NASCAR Announces Rotating Championship Finale Starting 2026

NASCAR is implementing a significant change to its championship finale starting in 2026, rotating the season-ending race among different tracks instead of anchoring it at a single venue. Denny Hamlin, a veteran driver and co-owner of 23XI Racing, has expressed mixed feelings about this move, praising the fan engagement and upgraded facilities at Phoenix while welcoming the return of the finale to Homestead-Miami. Hamlin has also been vocal about the current playoff format, criticizing the "winner-take-all" championship race as overly dependent on one event rather than season-long performance, highlighting concerns shared by fans and fellow drivers. His critiques underline the unpredictability of the system, where a driver's consistent season can be undone by a single mishap during the finale. Alongside these structural changes, Hamlin's leadership extends to team management, where he has taken risks in assembling his own pit crew for 23XI Racing, resulting in notable success such as leading the best average four-tire pit stop times. Meanwhile, off the track, Hamlin engaged in a heated social media exchange with Speedway Motorsports president Marcus Smith over track maintenance issues, underscoring tensions surrounding financial priorities in NASCAR.