“It’s more complicated than just waving a checkered flag and say, ‘Let’s move the championship’.” NASCAR COO Steve O’Donnell’s words about the Cup Series title venue may have gotten a new edge recently. Being on the radar since 2020, Phoenix Raceway has received waves of criticism from fans after replacing Homestead as the season finale after over a decade of thrilling races. However, recent weeks saw rumors spread about Homestead’s potential return!

William Byron spoke ahead of the Homestead race last Sunday, saying, “I think it’s [Homestead] due for hopefully being the final race. It sounds like that’s what’s gonna happen.” This sent fans into a frenzy. However, a recent update from a NASCAR insider on the Door Bumper Clear podcast has thwarted these hopes.

NASCAR rumor spells a business issue

Well, eventually, it is a sport based on performance – not only of the drivers but also of the race tracks. Homestead-Miami Speedway is one of the legacy tracks, having held the championship race from 2002 to 2019. However, it entered NASCAR Holding’s portfolio in 2019 and made the way for Phoenix. After a $178 Million renovation in 2018, the Arizona track sold out 5 consecutive championship races since 2020. However, it could never replicate the exciting racing product that Homestead offered, as fans argued. When news dropped that Homestead has been pushing for a return, it was a moment to celebrate. But a recent financial update on the situation has brought hopes down as new suitors are the favorites according to Bubba Wallace’s spotter, Freddie Kraft.

In a recent ‘Door, Bumper, Clear’ episode, 23XI Racing spotter Freddie Kraft dropped a NASCAR rumor. He highlighted the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, which hosts 6 games in Miami, as a reason to deter their financial push to bring Homestead back. Kraft said, “They were flying drivers out there, Tuesday or Wednesday, to announce this finale… Something happened and it’s fallen apart funding-wise… Jeff [Gluck] brought up a really good point…It’s between 5 and 10 million dollars – that’s what Phoenix is paying to have the race there. When it comes down to dollars and cents, we’re obviously spending somebody else’s money here…When we’re talking about NASCAR, it doesn’t seem like a really exorbitant amount of money.”

So if Homestead falls apart, where would NASCAR go? In December 2024, Steve O’Donnell dropped a proposition of rotating the championship race. Freddie Kraft spoke regarding this NASCAR rumor as well. “I think starting next year, we’re going into a rotation. The rumors I heard this week were: Homestead’s getting done this week… The next rumor was Vegas in 2027. It’s interesting to me because it’s an SMI track… If that’s actually  going to happen, I think that’s great, ’cause Vegas has a really good racetrack.” NASCAR legend Michael Waltrip also backed the Vegas rumors, posting on X, “I’d love to see the @NASCAR Championship race at the @LVMotorSpeedway Would you? @MarcusSMI” So how likely is this?

Well, Las Vegas is a Speedway Motorsports, LLC (SMI) owned track, and this would be a significant shift from Phoenix, which is a track that NASCAR owns. SMI sanctioned multiple NASCAR races and this would be a positive shift in the eyes of fans, who saw Phoenix as another money-grabbing opportunity for NASCAR. Meanwhile, Homestead is owned by Guillermo Santa Cruz, and he also chimed in on hosting the Championship race recently, saying, “It’s something I want to see happen. And I’m hopeful in the not-too-distant future the championship will come back.” While the debate raged on as to which track would be the next host, the idea of rotating tracks also popped up.

TV analyst Jamie McMurray sanctioned the idea of multiple racetracks. “I’m still a believer they should pick three or four tracks. It should rotate… Even though Larson won his championship at Phoenix, I don’t think it’s fair to be at Homestead… If you have it at Daytona, there’s probably going to be somebody that has an advantage there, the Penske cars we could say probably… Money makes everything happen. And I wouldn’t blame them a bit if that’s influencing their decision.” 

A rotating race would certainly be an entertaining prospect, but as McMurray says, some drivers might just be far better. Last week’s race perfectly exemplifies his Kyle Larson example. He was the only driver comfortable riding so close to the walls and outlasted everyone in his way to take the win, and he has always been this dominant at Homestead. He holds the Cup Series record for most laps led at the track with 645 and boasts two wins and multiple heartbreaking losses too. However, Homestead looks like it’s out of the picture now, and if we are to believe Freddie Kraft, Vegas is up next!

The NASCAR rumor proposing Sin City may not sound too bad for the Cup Series garage. That is especially because of the wave of positivity that washed over it after Berry won.

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A good spirit prevailed over LVMS

We all remember the wreck fests that Daytona, Atlanta, and COTA produced. From Carson Hocevar ticking off three veteran drivers to Ross Chastain bizarrely taking out Chase Elliott, tempers flared wildly. In contrast, NASCAR’s visit to Las Vegas Motor Speedway offered a welcome change. Although a slew of pit road blunders plagued teams, they had little animosity. That was because they tipped their hat to the race winner, Josh Berry, who deserved to win.

He ground out several years in the local scene, racing modifieds and picking up wins in short-track races. This set the stage for his Cup Series career – although 2024 was drab due to his team, Stewart-Hass Racing, preparing to shut shop, 2025 is turning out great with Wood Brothers Racing.

Berry put up an intense battle with Daniel Suarez after a restart with 19 laps to go and pulled away to a convincing victory at Sin City. Hendrick Motorsports star William Byron raced with Berry in Late Models before joining NASCAR. He hailed Berry’s win: “I felt happy for him. That was cool. Good for them. Good for the Wood Brothers. They did a good job there towards the end of the race, and really the last couple weekends, they have been strong.”

Chase Briscoe was Josh Berry’s teammate in the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing. He also hailed his speed: “Josh was gonna win a race. Like, there was never a question. Even in the 4 car last year, there was weeks where he was up in the mix and it just never ended up playing out where he was able to win the race. Josh is a great race car driver, the 21 car’s a great car, too. I would say it surprised me how early in the season they were able to win.”

Such heartwarming moments of rivals saluting race winners come only on epic tracks. So the NASCAR rumor of reaching Sin City for the title race does not sound so bad. What do you think? Should the Championship race rotate or stick to one track? Let us know in the comments!