Host tracks for NASCAR finales through the years

Sunday's Cup Series Championship race marks the end of a six-year stretch Phoenix Raceway has hosted finale weekend across all three national series. Look back on the other tracks that have also hosted the final event of the season. 

HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY

Years as finale host: 2002-2019, 2026

Location: Homestead, Fla.

Track type: 1.5-mile asphalt oval

Other names in track's history:
Miami-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex

Notable: Homestead's 18-year run as host of the season finale was the longest for any track in series' history, and it returns as the championship venue in 2026. … All seven of Jimmie Johnson's seven championships in NASCAR's top series were clinched here, as were all three of Tony Stewart's Cup titles. … The track has been reconfigured twice since first hosting NASCAR national series events in 1995.

PHOENIX RACEWAY

Years as finale host: 2020-2025

Location: Avondale, Ariz.

Track type: 1-mile asphalt oval

Other names in track's history: Phoenix International Raceway, FasTrack International Speedway, ISM Raceway, Jeff Gordon Raceway

Notable: The Phoenix-area track was added to NASCAR's premier-series schedule in 1988. In 25 of the 32 years that the track has been a part of the schedule, it has served as the next-to-last race of the Cup Series season. … Kevin Harvick (pictured leading) tops the track's all-time win list with nine Phoenix victories.

NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Years as finale host: 2001

Location: Loudon, N.H.

Track type: 1.058-mile asphalt oval

Other names in track's history: New Hampshire International Speedway

Notable: New Hampshire became the 2001 finale when its race was rescheduled from its September date to Nov. 23, 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 tragedy. … The event, held on the Friday after Thanksgiving, marked the first of three Cup Series wins for Robby Gordon. … Jeff Gordon had clinched the last of his four premier-series championships a week earlier in Atlanta.

ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Years as finale host: 1960, 1962, 1987-2000

Location: Hampton, Ga.

Track type: 1.54-mile asphalt oval

Other names in track's history: Atlanta International Raceway

Notable: Bobby Johns became a first-time winner in the first season finale at Atlanta in 1960, the year it opened. Rex White was that season's champ. … Atlanta's final turn as the season-ending race was won by another first-time victor: Jerry Nadeau, in 2000. Bobby Labonte was crowned the season-long champion. … Dale Earnhardt tops Atlanta's all-time win list with nine victories, two more than fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough.

RIVERSIDE INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

Years as finale host: 1963, 1981-1986

Location: Riverside, Calif.

Track type: 2.62-mile road course

Other names in track's history: Riverside Regional Raceway

Notable: The Cup Series raced at Riverside 48 times from 1958-88. … All five NASCAR premier-series victories by sports-car racing legend Dan Gurney came at the Riverside circuit. Bobby Allison's six Riverside wins top the all-time list. … The track property was developed after closing in the late 1980s, with a shopping mall and residences taking its place.

ONTARIO MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Years as finale host: 1974-1980

Location: Ontario, Calif.

Track type: 2.5-mile asphalt oval

Other names in track's history: None.

Notable: Ontario was considered a state-of-the-art facility when it opened in 1970. It hosted multiple races for NASCAR, NHRA and IndyCar, plus a one-off exhibition for Formula One in 1971. … The track's design, which included an infield road course, was modeled after Indianapolis Motor Speedway's rectangular layout. … A.J. Foyt won the first NASCAR race there, on Feb. 28, 1971. The day before, Evel Knievel completed a record motorcycle jump over 19 cars at the track. … The venue was razed in 1981, with development gradually taking place on the property. Benny Parsons was the last NASCAR winner there, leading just eight of the 200 laps on Nov. 15, 1980.

ROCKINGHAM SPEEDWAY

Years as finale host: 1966, 1973

Location: Rockingham, N.C.

Track type: 1.017-mile asphalt oval.

Other names in track's history: North Carolina Motor Speedway, North Carolina Speedway.

Notable: The high-banked track hosted NASCAR's top division 78 times from 1965-2004. … Fred Lorenzen won the 1966 finale, and David Pearson prevailed there in the 1973 season-ender. The champions those years: Pearson (1966) and Benny Parsons (1973). … King Richard Petty was the track's all-time leader in victories, scoring 11 Rockingham triumphs in 54 starts. … Matt Kenseth won the most recent Cup Series race at Rockingham in 2004.

TEXAS WORLD SPEEDWAY

Years as finale host: 1969, 1971-1972

Location: College Station, Texas

Track type: 2-mile asphalt oval

Other names in track's history: None.

Notable: The track's configuration closely resembled that of Michigan International Speedway, though with slightly steeper banking (22 degrees in the turns vs. Michigan's 18). … Texas World hosted the Cup Series eight times in a span from 1969 to 1981. Bobby Isaac won the track's NASCAR opener, snagging the final victory in his 17-win season with Nord Krauskopf's No. 71 Dodge. … The 2-mile oval hosted the ARCA Menards Series from 1991-93, with Darrell Waltrip winning the final race. … The track was used for testing and club events in recent years, but was slated for residential development in 2018.

LANGLEY SPEEDWAY

Years as finale host: 1970

Location: Hampton, Va.

Track type: .396-mile asphalt oval

Other names in track's history: Langley Field Speedway, Dude Ranch.

Notable: The Tidewater-area track held nine Cup Series events from 1964-70. The first four of those were held on dirt before track management paved the facility ahead of the 1968 races. … The venue originally held Thoroughbred horse races and occasional stock-car events on a .8-mile oval. … Bobby Allison won the 1970 finale at Langley, which also hosted what's now called the Xfinity Series for 14 races in the 1980s and the K&N Pro Series East (pictured) seven times in this decade.

JEFCO SPEEDWAY

Years as finale host: 1968

Location: Jefferson, Ga.

Track type: 0.5-mile asphalt track

Other names in track's history: Peach State Speedway, Georgia International Speedway, Gresham Motorsports Park

Notable: The half-mile facility hosted just two premier-series events after it opened in 1967. Cale Yarborough won the 1968 finale, and Bobby Isaac prevailed at Jefco the following season. … The track ran three K&N Pro Series East events from 2010-12, producing a pair of winners that are now Monster Energy Series regulars -- Ty Dillon (2010) and Kyle Larson (2012). … Parts of the 1982 comedy "Six Pack" starring Kenny Rogers and Diane Lane were filmed at the track.

ASHEVILLE-WEAVERVILLE SPEEDWAY

Years as finale host: 1967

Location: Weaverville, N.C.

Track type: 0.5-mile asphalt track

Other names in track's history: None.

Notable: Asheville-Weaverville was a mainstay on the Cup Series schedule from 1951-69, but hosted the season finale just once. … NASCAR Hall of Famer Rex White heads Asheville-Weaverville's all-time win list with five victories. All three Flock brothers -- Bob, Fonty and Tim -- won there. … North Buncombe High School is now located on the property, with the school's athletic fields on the land where the track once sat.

DOG TRACK SPEEDWAY

Years as finale host: 1965

Location: Moyock, N.C.

Track type: .333-mile asphalt track

Other names in track's history: None

Notable: After greyhound racing and betting was shut down at the facility in the mid-1950s, it converted to stock-car racing -- first as a quarter-mile dirt track, then as a 1/3-mile paved oval. … Ned Jarrett (pictured with the 1964 Dog Track trophy) won four of the seven NASCAR premier-series events held at the coastal track, located just south of the North Carolina-Virginia border. … Jarrett collected $1,111 for winning the 1965 finale, a purse bolstered by a $111 donation from loyal fan W.A. Maynard of Norfolk. The contribution was made so that Jarrett would end the season $1 ahead of Fred Lorenzen in the season's prize money total.

JACKSONVILLE SPEEDWAY

Years as finale host: 1964

Location: Jacksonville, N.C.

Track type: 0.5-mile dirt track

Other names in track's history: None.

Notable: The coastal track hosted just two premier-series races in its history, both won by NASCAR Hall of Famers seven years apart. Buck Baker took the 1957 opener, and Ned Jarrett prevailed in the '64 finale. … Jarrett led 126 of 200 laps in the latter race, capping a 15-win campaign in Bondy Long's No. 11 Ford, but Richard Petty clinched the first of seven championships. Pictured are the celebrants at the 1964 awards banquet: From left, Illustrated Speedway News Publisher Walter Bull, Modified champ Bobby Allison, Sportsman champ Rene Charland, and Petty.

OCCONEECHEE SPEEDWAY

Years as finale host: 1950, 1955, 1961

Location: Hillsborough, N.C.

Track type: Dirt track, measured at both 1 mile and 0.9 miles in its history.

Other names in track's history: Orange Speedway

Notable: The central North Carolina venue was part of the premier-series schedule in its inaugural season in 1949. … Three drivers top the all-time win list with three wins each: Buck Baker, and Lee and Richard Petty. … The track last hosted NASCAR's top division in 1968. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. It is now occupied by park lands and trails, including one that follows the outline of the stock-car track. ... Joe Weatherly is shown starting from the pole at the track in March 1963, with Jim Paschal alongside.

CONCORD SPEEDWAY

Years as finale host: 1959

Location: Concord, N.C.

Track type: 0.5-mile dirt track

Other names in track's history: None.

Notable: The facility hosted NASCAR's top division 12 times from 1956-64. Jack Smith topped the track's list with three wins, including the 1959 season-ender. … The half-mile closed in the 1970s as development overtook the area. The venue that currently hosts stock-car races is south of the original site. ... Shown is the start of a Modified Division race in the late 1940s.

LAKEWOOD SPEEDWAY

Years as finale host: 1953, 1958

Location: Atlanta, Ga.

Track type: 1-mile dirt track.

Other names in track's history: None.

Notable: Long billed as the "Indianapolis of the South," Lakewood was home to some of the biggest stock-car races in the sport's infancy, even before NASCAR's formation. … The layout, which circled a man-made lake, began its life as a horse-racing track in 1917 and closed with another horse-racing event in 1983. … Lakewood's two season finales were won by Buck Baker (1953) and Junior Johnson (1958). … A piece of NASCAR lore occurred at Lakewood in 1959. Richard Petty was primed to register the first premier-series win of his career, but the triumph was overturned after a protest by his father, Lee, who disputed the scoring. ... Shown is the final pace lap before the March 1954 start, with an official in the pace car signaling one lap until green. Herb Thomas is on the pole.

GREENSBORO FAIRGROUNDS

Years as finale host: 1957

Location: Greensboro, N.C.

Track type: 0.333-mile dirt track

Other names in track's history: None.

Notable: Buck Baker capped his second straight Cup Series championship by leading 66 of the 250 laps, collecting $900 for his 10th win of the season. … The Greensboro Coliseum Complex was later built on the site, opening in 1959. ... Paul Goldsmith is shown driving past to the white flag, on his way to victory at Greensboro in April 1957.

WILSON SPEEDWAY

Years as finale host: 1956

Location: Wilson, N.C.

Track type: 0.5-mile dirt track

Other names in track's history: Wilson County Speedway.

Notable: The half-mile oval hosted 12 premier-series races from 1951-60. … Buck Baker's triumph in the '56 season finale marked the last of 52 wins by powerhouse team owner Carl Kiekhaefer. Baker (shown leading in March 1957) edged out Joe Weatherly and Speedy Thompson as all three front-runners sputtered out of fuel in the late going. Baker's margin of victory was listed as 1 foot.

NORTH WILKESBORO SPEEDWAY

Years as finale host: 1949, 1954

Location: North Wilkesboro, N.C.

Track type: 0.625-mile dirt, then asphalt track

Other names in track's history: None.

Notable: The legendary short track played host to 93 premier-series races from 1949-96, including the Wilkes 200 event that closed the circuit's inaugural season. Bob Flock won that finale, taking command with 20 laps remaining when Bill Blair retired with engine failure. … The '54 finale marked the last of four premier-series wins by NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee Hershel McGriff. … Richard Petty was the winningest driver at the 5/8-mile facility with 15 victories. ... Shown is the start of the 1954 season finale.

PALM BEACH SPEEDWAY

Years as finale host: 1952

Location: West Palm Beach, Fla.

Track type: 0.5-mile dirt, then asphalt track

Other names in track's history: None.

Notable: The facility also hosted the Cup Series' season-opening race from 1952-54. … NASCAR Hall of Famer Herb Thomas, pictured at Palm Beach in his No. 92 Hudson Hornet, won four of the seven premier-series events held there. … The annual South Florida Fair is held at the former site of the race track.

LAKEVIEW SPEEDWAY

Years as finale host: 1951

Location: Mobile, Ala.

Track type: 0.75-mile dirt track

Other names in track's history: Mobile Speedway, New Mobile Speedway

Notable: The fast 3/4-miler played host to just two premier-series races in its brief lifetime, both in the 1951 season. Tim Flock and Frank Mundy split those victories, with Mundy leading every lap of the finale in a rare win for automaker Studebaker. … The remains of the egg-shaped track circle Cochran Lake in the unincorporated community of Eight Mile, named for its distance northeast of Mobile. ... Flock is shown starting second in the track's April 1951 debut, driving the Black Phantom No. 91 Oldsmobile to an eventual victory.