NASCAR Championship Weekend at Phoenix – Schedule and Highlights

NASCAR heads to Phoenix Raceway this weekend for the 2025 season finale. The championship for each series will be decided by a single race, with one simple goal: to finish ahead of your rivals.

Championship Contenders:

NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Championship 4:

Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4:

Connor Zilisch, No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
Justin Allgaier, No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
Jesse Love, No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Carson Kvapil, No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship 4:

Corey Heim, No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota
Kaden Honeycutt, No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota
Ty Majeski, No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford
Tyler Ankrum, No. 18 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet

Cup Series Playoff Highlights

Hendrick Motorsports (2020, 2021) and Team Penske (2022, 2024) lead all organizations in Cup Series Championship Race wins at Phoenix Raceway.

Since the beginning of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in 2004, the winner of the Championship Race has won the title 11 times: 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024.

Denny Hamlin (2009, 2013) and Kyle Larson (2021) have previously won a Playoff race at Phoenix.

The Cup Series Playoff drivers have the following average finishes at Phoenix in the Next Gen car (2022-2025):

William Byron (8.0)
Kyle Larson (10.1)
Denny Hamlin (10.8)
Chase Briscoe (15.5)

Xfinity Series Playoff Highlights

Two Xfinity Series teams are represented in the Championship.

JR Motorsports has three drivers competing for the title, including Justin Allgaier, Carson Kvapil, and Connor Zilisch. Jesse Love will represent Richard Childress Racing in the Playoffs.

If either Connor Zilisch or Carson Kvapil wins the Xfinity Series championship, they would become the fourth rookie to win the Xfinity Series Championship.

Connor Zilisch has 10 wins this season, the record for most wins by a rookie. Justin Allgaier leads the series with 14 stage wins this year.

Jesse Love has finished in the top-10 in all three Phoenix starts, including a runner-up in March 2024.

The last two Xfinity Series races at Phoenix were won with a last-lap pass.

Craftsman Truck Series Highlights

Four different teams are competing for the Truck Series Championship – TRICON Garage (Corey Heim), Halmar Friesen Racing (Kaden Honeycutt), ThorSport Racing (Ty Majeski), and McAnally-Hilgemann Racing (Tyler Ankrum).

Corey Heim and Ty Majeski are the only two Championship 4 drivers who have previously appeared in the Championship 4.

Corey Heim has led in every race in 2025. He has the opportunity to become the first driver to lead in every race of a season.

In every Phoenix Championship race that has finished in overtime, the pass for the win came in overtime.

The average age of the Championship 4 is 25 years, 4 months, 20 days, the youngest ever.

Weekend Schedule

Thursday, Oct. 30

7:35 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – 50 minutes

Friday, Oct. 31

2 p.m.: ARCA Practice – 45 minutes
3 p.m.: ARCA – Qualifying/Impound/20 minutes
3:35 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying/Impound/Single Vehicle/1 Lap – FS2
4:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice/50 minutes – CW App
5:35 p.m.: Cup Series Practice/50 minutes – truTV/MRN/SiriusXM
7:30 p.m.: Truck Series Championship race Stages 45/90/150 Laps = 150 Miles
FS1/SiriusXM/MRN
Purse: $2,151,939
Post Truck Series Championship race: NASCAR Press Pass

Saturday, Nov. 1

1:30 p.m.: ARCA Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100: 100 Laps/100 Miles – FloRacing
3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying
Impound/All Entries/ Single Vehicle /1 Lap – CW App
5 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying Impound/All Entries/ Single Vehicle /1 Lap truTV/MRN/SiriusXM
Post Cup Series Qualifying: NASCAR Press Pass

7:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship race
Stages 45/90/200 Laps = 200 Miles
CW/MRN/SiriusXM
Purse: $2,151,939
Post Xfinity Series Championship race: NASCAR Press Pass

Sunday, Nov. 2

3 p.m.: Cup Series Championship race
Stages: 60/185/312 Laps = 312 Miles
Peacock/NBC/HBO Max/MRN/SiriusXM
Purse: $12,394,135
Post Cup Series Championship race: NASCAR Press Pass
All times are Eastern.

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

Angie Campbell
Angie Campbell
A native of Charlotte, NC, Angela (Angie) was first introduced to racing by her father. An avid fan of NASCAR, she found a way to combine her love of racing with her passion for writing. Angie is also an award-winning member of the National Motorsports Press Association. Follow her on Twitter @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

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