The host track of NASCAR's finale changed often in its early years. It really wasn't until the 1970s when the series began to see some sort of consistency, with Ontario Speedway hosting the final race from 1974 to 1980, and then Riverside International Raceway until 1986. From 1987 through the year 2000, the season concluded at Atlanta Motor Speedway. 2001 would be an outlier year due to the cancelled New Hampshire race following the tragic events of 9/11, which moved that race to the very end of the season. But between 2002 and 2019, the NASCAR season always concluded at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
In 2020, NASCAR moved the ever-important final-four showdown to Phoenix Raceway, which will return to the end of the schedule again for a sixth consecutive season in 2025. The track made several impressive upgrades, the city did plenty of promotion, but the racing product has been criticized and incessantly compared to its former home — the brilliant Homestead.
People absolutely loved it there, and pleas for a return to the Southern Florida oval have only grown louder with every year that passes. While a return to only Homestead might be in the cards, a recent comment from NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Steve O'Donnell to the Sports Business Journal suggests that the finale may end up rotating between various tracks. That could certainly be interesting and would likely prevent a single organization from gaining a stranglehold on the title race like Penske has in recent years. But of course, the immediate question is where should they go? Here are my thoughts:
Homestead-Miami Speedway: An obvious answer. The track wants it. The fans want it. The drivers want it. Even if it's for one year before going elsewhere, a return to Homestead would excite the entire sport and most definitely produce a thrilling finale.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway: Las Vegas is a huge market with a lot of eyeballs, which is a major plus, but LVMS is also a thrilling intermediate track with great racing. The current generation of car races best at these 1.5-mile ovals, and Vegas has shown interest in hosting the finale before. There's also minimal danger of a rainout, so it's hard to envision a reason not to give it a try.
Kansas Speedway: Not the most flashy of places, but there's no denying that Kansas is the action track of modern NASCAR. Nearly every race there in recent years has been filled to the brim with drama. It's similar to Vegas in some ways, but also unique as the art of running right against the wall is key to be fast. It also holds the record for the closest finish in the entire history of the Cup Series, set just a few months ago when Kyle Larson beat Chris Buescher by 0.001s.
Charlotte Motor Speedway: This city is the heartbeat of the NASCAR world and already hosts a crown jewel with the Coke 600 in May. And what better place to crown the champion of NASCAR than in NASCAR's own backyard? While the fall race currently takes place on the Roval, a return to the oval is likely the best course of action should CMS become the title-decider. And yes, as another intermediate oval, there should be no concern over the on-track product.
Nashville Superspeedway: A market that also loves its NASCAR. The summer race at Nashville has only graced the series' schedule for a few years, but it has quickly become one of the more popular and has produced some great moments. And there's that iconic guitar gifted to the race winner. Nashville is also different from most of the other larger ovals on the schedule as a concrete track measuring 1.330 miles in length.
Darlington Raceway: Like Charlotte, Darlington already hosts a crown jewel -- the oldest in NASCAR with the Southern 500 dating back to 1950. Yes, Darlington is dripping with history, but it's also one of the most difficult tracks on the entire schedule. The track never fails to put on a show and it is unforgiving when drivers make mistakes. As a true challenge for the best drivers in the sport, it's the perfect place for putting the Championship 4 to the ultimate test. But there is a drawback: You would have to move the Southern 500 from its traditional Labor Day weekend slot.
While considering a potential host tracks for the finale, you'll notice we didn't include any drafting tracks. Manufacturer loyalty is already bad enough at a place like Martinsville as we saw earlier this year, but a superspeedway would simply be 32 of the 36 cars working to position one of their manufacturer teammates out front. It's also very possible that all four contenders could get wrecked out of the race when the 'Big One' strikes, which would be a bit awkward. But what about a road course finale? Much like short tracks, we simple didn't think it would be great race with the current package on the Gen-7 cars. But we want to know where you stand! Let us know what track you think should host the title-decider for the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series.
