NASCAR National Series News & Notes – Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway - Speedway Digest

NASCAR Cup Series

Next Race: NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race

The Place: Phoenix Raceway

Track Length: 1 Mile Asphalt Oval

The Date: Sunday, Nov. 2

The Time: 3 p.m. ET

The Purse: $12,394,135

TV: NBC & Peacock, 2 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

Distance: 312 miles (312 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 60),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 185), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 312)

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Next Race: NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race

The Place: Phoenix Raceway

Track Length: 1 Mile Asphalt Oval

The Date: Saturday, Nov. 1

The Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

The Purse: $2,151,939

TV: CW, 6:30 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

Distance: 200 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series

Next Race: NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Championship Race

The Place: Phoenix Raceway

Track Length: 1 Mile Asphalt Oval

The Date: Friday. October 31

The Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

The Purse: $1,160,400

TV: FS1, 7:30 p.m. ET

Radio: NRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)

Distance: 150 miles (150 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 150)

Where To Watch NASCAR This Week:

Friday, Oct. 31

NCTS Practice & Kennametal Pole Qualifying (FS2 at 3:30 p.m. ET)

NXS Final Practice (CW App at 4:30 p.m. ET)

NCS Final Practice (truTV, MRN, SiriusXM at 5:30 p.m. ET)

NCTS Race: NCTS Championship Race (FS1, NRN, SiriusXM at 7:30 p.m. ET)

Saturday, Nov. 1

NXS Kennametal Pole Qualifying (CW App at 3:30 p.m. ET)

NCS Busch Light Pole Qualifying (truTV, MRN, SiriusXM at 5 p.m. ET)

NXS Race: NXS Championship Race (CW, MRN, SiriusXM at 7:30 p.m. ET)

Sunday, Nov. 2

NCS Race: NCS Championship Race (NBC & Peacock, MRN, SiriusXM at 3 p.m. ET)

NASCAR Cup Series

Phoenix Raceway Storylines and Insights:

· This weekend marks the 59th running of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway.

· 2025 is the sixth season that Phoenix hosted the Championship round (2020-2025)

· Kyle Larson is the only former Cup champion in the Championship 4

· William Byron is the only Championship 4 drivers who also raced for a Championship at Phoenix last year

· Chase Briscoe is the only driver in the Championship 4 for the first time

· Kyle Larson is the only Championship 4 driver without a Playoff win, twice the Champion won the Championships without a playoff win in the first nine races of elimination style playoffs (Kyle Busch in 2015 and 2019 who won both the race of the Championship)

· Tony Stewart in 2005 is the only Champion who went winless in the Playoffs

· This is the second time two teams had multiple cars in the Championship 4 – Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing had two cars each in 2021 with Hendrick Motorsports winning the Championship with Kyle Larson

· Denny Hamlin finished 2nd at Phoenix in March, Kyle Larson 3rd, William Byron 6th & Chase Briscoe 35th

· 15 of the 35 races in 2025 were won by the four Championship 4 drivers, all four have at least three wins and Denny Hamlin has a series-best six

· Each of the Championship 4 drivers has a Cup win at Phoenix, Denny Hamlin is the only driver with multiple wins but hasn’t won there since 2019

· William Byron leads all drivers in laps run in the top-five at Phoenix in the Next Gen car (1,618), and laps run in the top-10 at Phoenix in the Next Gen car (1,975)

· Denny Hamlin would become the third-oldest Cup champion at 44 years, 11 months, 15 days old, and the oldest since Bobby Allison in 1983

· Kyle Larson’s 10 top-five finishes at Phoenix are his most at a track, his 14 top-10 finishes are tied for his most at a track with Las Vegas

· Kyle Busch will become the 14th driver to make 750 Cup starts this weekend, the best finish for a driver in their 750th start was 2nd by Mark Martin at Dover in September 2009

· Ricky Stenhouse Jr will make his 400th consecutive Cup start this weekend, the 3rd longest active streak

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Phoenix Raceway Storylines and Insights:

· This weekend marks the 48th running of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Phoenix Raceway.

· Phoenix has been on the Xfinity Series schedule every year since inaugural race in 1999

· This will be the 6th time Phoenix hosted the Xfinity Series Championship 4 race, every year since 2020

· The highest finishing Championship 4 driver will win the 2025 championship: #88 Connor Zilisch, #7 Justin Allgaier, #2 Jesse Love & #1 Carson Kvapil

· The highest finish Championship 4 car win the 2025 Car Owner Championship: #7 JRM, #19 JGR, #21 RCR, #88 JRM

· Two teams are represented in Championship 4: JR Motorsports (3) and Richard Childress Racing (1)

· Connor Zilisch and Carson Kvapil could each become the fourth rookie to win Xfinity Series championship

· Connor Zilisch was highest finishing of Championship 4 drivers in 17 of 32 races this season; Allgaier – 7, Love – 4, Kvapil – 4

· Connor Zilisch, at the Roval, is the only Championship 4 driver with a Playoff win this season

· Justin Allgaier finished 5th at Phoenix in March, the highest of the Championship 4 drivers

· At 25 years, 5 months, 25 days, this is the second-youngest Championship 4 in series history

· When Justin Allgaier made Xfinity Series debut in 2008, the other three Championship 4 drivers were 5-years-old or younger: Kvapil – 5, Love – 3, Zilisch – 2

· Joe Gibbs Racing’s #19 (Almirola) and Richard Childress Racing’s #21 (A. Hill) are in owner’s Championship 4 along with JR Motorsports’ #88 (Zilisch) and #7 (Allgaier)

· Non-Playoff drivers won seven of the last 13 Playoff races

· Jesse Love finished top-10 in all three Phoenix starts including a runner-up in March 2024

· Joe Gibbs Racing won four of six Playoffs races this season with three different drivers but don’t have a driver represented in the Championship 4 (driver point standings)

· The last two Phoenix races featured last-lap pass for the win

· NASCAR suspended Sam Mayer for one race after intentionally wrecking Jeb Burton after checkered flag at Martinsville; Ryan Sieg will drive #41 for Haas Factory Team at Phoenix, while Kyle Sieg will move to RSS Racing’s #39

· Connor Zilisch’s ten wins this season is the record for most wins by a rookie

· Connor Zilisch leads series with 10 wins, 19 Top 5s, 22 Top 10s, 986 laps led, an 8.2 avg finish & eight poles

· Connor Zilisch won Fastest Lap Award seven times this season, Justin Allgaier is second with six

· Justin Allgaier leads the series with 14 stage wins this season

· JR Motorsports won 17 races this season with a series-record six different drivers (does not include Parker Kligerman who won in relief role at Daytona)

· Justin Allgaier’s 28 career wins are 9th on the all-time wins list and one away from tying Matt Kenseth

· Chevrolet led 3,773 of 5,123 laps this season (74%)

· Ryan Sieg is making his 400th NXS start this weekend at Phoenix

· O’Reilly Auto Parts will replace Xfinity as title sponsor starting in 2026 becoming the fifth different title sponsor of the series: Budweiser, Busch, Nationwide, Xfinity & O’Reilly

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series

Phoenix Raceway Storylines and Insights:

· This week marks the 35th running of a NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Phoenix Raceway.

· This is the sixth consecutive season Phoenix will host the Championship race (2020-2025)

· Phoenix is one of only two tracks to host a Truck Series race in every year of its existence (Martinsville)

· The regular season champion went on to win the championship twice, Corey Heim won regular season championship in 2025

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

· Corey Heim finished top 3 in the last 10 races, the first driver in series history to accomplish this feat

· Corey Heim is 6 laps led away from tying the all-time single season laps led record (Mike Skinner, 1533 laps – 1996). He’s led 68 laps in three starts at Phoenix, including 16 last year.

· Corey Heim has led over 40% of the laps raced in 2025, the highest percentage ever in a season

· Corey Heim led 25 consecutive races, the longest streak in Truck Series history.

· Corey Heim led in every race in 2025 and could become the first driver to lead in every race of a season

· Corey Heim finished top-5 in all six Playoff races in 2025, no driver finished top-5 in every race of the playoffs in a season

· 20 races this season were won by drivers aged 25 or younger, the most ever in a single Truck Series season

· ThorSport Racing remains winless after 24 races in 2025, the deepest into a season the organization has gone without a win since 2007, the last time they were winless in a season

· Chevrolet has not won in 12 races (Rajah Caruth – Nashville in May), after winning six of the first 12 races of 2025, tied for the brand’s longest winless streak in Truck Series history.

· TRICON Garage won seven of the last eight races. No team has ever won eight out of nine races.

· TRICON Garage won the last four races. The Truck Series record is five consecutive wins by one team, which occurred four previous times, most recently Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2021

· Toyota will win their 14th career manufacturers championship

· Three of the five Phoenix Championship races went into overtime. The 2023 Championship race required three overtime attempts and 29 extra laps, the longest overtime in series history

· In every Phoenix Championship race with overtime, the pass for the win came in overtime

· In every Phoenix Championship race with overtime, the pass for the Championship happened in overtime

· Ty Majeski and Corey Heim combined to lead 148 of the 150 laps in last year’s Phoenix finale

· Kaden Honeycutt can become the first Truck Series champion to have driven for multiple teams in his title-winning season

· Kaden Honeycutt could become the first Truck series Champion without a series win. Matt Crafton won the 2019 Championship without winning a race that season but he had prior career wins

· Ford teams won the last three NCTS Driver Championships

· ThorSport Racing won three of the last four and the last two NTS Driver Championships

· The last Toyota team to win the Championship was ThorSport Racing in 2021

· Every truck series Champion was born prior to the year 2000. Corey Heim (2002), Tyler Ankrum (2001), Kaden Honeycutt (2003) were all born in the current millennium. (Ty Majeski was born in 1994)

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

NASCAR & Phoenix, Etc.

Historical & Significant Events at Phoenix Raceway:

· Construction was completed on Phoenix Raceway in January of 1964. The facility was built by Richard Hogue, an amateur sports car racer. The facility was built in the foothills of the Estrella Mountains and originally consisted of a one-mile oval, a quarter mile drag strip and a 2.5-mile road course.

· The first race held at Phoenix Raceway was in January of 1968 and the event was run on the 2.5-mile road course and won by Don White.

· In October of 1970 Hollywood giant Steve McQueen wins the 17 lap ‘Winter Sprint’ sports car race on the track’s road course in Porsche 908 from pole position, setting a new lap record of 1:41.09

· On Nov. 25, 1973 Phoenix Raceway holds its first USAC Midget race and the event was won by Billy Englehart.

· The first NASCAR race held at Phoenix Raceway was on November 27, 1977 and it was a NASCAR Winston West Series (now ARCA Menards Series West) race won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough.

· Sept. 15 1985 – Emmett ‘Buddy’ Jobe purchases Phoenix Raceway from Dennis Wood. At the time, the track featured less than 10,000 reserved seats.

· April of 1987 – Lightning strikes the track’s main grandstand, burning the majority of the structure to the ground. Reconstruction begins.

· October of 1988 – Construction of a three-story suite building is completed outside Turn 1. Reserved seating capacity is increased to 30,000 at Phoenix Raceway.

· NASCAR Hall of Famer Alan Kulwicki won the first NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway on November 6, 1988. Kulwicki performed his ‘Polish Victory Lap’ following the event.

· June of 1991 – During the summer months, the infield course is redesigned to a new configuration with 11 turns and 1.51 miles of track.

· April of 1997 – International Speedway Corporation (now NASCAR) purchases Phoenix Raceway from Emmett ‘Buddy’ Jobe.

· June of 2003 – Upgrades to Phoenix – Turn Two is modified for safety while a tunnel is installed under Turn Four.

· November of 2004 – Phoenix Raceway installs track lights, which will change the way racing is seen at Phoenix. The lights create 146 million lumens (a typical table lamp is 25 lumens), for a total of 1.5 million watts of power per hour.

· April of 2005 – Phoenix Raceway President Bryan R. Sperber announces the expansion of the Bobby Allison Grandstand, one of the most extensive construction projects in the history of the track.

· The first spring NASCAR Cup Series race was held on April 23, 2005 and was also the first night race, which was won by Kurt Busch driving for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.

· The track underwent its first repave in 2011. The construction began in March and concluded in September of that year. The following changes were made during the construction period (March – Sept. 2011):

Widened the frontstretch from 52 to 62 feet and reconfigured pit road with the installation of concrete pit stallsPushed the dog-leg curve between Turn 2 and Turn 3 out 95 feet and tightened the turn radius of the dog-leg from 800 to 500 feetImplemented banking, including 11-degree banking between Turn 1 and Turn 2; 10-11-degree banking in the apex of the dog-leg; and 9-degree banking in Turns 3 and 4.

· March 1, 2013 – Abraham Calderon captures the checkered flag in the inaugural stateside running of the NASCAR Mexico Series at Phoenix Raceway.

· 2014 – Phoenix Raceway celebrated its 50th anniversary.

· Following the spring race in 2015 the track added SAFER barrier. The outer wall around the entire track is completely protected by SAFER barrier, the longest stretch of new barrier was on the front stretch which still had portions of brick wall from when the track first opened in 1964.

· Monument Hill a.k.a. “Rattlesnake Hill”, a part of the Estrella Mountain range, overlooks turns 1 and 2.

· Following the 2017 season, the track was renamed from Phoenix Raceway to ISM Raceway. Then in 2019 the track was renamed from ISM Raceway back to Phoenix Raceway.

Phoenix Raceway underwent a $178 million modernization following the Spring race of 2018. Upgrades included:Relocating the start/finish line to what was previously Turn 2 area and reconfigured pit road.Four new escalators, nine new elevators, 51 new and upgraded lounge style suites, 11 garage offices, and three garage suites, new pedestrian tunnel, new infield experience with garage access, media center, driver’s meeting area and victory lane.Extension of the grandstands around turn 2 and the demolition of previous front stretch grand stands.

· March 26, 2019 – The Valley of the Sun will play host to a new championship sporting event as NASCAR announced that the NASCAR Championship Weekend will be held at Phoenix Raceway, November 6-8, 2020, for the first time in the sport’s history.

NASCAR National Series News & Notes – Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway – Speedway Digest

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