Ryan Blaney closed the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season with a victory Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, holding off Tyler Reddick by 0.314 seconds to score his fourth win of the season and the 21st of his Cup career. Ryan Blaney led the final two laps in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford to claim the race victory after 267 laps around the 1.5-mile South Florida oval.
Reddick finished second in the No. 45 Toyota, while fellow Championship contender William Byron crossed the line third. Christopher Bell was fourth and Bubba Wallace completed the top five.
Although Blaney celebrated the race win, it was Kyle Larson who left Homestead with the sport’s biggest prize. Larson’s 12th-place finish was enough to secure the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series championship, giving the Hendrick Motorsports driver his third career Cup title. Larson finished 49 points ahead of Bell in the final standings, adding another championship to his growing Hall of Fame résumé.
The race featured 18 lead changes among eight drivers, with Reddick, Bell, Denny Hamlin and Byron all spending time at the front before Blaney surged ahead late for the victory. Toyota also wrapped up the 202...