NASCAR finale set to return to Homestead-Miami

The Florida track hosted the final round of the season from 2002 to 2019, before Phoenix Raceway took over in 2020. According to The Athletic, Homestead will once again play host to the finale, but it shouldn't be a long-term lease this time. NASCAR would be moving towards a rotation system for the final, which sees the last four drivers remaining in contention for the crown compete against each other. The rather processional nature of the races in Phoenix played a role in this change, although the Arizona circuit is expected to be part of the rotation put in place for the final. The circuit had undertaken extensive renovations in order to prepare for hosting its first final, in 2020.

When the baton was handed over from Homestead to Phoenix, observers welcomed the change of venue. Events on one-and-a-half-mile ovals (like Homestead) were indeed less popular than races on circuits of one mile or less (like Phoenix) at the end of the sixth generation of NASCAR's career. In 2022, however, the seventh generation of vehicles, called "Next Gen," made its debut. And even today, it is on so-called "intermediate" ovals that the races are the most spectacular. The product offered by NASCAR on small ovals is too processional, which has impacted the final race, often decided at the end of the last round of pit stops.

All four drivers who were in the final round in 2020, the first year in Phoenix, wanted to see the final race rotate between different circuits. Kevin Harvick was among those who spoke out most strongly in favor of this change: "I wouldn't return to Phoenix in 2021, that's clear. If I were to decide the schedule, I would change the location of the final race. It doesn't make sense to hold the final in the same place every year."

NASCAR would thus follow the example of the National Football League (NFL), whose Super Bowl is held in a different city each year. NASCAR is expected to officially announce in the coming weeks that it will move the final from Phoenix to Homestead-Miami.

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