Ryan Blaney — winner: ““We restarted third and went to fourth, so I just tried to pick the lane I thought was gonna go the best. We did a good job getting to second. I was able to wrap the bottom really well on both ends and was able to inch up on some guys and I got a really good corner of one and two. (Tyler Reddick) protected on the bottom and I was able to get to his right-rear and hold him off for the last lap. It’s was some really cool fight by this team for coming back the way we did and just bringing a really fast car and working on it all night. That’s a fun end to the season. You definitely want to end on a high note. We hated coming in here and not having a shot to win a championship, but the best thing we could do was try to win the race and get as much points as we can and we’ll see where it takes us, so I was really happy we were able to execute that today and get all we could.”
Blaney: ‘Learned from’ past struggles at Miami
Ryan Blaney explains why winning the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race – despite not being in the title hunt – felt like redemption after “giving it away” to Tyler Reddick at this track two years ago.
Tyler Reddick — second: “I haven’t seen a replay yet, but it was Denny (Hamlin), (William) Byron, and out of nowhere here comes (Blaney) through those guys quick, and just from my seat it seemed like he was really good around the bottom of (turns) 3 and 4 so I tried to at least keep him behind me until we go there. Me being me, I felt like if it played out how I wanted it to, I would have stalled his momentum out and ran the top of (turns) 3 and 4, but he just had too big of a run, I think. I blocked low and it seemed in the moment he was still able to break the plane of my back bumper, and I lost the ability to have the top lane. Very fitting that it played out the way that it did but pretty much exactly the same as what we did in 2024. Thanks to Toyota and everyone at 23XI Racing for a great season.”
Christopher Bell — fourth: “We were fine in the daylight with our DEWALT Interstate Batteries Camry. Just, I don’t know. I was really loose in the daylight and pretty fast and we felt like whenever the nighttime came that we were going to get better and honestly, it was the opposite. Just kind of got a little bit worse compared to the guys up front. I don’t know. Overall, a really solid day running top five and almost running top three in the stages. We did what we needed to do today, but didn’t do what we needed to do throughout the previous nine.”
Bell: 2026 season was ‘something to build on’
Christopher Bell reflects on his strong showing this season where he was in contention for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship until the very end, calling the campaign “something to build on.”
Bubba Wallace — fifth: “Oh man, as much as we say that we’re excited for the offseason, I hate that it’s over with. These guys behind me gave me a great car tonight — all year long. Let them down a lot, but tonight was pure grit starting 18th and quickly getting up to the top 10 in stage one and then figuring out what I needed to do to be better here at Homestead. This is one of my favorite places, but damn, it kicks my ass just about every time I come here. I’ve still got a lot more room to go, but this is a hell of a way to cap off a great season with them with a top five and on to the offseason.”
Denny Hamlin — sixth: “It was really good. I’m really proud of the whole Progressive Toyota team. We made lots of gains from Friday to the race tonight. Really happy with the effort we put forth there on the race track today. Just going for it there at the end and cost us some spots getting into the wall. Definitely wanted to try to win. It was a fun race. Certainly, we picked up a little steam from where we were on the other mile and a half last time.”
Hamlin: ‘Great year’ despite not winning title
Denny Hamlin explains why this was a great year for him in “every way you can measure” and he can appreciate being in title contention until the end before commending Kyle Larson for an incredible late-season push.
Austin Cindric — seventh: “That was much needed for our team, just being able to capitalize on another great Ford. The last stage of the race was probably our weakest, but still to come home with a top 10 is really strong. And to finish top 10 in points is the most important. We were kind of points racing there to the end, but with everything that’s gone on the last couple weeks, it’s a nice way to end the season. I appreciate everyone’s effort from Team Penske, Ford Racing and looking forward to introducing a new car next year.”
Noah Gragson — ninth: “(The incident with Daniel Suarez) was 100 percent on me. I drove it down to the bottom and I crossed the seam and got loose and I was chasing it. I didn’t want to get into Suarez, obviously. We were racing hard there at the end, but, truthfully, I never want to spin out a competitor. It kind of helped out both of us unfortunately with the caution, but a strong day. We didn’t have the weekend on Friday or Saturday with practice or qualifying that we necessarily wanted to. This is one of my favorite racetracks. Running the fence is so much fun. There’s a hole in the right-rear quarterpanel because I ran it pretty much the whole race, but this is really good for our team to come home in the top 10 and go into the offseason with a little bit of momentum. It’s good for Ryan Blaney to win the race. I appreciate Ford Racing and everybody at Front Row Motorsports. It’s been a grind of a season, but grateful to come home top 10 and have a better mood going home tonight.”
The Hendrick Motorsports star clinched the title with a fourth-place finish in the first stage of the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Kyle Larson — 12th: “What a year. Bringing the Chase back was exciting. Yeah, just proud of this team. It’s going to be fun to celebrate with everybody tonight. All of our families, wives, girlfriends, significant others, mechanics in the race shop that don’t get to come often. You fans, too, for sticking around. Thank you guys so much for what you mean to me and mean to the sport. Let’s go get some more. All three (championships) mean something way different. The first one being your first. Doing the way we did was extra special. Then last year, we started off the year really hot. Just declined kind of throughout the regular season. But then steadied out in the playoffs. Again, with Cliff’s leadership, kept us in it, to be able to attack when we needed to, get the surprise of that championship.
He avenges 2024 loss to Tyler Reddick with late pass for the lead.
“This one, I mean, it’s somewhat similar, but such a different format that really takes consistency. We had a new car this year. The Chevrolet was just hard to get used to in the beginning. We all worked really hard at Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet. We were just building. I could feel we were okay, but I definitely didn’t think we would go on the run we did in this final 10 weeks. To get three wins, be as consistent as we were, it’s just a true testament to Cliff’s leadership, honestly. We would not have a single championship without him. I am so thankful to have him in my corner.”
Larson: Made the most of worst statistical season
Kyle Larson reflects on his NASCAR Cup Series Championship win, where he commends the resilience of the Hendrick team as they made an improbable postseason run after what he calls their ‘worst season statistically’.
Josh Berry — 13th: “I was proud of the adjustments we made. We got our car much better towards the end of the race and it looked like we were in position to get a top 10 before that last caution. We had a good stop, but the line stacked up really bad on the restart and just kind of lost a bunch of momentum. I was a little too tight and lost a few spots, but, all in all, it was a really fun night. It’s been a fun two years, and I’m proud of how we ended this deal. I’m thankful for the opportunity, everybody at Wood Brothers, Team Penske, Ford Motor Company, Ford Racing. It’s been a lot of fun, so we’ll close this season and go on to what’s next.”
Austin Hill — 15th: “First and foremost, I’m proud of this team and what they have pushed through the last five months. They kept their heads down in unthinkable circumstances after we lost Kyle Busch, and I appreciate the effort they gave each and every week. We had a solid weekend to end the season, which is a positive and something to build on for next year. After a good qualifying run with our Chevrolet, we knew we had to get through the first eight to 10 laps of a run and then the pace would start to even out. Our car built loose on entry and exit as the run continued, but we consistently stayed right near the top-10. The field stacked up getting on pit road under a stage caution and our nose got pushed in a lot. That definitely tightened me up in traffic and hurt our speed. We should have finished better but we fought until the end.”
AJ Allmendinger — 21st: “We started out really free, but I felt like we got it into a better spot on the second and third runs, and it was competitive. Then on the next run, we got super loose and lost a lap there. Honestly, we got it back into an okay spot after that. I think without that one challenging run, we could have been more competitive and had a better finish with our No. 16 car. I’m just grateful to the men and women at Kaulig Racing for never giving up, and honored to represent our brands this year. We look forward to 2027 and Dodge’s return to the NASCAR Cup Series.”
Chris Buescher — 24th: ““I couldn’t find any speed at the top of the racetrack, I really just felt all over the place, not the race I wanted to put together to end the season but we certainly learned a lot on where we need to improve through the Chase to be better so just hoping to have another shot at it next year.”
Ryan Preece — 25th: “We were fast and then we were not. We had a really good car and a stack up on pit road just ruined our day but onto 2027 and I’ll give it another go next season in the No. 6”
Austin Dillon — 26th: “Hate to finish it this way for everyone on the No. 3 Chevrolet team. Our car was fast on the first run. We took off and were inside the top-15. Unfortunately we had an issue with the jack on our first pit stop and that lost us track position we fought to get back the rest of the race. The team never gave up, but we never seemed to land on the right adjustment, and the damage we sustained during the pit road stack up only complicated things. We learned a lot in 2026, and it was a tough year for everyone. We will get to work now to begin 2027 on a strong note.”
Brad Keselowski — 28th: “Unfortunately (my RFK career) did not end the way I wanted it to. Wished we got a better finish today. We got caught up in that pit road crash. I don’t really know what happened there. Somebody in front of us crashed, and about ten of us got torn up.”
Ty Dillon — 31st: “We started really fast today but just lost grip as the race went on. My guys did a good job, and we had good pit stops. I want to thank everyone at Kaulig Racing for working hard this year. I’m looking forward to next season with Kaulig Racing and Dodge.”
Chase Briscoe — 39th: “We were really good there pace wise, and then in the middle of (turns) three and four, we had a little bit of a vibration and then obviously it blew up there on the front straightaway. Sure unfortunate, I felt like we were going to be in the mix. That pit stop kind of set us back, but I felt like we were going to be back up there and contend with our Toyota. Just unfortunate. Hopefully somehow we can get lucky and still finish fourth in points, but I don’t know what happened. Toyota will go back and look at it. I appreciate everything they’ve done all season long. We’ve won a lot of races, and they do everything they can to give us the best engines they can, sometimes stuff like that just happens. That’s racing. Instead of going on to next week, we will go to next year.”