It all comes down to this. All three NASCAR national series will crown their respective champions this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, marking the first time Championship Weekend has returned to South Florida since 2019. The Craftsman Truck Series kicks things off Friday with Kaden Honeycutt and Layne Riggs battling for the crown, five drivers remain in the hotly contested O’Reilly Auto Parts Series hunt for Saturday, and Kyle Larson looks to clinch his third title in the Cup Series on Sunday.
In the Cup Series, Kyle Larson leads by 67 points after going on a heater as soon as the postseason started, recording top-six finishes and a pair of victories in the first six races. His only misstep came at Phoenix Raceway, where he battled an ill-handling race car before a cut tire resulted in a DNF, but he immediately bounced back with a Talladega Superspeedway victory that snapped an 0-for-58 streak in the draft. His ninth-place effort last weekend at Martinsville Speedway wasn’t pretty, but the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team still exited Virginia with a healthy points margin. Larson needs just nine points at Homestead, regardless of what any other driver does. He can clinch with eight stage points and can lock up the title early by finishing third or better in Stage 1. Without any stage points, Larson needs to finish 28th or better. Christopher Bell trails by 67 points after putting seven regular-season runner-up finishes to the wayside in the opener with a crown-jewel Southern 500 victory at Darlington Raceway, though major mistakes like a 35th-place finish at Talladega hurt the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team. Bell must win and earn at least 14 stage points, or 13 stage points plus the Xfinity Fastest Lap point, to remain in championship contention, depending on Larson’s point total. Denny Hamlin trails by 70 points and struggled to piece together full races throughout The Chase, surrendering his points lead three races in. Six top 10s in nine races is enough for the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team to have a slim chance at Homestead, but Hamlin must win and earn at least 17 stage points, or 16 stage points plus the Xfinity Fastest Lap point, to remain in championship contention, depending on Larson’s point total.
Over in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Justin Allgaier leads by 22 points as the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet enters the finale back in the driver’s seat thanks to top fives in the last four races, and he controls his own destiny to secure his second title with 54 points scored. Jesse Love trails by 22 points, and though he went winless in the regular season, his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing team put it into gear come the postseason with dominant wins at Gateway and Phoenix. Love controls his own destiny and can secure his second consecutive title with a perfect 76-point day, including the Xfinity Fastest Lap. Corey Day trails by 23 points and has exceeded all expectations, with the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet finishing inside the top 10 in seven of eight races, anchored by impressive back-to-back victories at Las Vegas and Charlotte. Day controls his own destiny and can secure the title with a perfect 76-point day, including the Xfinity Fastest Lap. Carson Kvapil trails by 31 points after earning his third victory of the season last weekend at Martinsville, though the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet can only secure the title with help. Sheldon Creed trails by 42 points for the No. 00 Haas Factory Team and can only secure the title with help.
In the Craftsman Truck Series, Kaden Honeycutt leads by 20 points after a near-perfect postseason featuring an eighth-or-better finish in five of the first six races and a pair of victories. The only flaw for the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota team came last weekend at Martinsville when late contact shuffled Honeycutt to 14th. Honeycutt controls his own destiny and can secure the title with 55 points, regardless of how his competitors fare. Layne Riggs trails by 20 points after bouncing back from a shaky start, with the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports team picking up a win at Charlotte and finishing inside the top eight in four straight races. Riggs controls his own destiny and can secure the title with 75 points, regardless of how his competitors fare.
