For the first time since the late Kyle Busch won the second of his two NASCAR Cup Series championships in 2019, Homestead-Miami Speedway is set to return as the host of Championship Weekend for all three of the sport's top series.
After William Byron's long overdue win at Martinsville Speedway, only three drivers remain eligible for the Cup Series title, with Kyle Larson holding a 67-point lead over Christopher Bell and a 70-point advantage over Denny Hamlin. He may not have locked up his third championship one week early like many expected him to, but it would take a perfect race from Bell or Hamlin and some early misfortune for Larson for him not to come away with the Bill France Cup on Sunday.
While that championship battle is Larson's for the taking unless something catastrophic happens, the title battles are far from settled in the Craftsman Truck Series and O'Reilly Auto Parts Series.
A lot still to be decided on NASCAR Championship Weekend
For the tailgaters, Kaden Honeycutt holds a 20-point lead over Layne Riggs heading into Friday night's Craftsman Truck Series season finale, while 2024 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series champion Justin Allgaier leads defending champion Jesse Love by 22 points with Corey Day (-23), Carson Kvapil (-31) and Sheldon Creed (-42) within striking distance if some adversity strikes during Saturday's race.
It may not be the Championship 4 that fans grew accustomed to in the playoff format that was in existence from 2014 to 2025, but the drama and intensity are still going to be prevalent, specifically in the first two races of the weekend in south Florida.
Since taking over for 2025 Truck Series champion Corey Heim in the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota, Honeycutt has put together a breakout season with four wins, including his first career Truck victory at Watkins Glen in May. For someone who raced underfunded equipment when his career started, this could be the culmination of years of hard work and perseverance for a driver who took a chance on himself at Niece Motorsports before finally getting an opportunity in a top-tier ride.
He is going to have to work for the championship, though, after some late contact with 16-year-old Tristan McKee at Martinsville dropped him back to 14th at the conclusion of the race and gave Riggs a fighting chance going to Miami.
Even though Front Row Motorsports shockingly decided to keep him in the Truck Series next season instead of promoting him to Cup, Riggs has been the driver to beat for the majority of the season, with a series-high seven wins and 988 laps led. While neither driver has won at Homestead-Miami before, both were inside the top 10 in each stage last spring and could easily be fighting for the win to secure their first championship.
As for the O'Reilly Series, despite losing his points lead almost as soon as the Chase began, the veteran Allgaier remained in the title hunt and returned to the top of the standings after a runner-up finish at Martinsville and a brake issue that resulted in a 30th place finish for Love. Allgaier leads the O'Reilly Series in wins (six), top five finishes (19), top 10 finishes (23) and laps led (803) and is the most recent winner at Homestead from last spring.
He only needs to score 54 out of a possible 76 points to clinch his second title regardless of what his competitors do, but he would lose the Chase tiebreaker to each of his four remaining challengers since they have each won a postseason race and he has not so far. If Allgaier were to win a race, he'd win the title anyway.
That said, Love has won two of the seven most recent races coming into the weekend and has the championship pedigree from last season. Day, meanwhile, has had a breakout season with four wins and is certainly still in the title fight just 23 points back.
It may not be as realistic for Kvapil and Creed as they try to overcome deficits of 31 and 42, respectively, but don't count them out, either. After fighting for his career earlier this season, Kvapil has won three races since July and has looked like the title favorite at times, but finishes of 24th (Bristol) and 32nd (Charlotte) have hurt his chances. Creed, on the other hand, started the Chase with two wins and a runner-up finish in the first three races, only to place 32nd at Phoenix and let the points lead slip away.
While anything is still possible in the Cup race as well, especially if there is some early carnage, the most compelling title fights reside in the first two races of the weekend. With the raciness that Homestead presents and edge of control that drivers routinely battle against the wall, there is plenty left to decide in some tightly contested title fights.
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