Ryan Blaney wins NASCAR Cup Series Season Finale 400

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Ryan Blaney steals the lead and the win at the white flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series’ Season Finale 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

This is his fourth win of the season and the 21st of his Cup Series career.

Blaney led a few times throughout the race but only during the green flag pit stop cycles. He gambled on high tire wear after opting to pit a few laps later than the rest of the top five in the final stage, but the tire fall-off did not set in as fast as his team wanted.

With 15 laps remaining he got his chance to strike. Noah Gragson spun Daniel Suarez out while battling for 11th which set up a late restart on equal tires.

Blaney and his No. 12 Team Penske team executed their stop well enough to restart from fourth. From there, he made his way through the field to position himself at the front in the final laps.

He passed a struggling Tyler Reddick on the exit of turn four before the white flag and cruised to his fourth place standing position and the final win of the season.

The Top Ten

Tyler Reddick nearly bookended the season with victories. Unfortunately for him, a tight conditioned car in the middle of the corners prevented that. He ends the season as the winningest driver with six to his tally from second.

William Byron led before the final caution of the night. For the penultimate run of the race, he looked primed to win his second consecutive race. However, the restart was not as smooth as Reddick as he ends the season in third.

Christopher Bell came up short in the championship and the race. He placed fourth to finish a career-best second in the standings.

Bubba Wallace delivered a solid top five day from fifth. He will enter the offseason with 11th-placed result in the final standings.

Denny Hamlin made contact with the wall late to go from a potential third place finish to sixth. The regular season champion failed to convert in the Chase as Hamlin enters what could be his final offseason without the series cup once again.

Austin Cindric closes out the season with another top ten on an intermediate track. He will return to the Team Penske No. 2 Ford in 2027 with momentum after coming off his most complete season to date.

Daniel Suarez recovered from the spin with grace. He rebounded to finish ahead of Noah Gragson in eighth place to conclude his best Cup Series season of his career.

Then, Noah Gragson followed Suarez to the finish line in ninth after accidentally dumping him a few laps prior. Gragson ends his season on a high note after collecting his third top ten finish of the season.

Finally, Michael McDowell rounded out the top ten from tenth for his own strong finish to end the season.

Notable Results

Chase Briscoe won the pole and was the fastest car in practice. He led the opening 33 laps before surrendering it after a slow 16-second pit stop. Just before the stage ended, so did his engine.

Briscoe ends the season with a DNF in 39th and sixth in points after narrowly missing out on a chance at a championship.

Corey Heim also had his Toyota engine expire. Heim only completed 57 laps for his 40th-placed DNF. He will run full-time with 23XI Racing in 2027 and look to contend straight away.

JJ Yeley completed his 400th career Cup Series start just ahead of Casey Mears in 36th. Finally, Mears completed his 500th Cup Series start with a 37th-placed result.

Below is the full results and the final Chase standings after the Season Finale 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Full Results & Final Chase Standings

Below is the archive of live updates on the tenth and final race of the NASCAR Cup Series Chase from Homestead-Miami Speedway.

RACE WINNER: Ryan Blaney

CHECKERED FLAG: Ryan Blaney wins! He takes the win from Reddick who takes second. Byron third, Bell fourth, Wallace fifth, Hamlin sixth, Cindric seventh, Suarez eight, Gragson ninth, and McDowell tenth.

Kyle Larson finishes 12th as the champion!

WHITE FLAG: Blaney takes the lead at the white!

2 TO GO: Side-by-side! Blaney and Reddick has two laps to settle who wins.

3 TO GO: Blaney, Byron, and Reddick fight for the win! Reddick leads.

Hamlin makes contact with the wall!

5 TO GO: Reddick takes off in the lead with Byron in second and Hamlin third.

6 TO GO: Tyler Reddick to the lead!

7 TO GO: William Byron edges out Denny Hamlin for the lead.

8 TO GO: Byron leads Hamlin to the green flag!

Alex Bowman pits a lap before the restart to tighten a wheel.

10 TO GO: Ty Gibbs falls from fifth to 15th at the end of the entire field after a bad stop.

12 TO GO: William Byron wins the race off pit road to remain in the lead. Denny Hamlin will start on the front row for the restart with him.

Reddick, Blaney, Wallace, Bell, Bowman, Cindric, Berry, and Kyle Larson will restart as the top ten.

15 TO GO: CAUTION!! Noah Gragson spins Daniel Suarez for 11th as he goes sliding into the turn two grass and provides the late race drama to the final race of the season.

Austin Hill will get the free pass from 16th.

17 TO GO: Here comes Reddick! Byron is engulfed in faster lapped-traffic which has shrunk the lead to .750. But Reddick encounters the same traffic and the lead balloons back to 1.2 seconds.

20 TO GO: Byron continues to lead Reddick by one second as the 2026 draws to its close. Byron puts the other three-time champion, Joey Logano, on track a lap down.

25 TO GO: The William Byron lead is now 1.1 seconds over Tyler Reddick. Denny Hamlin is two seconds behind, Blaney is 4.5 seconds behind with Ty Gibbs fighting teammate Christopher Bell for fifth.

29 TO GO: Bubba Wallace critically passes Austin Cindric for seventh. The two are battling tightly for a top ten position in the final standings which provide more bonus money.

30 TO GO: Byron radio “This is the best the car has felt all weekend”

His lead is now one second to Tyler Reddick as Blaney passes Bell five second behind.

35 TO GO: Blaney is slowly making up ground. He runs fifth while Reddick and Hamlin fall slightly out of the wake of Byron.

40 TO GO: Byron leads Reddick and Hamlin who are each within one second of the lead.

43 TO GO: Last weeks winner William Byron leads Tyler Reddick by one second. Then Hamlin follows close behind with Bell and Gibbs in the top five.

Blaney cycles back to sixth with the best tires for the end.

47 TO GO: Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace both pit for what could be the final time of the season. Byron looks to inherit the race lead after the cycle concludes.

49 TO GO: After taking the lead Tyler Reddick pits with Hamlin close behind.

50 TO GO: More drivers running in the top ten pit. Cindric, Bowman and more.

51 TO GO: Tyler Reddick takes Blaney and Hamlin three-wide on the low side for the lead!

54 TO GO: Bell pits from fifth to begin the cycle!

55 TO GO: The battle for the lead is shadowing the 2024 finish of this race. Hamlin still leads with Blaney, Reddick, and Byron sliding into the battle just before the final stops of the day.

Meanwhile, Front Row Motorsports are currently ending the season on the right note. Noah Gragson runs 12th, Zane Smith is just behind in 13th, finally Todd Gilliland is in 16th.

60 TO GO: Blaney is struggling in dirty air. The pass for the lead and potentially the race win might occur on pit road as the sun sets.

The battle between the milestone drivers is a fun one. Yeley leads Mears by one position each five laps down.

64 TO GO: Tyler Reddick has reinserted himself in the battle for the lead! He, Blaney, and Hamlin are all within a half second of each other.

67 TO GO: Ryan Blaney has been sizing up a move on race leader Denny Hamlin for a few laps. He has ran alongside him on the inside of the corners and continues to slightly trail him.

69 TO GO: Justin Haley has gotten up to speed as Carson Hocevar’s replacement driver. The current full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver is running 12th in his first Cup Race since this time last season.

75 TO GO: Ryan Blaney is as close as he’s been all race to the race lead. Denny Hamlin.

80 TO GO: The top nine are all Chase drivers with Alex Bowman running tenth as the highest non-Chaser.

Larson, Logano, Elliott, and more drivers who sustained damage all run 20th or lower at the moment.

83 TO GO: Hamlin leads by two car lengths over Blaney.

Cole Custer and Shane van Gisbergen pit to split the stage in thirds.

87 TO GO: Riley Herbst pits. Reddick passes Byron for third.

90 TO GO: Ryan Blaney has taken second place to challenge Hamlin for the lead. What an impressive recovery from 28th at the start of the previous stage.

93 TO GO: Denny Hamlin leads the field back around over William Byron to lead the first lap of the final stage of the season.

97 TO GO: The sun caused a huge stack up on pit road! Elliott, Logano, Larson, Keselowski and more get bumper damage.

98 TO GO: Hamlin wins the race off pit road. He will start alongside his driver Tyler Reddick for the restart. Bell, Byron, Cindric, Blaney, Bowman, Smith, Gibbs, and Daniel Suarez in tenth for the restart.

Stage Two Winner: Denny Hamlin

LAP 167: Denny Hamlin wins the second stage! He beats Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, Zane Smith, and Daniel Suarez in tenth.

Larson’s tires lasted the entire stage for 17th.

LAP 162: Hamlin’s lead over Bell is stabilized at half a second with five to go in the stage.

LAP 157: Ten to go in the stage. Hamlin continues to lead Bell.

LAP 147: Hamlin continues to lead Bell. Reddick, Cindric, Byron, Bowman, Blaney, Smith, Elliott, and Kyle Larson is the top ten with 20 left in the stage.

LAP 142: Bell is now down by a half second with 25 to go in the stage.

Cole Custer, in the Hooters paint scheme, pits with a flat tire and the track stays green.

LAP 135: Here come C-Bell! Bell has a few lap fresher tires than his leading teammate Hamlin as he closes to one second behind.

Meanwhile, Larson has nine-lap older tires than Bell and Reddick and gets passed by Alex Bowman for fifth.

LAP 130: Denny Hamlin inherits the lead. Cindric is second with Bell third, Reddick fourth, and Larson fifth somehow without terrible damage.

LAP 127: Both leaders are in for their service.

LAP 125: All but eight driver have made their stops. Bell barely leads Reddick with Blaney, Wallace, and Suarez the top five.

LAP 119: Champion Kyle Larson pits to begin the new green flag pit cycle after contact with the wall.

LAP 110: Bell leads Reddick by under a half second. The top five are the same but the back half of the top ten has shifted. Smith up to sixth with Suarez, Byron, Bowman, and Austin Hill rounding out the top ten.

Corey Heim is back out 52 laps down but fails to make minimum speed and back to the garage he goes.

LAP 100: As the field settles into the second stage the top ten are: Bell, Reddick, Hamlin, Larson, Cindric, Suarez, Smith, Wallace, Byron, and Alex Bowman.

LAP 93: After 5 side-by-side laps Bell takes the lead.

LAP 89: Bell narrowly edges Reddick for the lead of the first green lap of stage two.

LAP 88: Ryan Blaney restarts 28th after coming back down to re-tighten a wheel.

LAP 84: Reddick wins the race off pit road. He restarts alongside Bell on the front row. Then Larson, Hamlin, Wallace, Cindric, Byron, Elliott, Suarez, and Zane Smith are the top ten for the restart.

LAP 82: OFFICIAL – Kyle Larson has just clinched his third Cup Series title!

Stage One Winner: Tyler Reddick

LAP 77: CAUTION! Just before Larson could get the title Chase Briscoe blows his engine!

Reddick wins the stage with Blaney, Bell, Larson, Cindric, Hamlin, Wallace, Suarez, Byron, and Elliott all collecting stage points.

LAP 76: Blaney passes Bell for second as Larson closes in on Bell for third! He can win the title with a pass in the final few laps of this stage here.

LAP 73: Larson passes Hamlin for fourth.

LAP 70: Ten to go in the stage as Reddick’s lead sits at 3.5 seconds.

The Blaney and Bell battle for second extended a few more laps. Bell retakes command of second

LAP 66: Blaney has his pass! He sits just over 2.25 seconds behind the leader.

LAP 65: Ryan Blaney has passed Hamlin for third as he fights nearly alongside Bell for second place.

LAP 60: The top four drivers are all within one second of each other. Reddick leads Bell, Hamlin, Blaney, and Larson in fifth with 20 to go in the stage.

LAP 57: Corey Heim comes down with an unscheduled pit stop with an engine issue and to the garage area.

LAP 53: New leader! Reddick overtakes Bell for the lead of the Season Finale 400 at Homestead.

LAP 51: Tyler Reddick and Kyle Larson are around a half second faster than the rest of the top six. 30 laps remaining in the first stage where Larson could wrap up the title with a third place finish in the stage.

Reddick is now in second with Larson in fifth.

LAP 45: Christopher Bell cycles to the lead with Hamlin behind in second, over one second behind.

Reddick in third and larson in seventh, both with a few lap fresher tires. Briscoe is five seconds behind the lead in sixth after his slow stop.

LAP 42: The final two drivers who had yet to pit has now gone for their service.

LAP 41: Bubba Wallace pits from the lead as his 23XI Racing teammate Corey Heim takes the point.

LAP 40: Tyler Reddick splits the stage in half and so does Kyle Larson.

LAP 38: Blaney pits from third as Chase Briscoe suffers a slow 16-second stop which should have him surrender the lead once the entire field pits.

LAP 35: Bell, Hamlin, and other cover Briscoe. Reddick stays out in the lead with Larson in second.

LAP 34: Leader Chase Briscoe pits second! He also brings Austin Cindric with him from within the top ten.

LAP 33: Erik Jones pits to start the first green flag cycle of the day.

LAP 30: Reddick now is within five car lengths of Briscoe for the lead. Ryan Blaney is right on Hamlin’s tail for fifth.

LAP 27: Tyler Reddick retakes second from Bell as Larson starts to heat up the lap times inside the top five.

LAP 25: Denny Hamlin re-tightens his battle with Kyle Larson for fourth. Larson had slight wall contact a few laps prior but no word on the radio about it.

LAP 20: The top five are all within 2.5 seconds of each other. Briscoe leads Bell, Reddick, Larson, and Hamlin.

LAP 18: Here come Christopher Bell! He closes in on teammate Briscoe for the race lead.

LAP 15: Bubba Wallace has cracked the top ten in ninth. He has shown top five speed in the first few laps.

LAP 10: Briscoe leads Bell by the same margin. Larson is around Hamlin for fourth.

Brad Keselowski has made up 11 positions in his final ride with RFK Racing.

LAP 8: For the final time this season, but not the last ever, the crowd goes silent to hold up their “eights” in honor of the late Kyle Busch.

LAP 5: Briscoe lead by a half second over Christopher Bell now. Hamlin runs fourth with Larson in fifth side-by-side.

LAP 3: Larson was as high as third but now runs sixth.

LAP 1: Chase Briscoe leads Reddick, and Larson back to lead the opening lap of the Season Finale 400.

LAP 0: Chase Briscoe leads his JGR teammate and title hopeful Denny Hamlin to the green flag for the final time in 2026!

By taking the green flag, Connor Zilisch wins the 2026 Sunoco Rookie of the Year award in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Race Info & Start

Kyle Larson enters the 36th and final race of the season with a 67-point lead in the Chase. He can win the championship with either eight stage points or a 29th or better final result.

Two drivers have outside chances to win their first titles today.

Christopher Bell has a slightly better chance than his teammate Denny Hamlin from second and third in the Chase. Each of them need a perfect points day and Larson to have major issues in order to become champion.

Hamlin starts the highest of the remaining three eligible for the title in second place on the front row with teammate Chase Briscoe, who just exited the title fight last weekend at Martinsville.

Larson starts a row behind from fourth with Bell another row behind him in sixth.

Two drivers make major milestone starts today. Casey Mears will make his 500th career Cup Series start with JJ Yeley 100 starts behind him with his 400th today.

Brad Keselowski repaired damage from a qualifying spin on Saturday and will fall the rear where he starts anyways for the race.

Below is the pertaining race information and starting lineups for the Season Finale 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

• Broadcast: NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Previous Winner: Kyle Larson
• Distance: 267 laps / 400 miles
• Stages: 80 / 165 / 267
• Average time of race: 3:05:00
• Pit road speed: 45 mph
• Caution car speed: 55 mph
• Fuel Window: 68 laps

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