"South Florida's championship track: a 1.5-mile oval ringed by a thousand palm trees, with variable banking, two tunnels below sea level, and a bass lake deep enough to sink a six-story building. The 2026 O'Reilly Chase, and the championship itself, end here."
Key Takeaways
- 1.5-mile asphalt oval in Homestead, Florida, south of Miami, with 18-to-20-degree variable banking in the turns and 3-degree straightaways, on a 600-acre property.
- Ground broke August 24, 1993; the speedway was dedicated November 3, 1995, and the first race, the Jiffy Lube Miami 300, ran two days later. The first Cup race followed in November 1999, won by Tony Stewart.
- The championship track: Homestead hosted NASCAR's title-deciding finales for two decades, crowning every Cup champion from 2002 through 2019, and Championship Weekend returns here November 6-8, 2026.
- Lights since 2005 let the finales run into the South Florida night; the facility seats 55,000, with a five-level tower, a 2.21-mile road course, and four lakes dug to build the banking.
- The 2026 O'Reilly Chase ends here November 7: Race 33 is the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Championship race at 5:00 p.m., between the Truck Series title race Friday night and the Cup Series Championship on Sunday, November 8.
Location: Homestead, Florida Track Type: Asphalt oval Length: 1.5 miles Banking: 18 to 20 degrees (variable) in the turns · 3 degrees on the straightaways Straightaways: 1,760 feet each · Track width: 55 feet Capacity: 55,000 grandstand seats Property: 600 acres Dedicated: November 3, 1995 Owner: NASCAR (International Speedway Corporation merged into NASCAR October 18, 2019)
Championship Weekend: Race 33 and the Titles
The 2026 O'Reilly Chase, and the season, end at Homestead-Miami on NASCAR Championship Weekend, November 6-8. Race 33 is the 33rd and final race of the season, the last of the nine Chase races. The Chase is the O'Reilly Series championship: the top 12 drivers in points after Race 24 at Daytona settle the title over the season's final nine races.
| Date | Race | Series | Start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, Nov 6 | Truck Series Championship | NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series | 7:30 p.m. |
| Saturday, Nov 7 | O'Reilly Series Championship (Race 33) | NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series | 5:00 p.m. |
| Sunday, Nov 8 | Cup Series Championship | NASCAR Cup Series | 3:00 p.m. |
Race 33 is the last race of the nine-race O'Reilly Chase: the drivers still standing settle the 2026 championship on Saturday evening, under the lights as the Florida sun goes down.
Tickets: single-day and three-day packages covering all three championship races are sold through the track's Championship Weekend page, along with camping, pre-race passes, scanner rentals, parking, and hospitality that ranges from the Turn 1 Ride the Wall Cantina to a commemorative championship ticket. The box office is 866-409-7223.
Overview
Homestead-Miami Speedway is where NASCAR seasons end. The 1.5-mile oval south of Miami crowned every champion in the sport's three national series for two decades, and in 2026 the title races come home again: Championship Weekend runs here November 6 through 8, with the O'Reilly Series settling its championship on Saturday night.
The signature feature is variable banking: the turns range from 18 to 20 degrees, so drivers genuinely choose their lane, diving low on fresher tires or riding the high line against the wall for momentum. Add warm, slick South Florida evenings and the 2005-installed lights, and the finale formula is set: multiple grooves, big tire falloff, and championship pressure.
The venue looks like nowhere else in NASCAR: 1,005 palm trees of fifteen varieties ring the property, four lakes dug for banking fill dot the 600 acres (the largest, 18 acres, is stocked with rare peacock bass and deep enough to submerge a six-story building), and both access tunnels run below sea level, and the track notes its back tunnel is the southernmost in the continental United States.
History
Building the Speedway (1993 to 1995)
Ground broke on the speedway on August 24, 1993. The track was dedicated November 3, 1995, and racing began immediately: the inaugural event, the Jiffy Lube Miami 300, ran November 5, 1995, with Dale Jarrett beating a field that qualified on Joe Nemechek's pole. The Truck Series arrived in March 1996 (Dave Rezendes won), IndyCar racing followed (Sam Hornish Jr. won the first Indy Racing League event in April 2001), and on November 14, 1999 Tony Stewart won the track's first Cup Series race, the Pennzoil 400.
Two Decades of Finales (2002 to 2019)
From 2002 through 2019, Homestead hosted NASCAR's season finales, and its Victory Lane doubled as the sport's championship stage. Every Cup champion of the era was crowned here: Tony Stewart (2002, 2005, 2011), Matt Kenseth (2003), Kurt Busch (2004), Jimmie Johnson (five straight from 2006 through 2010, plus 2013 and 2016), Brad Keselowski (2012), Kevin Harvick (2014), Kyle Busch (2015, 2019), Martin Truex Jr. (2017), and Joey Logano (2018). Lights installed in 2005 moved the championships into the evening.
The Championship Returns (2026)
After the finale era ended in 2019, Homestead remained a playoff fixture, and its winners list kept collecting stars: Denny Hamlin (2020), William Byron (2021), Kyle Larson (2022), and Christopher Bell (2023) top the recent Cup results. In 2026 the title races return: NASCAR Championship Weekend runs at Homestead-Miami November 6-8, with all three national series deciding their champions on the 1.5-mile oval. The track has been owned by NASCAR since the October 18, 2019 completion of the merger with International Speedway Corporation.
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1993 | Groundbreaking (August 24) |
| 1995 | Speedway dedicated (November 3); first race, the Jiffy Lube Miami 300 (November 5) |
| 1996 | First Truck Series race (March 17) |
| 1999 | First Cup Series race: Tony Stewart wins the Pennzoil 400 (November 14) |
| 2001 | First Indy Racing League race (April 8) |
| 2002 | Homestead becomes NASCAR's championship finale venue |
| 2005 | Lights installed; finales move into the night |
| 2019 | Final year of the two-decade finale era; NASCAR-ISC merger completes (October 18) |
| 2026 | NASCAR Championship Weekend returns (November 6-8); the O'Reilly Chase ends here (November 7) |
The Racing
Homestead's variable banking makes lane choice a genuine strategy. The bottom is the shortest way around and the friend of fresh tires; the top, tight against the wall, carries momentum for the drivers brave enough to live there, and some of the track's most famous title-race moments came from champions running the fence. Tire wear is heavy, the surface takes rubber as the evening cools, and long-run speed tends to decide who is in position when it matters.
As Race 33, the O'Reilly Series Championship distills all of it into one Saturday evening: the surviving title contenders, one race, winner takes the season. Track records by series are maintained by the speedway's media office and updated event by event.
Ownership and Management
Homestead-Miami Speedway is owned by NASCAR, which acquired longtime owner International Speedway Corporation in the $2 billion merger completed October 18, 2019. The track operates in NASCAR's portfolio alongside Daytona, Darlington, Talladega, and Phoenix, and its website runs on the NASCAR Digital Media Network. The facility's five-level tower stands as tall as a 12-story building, its media center was rebuilt in 2008, and its garage area holds 120 cars with 30 viewing suites above.
Visiting Homestead-Miami
The speedway is in Homestead, Florida, south of Miami. Championship Weekend tickets, camping, and hospitality run through the official event page; the Ride the Wall Cantina puts fans on a private platform beside the Turn 1 wall with all-day catering, and pre-race passes open driver introductions on the frontstretch. Parking is sold in advance, and the track's Fast Lane Friday events run on the property between race weekends.
See Also
- Phoenix Raceway Track Guide covers the desert mile that hosted Championship Weekend before its return to Miami.
- O'Reilly Series standings for the live Chase picture.
- The Grand National Show, our weekly show, follows the stories behind the race through the Chase.
2026 O'Reilly Chase tracks
- Darlington Raceway · Race 25
- World Wide Technology Raceway · Race 26
- Bristol Motor Speedway · Race 27
- Las Vegas Motor Speedway · Race 28
- Charlotte Motor Speedway · Race 29
- Phoenix Raceway · Race 30
- Talladega Superspeedway · Race 31
- Martinsville Speedway · Race 32
- Homestead-Miami Speedway · Race 33
O'Reilly Series reference
Track facts compiled from primary sources read August 26, 2026: homesteadmiamispeedway.com (Track History and Records, Track Facts, and Championship Weekend event pages) and SEC filings on the 2019 NASCAR-International Speedway Corporation merger. Records by series are maintained by the speedway's media office. Page version 2, August 26, 2026.