NASCAR Championship 2026 Start Time: Cup Race at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, Sunday, Nov. 8, at Homestead

The NASCAR Cup Series championship race is Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, at 3 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on NBC at Homestead-Miami Speedway, according to the start times the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) announced. The Truck and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series finales run on the two days before, at the same track.

NASCAR’s release said it “released official start times and networks for the 2026 season for its three national series.” These are scheduled start times, so check the broadcaster’s listing on race day.

What time does the NASCAR championship race start?

The Cup Series race starts at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 8, on NBC. By our conversion that is 2 p.m. Central Time (CT), 1 p.m. Mountain Time (MT), noon Pacific Time (PT), 11 a.m. in Alaska and 10 a.m. in Hawaii. Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time (DST), so after Nov. 1 it matches Mountain Time: 1 p.m. Sunday.

Outside the United States, 3 p.m. ET is 20:00 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), or 8 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in the United Kingdom, by our conversion.

Championship weekend schedule by time zone

NASCAR lists all three national series at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The channel and ET times come from NASCAR; the other zones are our conversion. Fox Sports 1 (FS1) carries the Truck Series race.

Race	Date	Network	ET	CT	MT	PT
Truck Series	Fri., Nov. 6	FS1	7:30 p.m.	6:30 p.m.	5:30 p.m.	4:30 p.m.
O’Reilly Auto Parts Series	Sat., Nov. 7	The CW	5 p.m.	4 p.m.	3 p.m.	2 p.m.
NASCAR Cup Series	Sun., Nov. 8	NBC	3 p.m.	2 p.m.	1 p.m.	noon

Our conversion for viewers in the United Kingdom, in GMT: the Truck race is 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, the O’Reilly race is 10 p.m. on Saturday, and the Cup race is 8 p.m. on Sunday.

Practice and qualifying times are not on the schedule release we checked, so we do not list them.

Sunday’s Cup race across every U.S. zone

Zone	Start on Sun., Nov. 8
Eastern	3 p.m.
Central	2 p.m.
Mountain (and Arizona)	1 p.m.
Pacific	noon
Alaska	11 a.m.
Hawaii	10 a.m.

Do the clocks change before the race?

Yes. U.S. clocks fall back on Sunday, Nov. 1, the Sunday before the Cup race, so the whole championship weekend is on standard time. If your TV guide, phone or recording schedule was set before the change, check that it shows the new offset. Mark Nov. 1 and Nov. 6-8 on a November 2026 printable calendar or a printable weekly calendar.

What channel is the NASCAR championship on?

NASCAR lists NBC for the Cup Series race, FS1 for the Truck Series race and The CW for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race. NBC Sports wrote in August that NBC broadcasts Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 8 as one of the final three races.

The same November 2025 release also said that “on NBC and Peacock, USA Sports is home to the entire NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.” We have no listing that confirms a streaming service for the Truck or O’Reilly races.

How the 2026 champion is decided

NBC 6 South Florida described the 2026 Cup Series format in January. The top 16 drivers in the points standings after the regular season make The Chase, the 10-race title run, and whichever of the 16 has the most points at the end of The Chase is the champion.

Rule for 2026	What NBC 6 South Florida reported
Field	Top 16 drivers in points after the regular season
Eliminations	“There are no more eliminations or win-and-in systems.”
Points reset	Once, at the start of The Chase
Seeding	Leader starts at 2,100 points, 16th place at 2,000
Win value	55 points, up from 40

The 2014-2025 format ended with a one-race finale among four drivers. This story covers the Cup Series only, and we do not list current standings or which drivers are in contention.

Why Homestead hosts the 2026 finale

FOX Sports reported in May 2025 that Homestead-Miami Speedway, which hosted the championship race from 2002 to 2019, would be the site of the 2026 finales for the three national series from Nov. 6 to 8, 2026. NASCAR said that for 2027 it will move to another site as part of a plan to rotate the finale. Our NASCAR 2027 schedule story has the next season’s dates.

Where the 2025 finale was

Last year, the Cup Series finale was at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, NBC Sports said in a release. The 2026 race keeps the 3 p.m. ET Sunday start on NBC.

Free NASCAR championship weekend 2026 watch schedule

Our printable puts the three races, with Eastern and Pacific times and networks, on one page, with room to note your driver and the finishing order. Racing fans following other weekends can compare the Las Vegas Grand Prix 2026 race time and the National Football League (NFL) Week 10 schedule.