Since 2002, NASCAR's top three racing series have closed their season with a weekend designed to crown each series' champion, officially known as NASCAR Championship Weekend.[1]
With the removal of Homestead from the final race weekend, some drivers have stated that the championship races should rotate between tracks every year instead of being held at one particular facility, similar to the Super Bowl.[3]
History
The Ford Championship Weekend logo
NASCAR decided after the 2001 season to move the final Truck and Cup Series races of the season to the same track so all three series could conclude in the same place in the same weekend. Prior to this, each series ended its season at a different track. The Cup Series had run its final scheduled race at Atlanta Motor Speedway since 1987 (save for a 9/11 related postponement of the fall race at New Hampshire). The Truck Series had always ended its season in the western United States, with Phoenix hosting that event in 2001. The then-Busch Series' finale helped open what was then referred to as the Homestead Motorsports Complex in Florida in 1995, and NASCAR had run its final race there ever since.
After each race, an official ceremony is conducted in victory lane where the final points leader in each series is given his championship trophy.
In 2016, NASCAR adopted a championship format that is similar in function to one used by the National Hot Rod Association. Over the course of the final races of the season, qualifying drivers are eliminated from championship contention if they are not above a certain threshold following a specific event. Once the field for each series is reduced to four contenders, the Championship Weekend races are then run with the highest finishing driver among the four in each series being crowned champion.
Pre-playoff history
Prior to 2004, when the first Chase for the Nextel Cup was conducted, all three series' championships were decided over the course of the entire season. The driver that was able to accumulate the most points over the course of the season was declared champion. However, the old system had the chance that one driver would be so dominant over the course of the season that he would clinch the championship before the final race; this was especially the case during the era of Cup Series drivers running the full season in the second tier series in addition to the entire Cup schedule, as the championship was clinched six times prior to the finale before the now-Xfinity Series adopted its own playoff format.
In the pre-playoff era, there were a total of four occasions where a series points leader entering the race did not end it as champion. The first two occurrences happened during the Ford 200 Truck Series race. In 2003, Brendan Gaughan crashed out of the event late, finished 29th, and fell from first to fourth in the standings while Travis Kvapil won the championship. In 2007, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Mike Skinner were separated by 29 points going into the race, but points leader Skinner had a problem with one of his truck's tires and axles and finished 35th. Hornaday finished seventh and won the title by 54 points. In 2010, 46 points separated first place Denny Hamlin, second place Jimmie Johnson, and third place Kevin Harvick in the Sprint Cup standings. At various times in the Ford 400 each driver held the points lead, but in the end Johnson clinched his fifth consecutive Sprint Cup championship by finishing second in the race.[4] Hamlin fell to second place, 39 points behind Johnson, with his 14th-place finish.[4] Harvick finished 3rd in both the race and the points, 41 points behind Johnson.[4] In 2011, Tony Stewart entered the race three points behind Carl Edwards for the Sprint Cup lead. Stewart won the Ford 400 with Edwards finishing second and the points race ended in a tie. However, due to Stewart holding more victories than Edwards over the course of the season (Stewart's win gave him five while Edwards only won once), Stewart won the tiebreaker and became series champion for a third time.
Television and radio coverage
Current
The Truck Series race is carried by Fox Sports, which has the exclusive rights to air Truck Series events. The race is aired on Fox Sports 1, which has aired the event since 2013; under its previous branding, Speed Channel, it aired the race from 2003 until 2012.
The Xfinity Series race, beginning in 2025, will be carried by CW Network per terms of the current contract that gives the network exclusive rights to the series.
NBC Sports, under the terms of the current broadcasting contract, has the broadcast rights to the Cup Series race. The race was broadcast by NBC from 2001 through 2006 and again beginning in 2015 when the network returned to televising NASCAR.
Previous
When Championship Weekend began, the Truck Series race was carried by ESPN2 as ESPN retained the rights to the series after losing its NASCAR broadcast rights following the 2000 season. Speed Channel took over all rights beginning in 2003; the network became Fox Sports 1 in August 2013.
Since NBC was already contracted to air the Busch and Cup races at Homestead, an agreement that was struck in 1999 prior to the inaugural Pennzoil 400, they continued to carry the races in conjunction with TNT, their broadcast partner. The networks shared coverage of the Busch race (NBC from 2002 to 2004, TNT in 2005 and 2006) while NBC aired the Cup race.[5]
In 2007, ESPN returned to covering NASCAR and began carrying their championship weekend events over ESPN, ABC, and ESPN2. The ESPN family of networks actually had two separate contracts with NASCAR at the time; the Busch/Nationwide race aired on ESPN2 as ESPN was the exclusive television rights holder for the series under their contract. The Cup series race was carried by ABC until 2009 and ESPN until the contract ended in 2014 as part of ESPN's rights to the second half of the Cup season.
Kvapil won the championship after NASCAR reviewed and upheld a black flag given to Ted Musgrave for attempting to pass Kvapil under caution. Had the penalty been reversed, Musgrave would have been granted a sixth-place finish and won the championship over seventh-place Kvapil.[6] He is also the second Truck Series former Rookie of the Year to win the Championship.
Musgrave's championship was Dodge's last in the Truck Series; the company pulled out of most NASCAR competition following the 2012 season, by which time the Ram Trucks brand had replaced Dodge's on its line of trucks.
Hornaday had clinched the series points title following the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix. Hornaday's fourth and final championship. First Camping World Truck Series champion.
Bodine had clinched the series points title following the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix; this was his second and final championship. Busch won the series owner's championship for his team with his victory.
Dillon became the youngest NASCAR top series champion ever. First season under current NASCAR points system. He is also the third Truck Series former Rookie of the Year to win the championship.
Jones became the youngest champion in NCWTS history. Last season under normal points format, as the NCWTS adopted a Chase format in 2016. He is also the first Rookie champion in the history of the series therefore also winning the Rookie of the Year that season as well.
Playoff era
Highest finishing driver among four eligible for championship wins series championship.
Stewart Friesen, Halmar Friesen Racing Ross Chastain, Niece Motorsports Brett Moffitt, GMS Racing
Crafton was the first Truck Series Champion to win the Championship without winning a race in the season he won the Championship in. Championship is Crafton's third as a driver. ThorSport Racing ties Hendrick Motorsports for most championships as a Truck Series team with three.
Truex clinched the 2004 series championship following the BI-LO 200 at Darlington. In 2005, he became the first driver to win consecutive series championships since his car owner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. accomplished the feat in 1998 and 1999.
Keselowski had clinched the championship after the O'Reilly Challenge at Texas. Dodge's first and only Nationwide Series championship. Last season that Cup Series drivers were allowed to compete full time in multiple series and earn points.
Elliott had clinched the championship following the DAV 200 at Phoenix, making him the first driver to do so under the current points format. He broke Brian Vickers' record for youngest series champion and Austin Dillon's record for youngest ever NASCAR champion by winning title at age 18.[8] Last Nationwide Series champion.
Austin Hill, Richard Childress Racing A.J. Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing Cole Custer, Stewart-Haas Racing
Allgaier's first championship comes on his eighth attempt in playoff era. Stewart-Haas Racing does not win the championship in its final season, as the team announced its dissolution earlier in the season.
Kenseth clinched the Winston Cup championship at the Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 at Rockingham. Last season under previous points format, last Winston Cup champion. Labonte's last win as a full-time Cup Series driver.
Johnson was the last Nextel Cup champion in 2007 and the first Sprint Cup champion in 2008. In 2009, he surpassed Cale Yarborough's record for most consecutive championships and tied his teammate, Jeff Gordon, for third-most championships with four. In 2010, his championship made him the third driver to win at least five championships, joining Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt who each recorded seven.
Stewart became the first owner-driver since Alan Kulwicki in 1992 to win a Cup championship. Stewart’s third championship. Race concluded with Stewart and Carl Edwards tied in the final standings; Stewart won the championship by virtue of a tiebreaker, as he won five races while Edwards only won once.[9]
Penske's first ever NASCAR Cup championship. Dodge's first championship since Richard Petty in 1975; this was also their only one in their return to NASCAR competition as well as their last, as Chrysler decided to pull out after twelve seasons.[10]
Team owner Tony Stewart becomes the second owner-driver after Lee Petty to win championships as both a driver and an owner with Harvick's championship.
Kyle Busch wins Toyota's first Cup Series championship. Busch only ran 25 races in 2015 after suffering a broken leg in the Xfinity Series race at Daytona in February; NASCAR issued him a waiver to allow him to compete in the Playoffs as long as he was in the top 30 in series points after the fall Richmond race and had won enough events to secure a wild card berth. Jeff Gordon retired from full-time competition following the race after twenty-three seasons.
Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing Kevin Harvick, Stewart Haas Racing Martin Truex Jr., Furniture Row Racing
All three races saw one of the Championship 4 drivers win both the race and championship. Brett Moffitt in the Truck Series, Tyler Reddick in the Xfinity Series, and Joey Logano in the Cup Series.
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Brad Keselowski, Team Penske Joey Logano, Team Penske
Elliott and his father Bill become the third father-son pairing to win the Cup, joining Lee and Richard Petty and Ned and Dale Jarrett. Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson retires from full-time racing after the event.
Martin Truex, Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports
Larson tied Tony Stewart's record of five victories during the Chase/Playoffs. The victory was his tenth of the season, making him the first driver since Jimmie Johnson in 2007 to record double-digit victories in a single season.
Logano recorded his fourth win of the season to win the championship. He joined Kyle Busch as only the second active driver with multiple Cup Series championships. Elliott's No. 9 car did not contend for the owner's championship; Hendrick's No. 5 car, driven by Larson, was instead part of the owner's Championship 4.
Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports
First time since introduction of Championship Round format that the Cup Series champion was not also the race winner. Team Penske wins third Cup Series championship with third different driver (Keselowski, Logano). 2014 champion Kevin Harvick retires following the race.
Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Joey Logano, Team Penske Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports
Team Penske joins Hendrick Motorsports and Junior Johnson & Associates as the only teams to win three consecutive Cup Series championships. First time in Playoff Era that Joe Gibbs Racing does not qualify for Championship Round. 2017 champion Martin Truex, Jr. retires following the race. Two-time champion team Stewart-Haas Racing ceases operations after the event.
