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Kyle Larson Crowned 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Champion; Ryan Blaney Wins At Homestead-Miami

by Hunter Thomas November 8, 2026 0 comments

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Kyle Larson earned enough points in the opening stage of Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway to secure the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

Heading into the day, it was statistically possible for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin to win and dethrone the defending champion, but Larson finishing fourth in Stage 1 sealed the deal. The championship run marks the third for Larson, the 16^th for Hendrick Motorsports and 35^th for Chevrolet. Larson becomes only the 11^th driver in series history to win three or more titles.

In 2026, Larson won at World Wide Technology Raceway and Kansas Speedway in Sept. and at Talladega Superspeedway in Oct. He finished out the year with 15 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes. The 34-year-old went on a tear when it came time for The Chase. In the 10 races, he finished within in the top-five in sixth races, and he only had one poor finish, which was a 34^th-place effort at Phoenix Raceway.

Bell finished second in the standings, 49 points back, and Hamlin ended the season in third, 56 points back.

As far as the race went, Ryan Blaney earned his fourth win of the season after passing Tyler Reddick coming to the white flag.

On a restart with eight laps to go, William Byron, who restarted on the bottom, got the advantage over Hamlin thanks to a push from Reddick. Battling back, Reddick made a pass on Byron for the lead with just six laps to go; however, Blaney just had the faster car and soared by.

Reddick held on to finish runner-up, followed by Byron, Bell and Bubba Wallace. Denny Hamlin finished sixth after smacking the wall in the closing laps, and rounding out the top-10 was Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez, Noah Gragson and Michael McDowell.

The 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season will kickoff with the Wheatley Vodka Clash on Saturday, Feb. 13 at Daytona International Speedway.

This story will be updated.

Photo Credit: Patricia McCormack/TheFourthTurn.com