Chase Briscoe will lead the NASCAR Cup Series field to the green flag in Sunday’s championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Briscoe delivered the fastest lap during Saturday’s qualifying session, putting his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on the pole for the biggest race of the 2026 season. His lap of 32.396 seconds, at 166.687 mph, was enough to edge teammate Denny Hamlin by just 0.017 seconds.
Tyler Reddick qualified third, followed by Kyle Larson in fourth and Austin Cindric in fifth.
With the Cup Series championship on the line Sunday, Briscoe couldn’t have asked for a better starting position. But the field behind him is loaded with drivers capable of challenging for the win, and several familiar names will have plenty of ground to make up.
Chase Briscoe Leads NASCAR Championship Race Starting Lineup
The top of Saturday’s qualifying leaderboard was remarkably close.
Hamlin’s lap of 32.413 seconds put him second, while Reddick followed with a 32.437-second lap. Larson was only 0.067 seconds behind Briscoe in fourth, with Cindric completing the top five.
Christopher Bell qualified sixth, followed by Chase Elliott in seventh and William Byron in eighth. Ryan Blaney and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top 10.
Briscoe’s pole gives Joe Gibbs Racing the first two starting positions for Sunday’s championship race, with Hamlin lining up alongside him on the front row.
The margins were especially tight among the leading contenders. Just 0.160 seconds separated Briscoe from sixth-place Bell, setting up an intriguing battle when the green flag waves.
Full NASCAR Cup Series Starting Lineup for Homestead
Here are the starting positions for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series championship race, based on Saturday’s qualifying results.
| Position | Driver |
| 1 | Chase Briscoe |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin |
| 3 | Tyler Reddick |
| 4 | Kyle Larson |
| 5 | Austin Cindric |
| 6 | Christopher Bell |
| 7 | Chase Elliott |
| 8 | William Byron |
| 9 | Ryan Blaney |
| 10 | Daniel Suarez |
| 11 | Austin Hill |
| 12 | Michael McDowell |
| 13 | Alex Bowman |
| 14 | Josh Berry |
| 15 | Ross Chastain |
| 16 | Corey Heim |
| 17 | Chris Buescher |
| 18 | Bubba Wallaace |
| 19 | Joey Logano |
| 20 | Ty Gibbs |
| 21 | Austin Dillon |
| 22 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| 23 | Connor Zilisch |
| 24 | Erik Jones |
| 25 | Todd Gilliland |
| 26 | Justin Haley |
| 27 | Zane Smith |
| 28 | Cole Custer |
| 29 | AJ Allmendinger |
| 30 | Riley Herbst |
| 31 | Ty Dillon |
| 32 | Ryan Preece |
| 33 | Noah Gragson |
| 34 | Shane van Gisbergen |
| 35 | Cody Ware |
| 36 | John Hunter Nemechek |
| 37 | Casey Mears |
| 38 | JJ Yeley |
| 39 | Chad Finchum |
| 40 | Brad Keselowski |
When Is the NASCAR Championship Race?
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series championship race is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 8, at 3 p.m. ET at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
NBC will provide television coverage of the season finale.
For Briscoe, the pole represents an opportunity to set the pace from the opening lap. For everyone behind him, qualifying is over and the focus shifts to race day, when NASCAR will crown its 2026 Cup Series champion.
Who’s on the Pole at Homestead? Full NASCAR Cup Qualifying Results