stage 2.

Stage 2 Results:

1. No. 11 - Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing)

2. No. 20 - Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing)

3. No. 45 - Tyler Reddick (23XI Racing)

4. No. 2 - Austin Cindric (Team Penske)

5. No. 12 - Ryan Blaney (Team Penske)

6. No. 24 - William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports)

7. No. 48 - Alex Bowman (Hendrick Motorsports)

8. No. 9 - Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports)

9. No. 38 - Zane Smith (Front Row Motorsports)

10. No. 7 - Daniel Suárez (Spire Motorsports)

Credit: Getty Images via NASCAR

Hamlin and Reddick were on the front row as Stage 3 began. Hamlin had a good launch while the outside lane struggled. Blaney, Byron and Suárez all swept by Reddick as they chased Hamlin. Reddick recovered within a few laps and worked his way up to third. Blaney closed the gap on Hamlin, but Hamlin continued to respond, launching countermoves to keep the position.

Bell headed to the pits on Lap 212, kicking off another pit stop cycle. Reddick passed both Blaney and Hamlin on Lap 216 as they entered Turn 1. He and Hamlin went to the pits on Lap 218, giving Blaney the lead until he also pitted three laps later.

Byron was the leader as the race entered its final 30 laps. Reddick and Hamlin trailed a few seconds behind.

The second caution for incident came out with 15 laps left when Daniel Suárez spun after contact from Noah Gragson. Byron, Reddick, Hamlin, Blaney and others took the opportunity to pit. Ty Gibbs, who had been running fifth, suffered a mishap during his stop that set him back numerous positions.

Byron and Hamlin led the restart with eight laps to go. It was a fierce fight between Reddick, Hamlin, Bell and Blaney. Reddick snagged the lead and capitalised on the action behind him, pulling away for a few laps. Hamlin scraped the wall, dropping him out of contention. Every lane was being used by the frontrunners in an attempt to outrun their competitors, but ultimately it was Ryan Blaney who came out on top. He swept around Reddick's outside in Turn 4 coming to the white flag and held on to clinch his fourth victory of 2026, bringing the season to a close.

Kyle Larson won the championship. Bell finished runner-up, 49 points behind. Hamlin was third, 56 points back. Blaney and Reddick rounded out the top five in the standings.

Provisional Results:

1. No. 12 - Ryan Blaney (Team Penske)

2. No. 45 - Tyler Reddick (23XI Racing)

3. No. 24 - William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports)

4. No. 20 - Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing)

5. No. 23 - Bubba Wallace (23XI Racing)

6. No. 11 - Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing)

7. No. 2 - Austin Cindric (Team Penske)

8. No. 7 - Daniel Suárez (Spire Motorsports)

9. No. 4 - Noah Gragson (Front Row Motorsports)

10. No. 71 - Michael McDowell (Spire Motorsports)

11. No. 54 - Ty Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing)

12. No. 5 - Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports)

13. No. 21 - Josh Berry (Wood Brothers Racing)

14. No. 38 - Zane Smith (Front Row Motorsports)

15. No. 33 - Austin Hill (Richard Childress Racing)

16. No. 48 - Alex Bowman (Hendrick Motorsports)

17. No. 22 - Joey Logano (Team Penske)

18. No. 34 - Todd Gilliland (Front Row Motorsports)

19. No. 88 - Connor Zilisch (Trackhouse Racing)

20. No. 43 - Erik Jones (Legacy Motor Club)

21. No. 77 - Justin Haley (Spire Motorsports)

22. No. 9 - Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports)

23. No. 16 - A.J. Allmendinger (Kaulig Racing)

24. No. 17 - Chris Buescher (RFK Racing)

25. No. 60 - Ryan Preece (RFK Racing)

26. No. 3 - Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing) [+1 Lap]

27. No. 1 - Ross Chastain (Trackhouse Racing) [+1 Lap]

28. No. 6 - Brad Keselowski (RFK Racing) [+1 Lap]

29. No. 41 - Cole Custer (Haas Factory Team) [+1 Lap]

30. No. 42 - John Hunter Nemechek (Legacy Motor Club) [+1 Lap]

31. No. 10 - Ty Dillon (Kaulig Racing) [+1 Lap]

32. No. 47 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Hyak Motorsports) [+1 Lap]

33. No. 35 - Riley Herbst (23XI Racing) [+2 Laps]

34. No. 97 - Shane Van Gisbergen (Trackhouse Racing) [+2 Laps]

35. No. 51 - Cody Ware (Rick Ware Racing) [+3 Laps]

36. No. 44 - J.J. Yeley (NY Racing) [+5 Laps]

37. No. 62 - Casey Mears (Beard Motorsports) [+6 Laps]

38. No. 66 - Chad Finchum (Garage 66) [+10 Laps]

39. No. 19 - Chase Briscoe [DNF]

40. No. 67 - Corey Heim [DNF]