href="https://racer.com/2026/11/08/blaney-steals-homestead-win-as-kyle-larson-claims-nascar-cup-series-title">winning his third Cup Series title. Larson's second Tonight Show visit in as many years leaves open how many viewers a champion will draw, and how that compares with the audience for Sunday's title race.
Larson joins actress Jessica Chastain, actor Taylor Kinney and musical guest Brothers Osborne on the episode, according to DirecTV. “The Champ is in the house!” NASCAR wrote in a post shared by Hendrick Motorsports, which directed viewers to NBC at 11:35 p.m. ET. The champion arrives with a story to tell.
Larson went the entire 26-race regular season without a victory, then won three of the first nine Chase races and clinched the championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a fourth-place finish in Stage 1. “This was statistically probably one of our worst years,” Larson said after the race, as quoted by NBC Sports.
The title was Hendrick Motorsports' record 16th, and Larson became the first back-to-back champion since Jimmie Johnson. HOW TO WATCH: KYLE LARSON ON THE TONIGHT SHOW The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon • Wednesday, November 11, 2026 Network NBC Air Time 11:35 p.m. ET / 10:35 p.m. CT, weeknights. Pacific time and other markets can vary, so confirm local listings.
Streaming / On-Demand New episodes typically stream the next day on Peacock. Season 14 is also available on Peacock Premium/Plus, fuboTV and NBC platforms (sometimes with ads). Official Page nbc.com/the-tonight-show Sources: NBC.com; JustWatch. Guest appearance timing within the episode is not confirmed.
How to Watch Kyle Larson's Tonight Show Appearance Here is everything needed to watch Larson's appearance: Network: NBC Air time: 11:35 p.m. ET, 10:35 p.m. CT, with viewers in other time zones checking local listings Streaming: Episodes are available to stream on Peacock Taping location: Studio 6B at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York, before a live audience Taping time: about 5 p.m. ET, wrapping near 6:30 p.m.
ET Larson's segment: not announced by NBC Because the show is recorded in the early evening, Larson's segment will be finished hours before the 11:35 p.m. broadcast. NBC has not released a segment-by-segment rundown. DirecTV's schedule lists Larson third, between Kinney and Brothers Osborne, while LateNighter lists him after Brothers Osborne.
Larson was honored at the NASCAR Awards in Miami on Tuesday night, the evening before the taping. Kyle Larson's Ratings Outlook and Past Appearance The Tonight Show averaged 1.38 million total viewers in October across 12 first-run episodes, down 8% from September, with 201,000 adults ages 18-49. The show posted 1.532 million viewers in the third quarter.
Those numbers point toward roughly 1.3 million to 1.5 million total viewers for the Larson episode. NBC has not issued a forecast. Nielsen figures for the Nov. 8 championship race had not been reported as of Wednesday. NBC's pre-race coverage began at 2 p.m. ET, with the green flag at 3 p.m. Earlier Cup races supply the context. The first nine Chase races averaged 1.71 million viewers, down 3 percent from 2025.
The network drew 2.581 million viewers for Talladega on Oct. 25 and 1.987 million viewers for Martinsville on Nov. 1, a 13.6 percent drop from last year. Last year's finale at Phoenix drew 2.774 million viewers on NBC. The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series finale on The CW last Saturday averaged 1.181 million viewers, peaking at 1.638 million. A Fallon…
