Homestead-Miami Speedway has been eager to return as host of NASCAR’s Championship Weekend for quite some time. After all, it’s been 19 months since the facility last hosted NASCAR in March 2025.
Track president Guillermo Santa Cruz is elated the time has finally come to welcome the sport back to its South Florida home this weekend, culminating in a trio of championship battles in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and NASCAR Cup Series.
MORE: Homestead-Miami schedule | Cup Chase standings
Santa Cruz has overseen the speedway since July 2024 and has been planning upgrades to the historic facility throughout his tenure, particularly since May 2025, when NASCAR announced its 2026 return to Homestead as the championship host for the first time since 2019.
“If you were here six months ago, you wouldn’t recognize the place — let alone 18 months ago, or let alone seven years ago, if the last time you came was during championship,” Santa Cruz said. “It is completely different. Now it’s not a major overhaul, but it is a very significant overhaul.”
Santa Cruz said “there is a certain sense of satisfaction” as campers and guests begin to arrive and see what he and his team have prepared to show off the track’s latest additions.
“You can look outside and you can go to the fan zone and you can go to the suites and you can walk this facility and see that it all became a reality, and that is highly unusual,” Santa Cruz told NASCAR.com in a Tuesday teleconference. “I’ve worked in sports my whole life, and I worked in creative projects pretty much my whole life. And to see from vision to execution what’s transpired here and what the team has done is really incredible, because it really stayed close to the original vision. They took it further, and the team in our design and development groups, the team here locally, track ops and facilities and everything else, what they’ve done is amazing. It really is spectacular.”
Among the upgrades are stunning pops of color across the track’s facade courtesy of famed artist Romero Britto, whose website describes him as “Brazilian-born and Miami-made.” The mural features the Bill France Cup, awarded to the Cup Series champion Sunday evening, as well as the track’s iconic palm-tree logo with checkered patterns woven into bright swatches of color and designs, showcasing Britto’s unmistakable influence and allowing the track to embrace his connection to South Florida.
“We want to be a really important part of this community,” Santa Cruz said. “And Homestead is part of South Florida. It’s not Miami, but there has to be a link. And I think this brings Miami closer to us because the goal is not to bring us closer to Miami; the goal is to bring Miami closer to Homestead, and that puts us in that space. We are now home to the largest Romero Britto artwork installation anywhere in the world. There’s none bigger anywhere, and there’s plenty of other big ones. So to have that connection with somebody who is so connected to our community — because you see his art everywhere. We have his art elsewhere in Homestead. He has a Florida license plate that he designed. You see him everywhere. He is very symbolic and synonymous with South Florida, so to have that association and that partnership is wonderful.”
In addition to the mural, Britto also designed the vibrant trophy that will be handed to the winner of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series championship race (3 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
RELATED: Tracks to host NASCAR finales through the years
Britto’s artwork is just part of the backdrop for this weekend’s championship events, the first held outside of Phoenix Raceway since 2019.
Enhanced signage highlights the main gate to better direct fans to their vehicles. The footprint of the fan zone has been increased to accommodate more activations and merchandise trailers.
“It’s gonna be a real festival type of atmosphere inside the gate because we’ve pushed that to the edge of the property,” Santa Cruz said. “A lot of land that wasn’t being used, a lot of land that actually had been left in disrepair, is now refurbished and looks spectacular.”
Santa Cruz also spoke highly of the newly renovated suites in the Turn 1 grandstand, which provide a sweeping and unique view of the 1.5-mile oval.
“If you have the good fortune of being in one of the Turn 1 suites, well, let me tell you, you’re in for a real treat because what we’ve done with those suites and with Champions Club is truly incredible,” said Santa Cruz, whose previous work included production of the FIFA World Cup among other sports. “It is on par with any other sports facility anywhere in the world, and trust me, I’ve been to my fair share of them. We are on par with anyone. It is beautiful what we’ve done, and the view from the Turn 1 Tower to the track, it looks surreal. It looks like you’re staring into a video game. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Ultimately, Santa Cruz simply hopes all race-goers enjoy their experience at Homestead, a track known for its championship-defining moments. He also knows the NASCAR community is part of the appeal, and one of the best ways for someone to become a new fan is by talking to an existing one.
“I tell people all the time, if you don’t know anything about NASCAR, show up anyway. Ask a question,” Santa Cruz said. “Believe me, people will be very happy to answer your questions and go on and on and on with all sorts of details about it. Because NASCAR fans are like that; they really are the greatest fans of any sport, and it’s a real community.”
Santa Cruz encourages fans to arrive at the track early. A new traffic plan is in place around the speedway, and a handy know-before-you-go “Fan Info” feature is now available on the Homestead-Miami website to help.
“We’re doing our best to make sure that ingress is as smooth as possible, and we made a lot of changes with that in mind. But there’s nothing like ‘hey, just get there early,’ ” Santa Cruz said. “And by the way, if you’re coming, you’re not gonna want to miss the flyover. You’re not gonna want to miss the pre-race that we’re cooking up. So be here on time. There’s plenty to do, and we’re gonna put on a great race.”
