The NASCAR Cup Series crowns its 2025 champion in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race on Nov. 2 at Phoenix Raceway.

Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe make up the Championship 4, with the best finisher claiming the 2025 title.

Hamlin is on the pole, with Byron starting in 2nd and Larson in 3rd. Briscoe will start 12th with a lot of work to do and 312 laps to do it.

Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney should factor into the race for the win, though more often than not the race win comes down to those in the Championship 4.

Follow along with the Tennessean’s race updates below:

PHOENIX RACE PICKS: NASCAR Phoenix predictions 2025, expert picks for Cup Series race

LIVE LEADERBOARD: Full field leaderboard of NASCAR Cup Series Championship race

Austin Cindric suffers heavy rear-end and right-side damage near the start-finish line. Caution is out. All going to come down to a final stop.

Denny Hamlin did move to 2nd before the yellow. Chase Briscoe is up to 13th (but still worried about tire wear), while Kyle Larson is 21st ahead of pit stops.

William Byron passes teammate Chase Elliott for the lead. Can he run away from Elliott and Denny Hamlin?

Noah Gragson is able to get down to pit road with a tire issue. He was running around 20th before the issue occurred.

Denny Hamlin gets past Ryan Blaney, and he has William Byron in his sights. That’s for the championship if it stays green. Both drivers are closing in on Chase Elliott for the top spot.

Chase Elliott leads William Byron by one second, with Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin close behind.

Chase Briscoe has moved up to 20th, while Kyle Larson is 24th.

Chase Elliott leads William Byron, with Denny Hamlin in a battle with Ryan Blaney for 4th.

Chase Elliott is the first off pit road and will control the restart. The No. 9 Chevrolet has surged steadily all day.

The Championship 4 reset under caution with 88 laps to go:

3. William Byron4. Denny Hamlin27. Chase Briscoe31. Kyle Larson

Briscoe and Larson are back on the lead lap.

Chase Briscoe is worried he ran over debris after getting a fresh set of tires under caution.

Field and Championship 4 reset coming in a moment…

Carson Hocevar also has a tire failure, and he slaps the wall. Caution is out.

Chase Briscoe will be the free pass. Kyle Larson will have to take a wavearound.

The tire falloff has been good today, but the tires are failing en masse. Not finding the balance all across the field, for all makes and teams.

Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe’s championship hopes are over with less than 100 laps to go! Larson has a tire failure, and Briscoe’s issue happens a couple laps later!

Chase Briscoe works around Ryan Blaney for 2nd, 1 second behind William Byron. Briscoe and Denny Hamlin are the fastest cars on the track.

Denny Hamlin is up to 7th, with Kyle Larson just behind in 8th as they both try to rescue their championship hopes after pit-road obstacles.

And after Denny Hamlin was in control for the first 185 laps, he restarts outside the top 10.

William Byron assumes the lead and controls the front at the restart. Hamlin can only manage to 10th. Chase Briscoe is in a battle with Ryan Blaney for third.

Kyle Larson slips back to 18th after a slow stop with trouble on the left side. What a change in this race on this pit sequence.

The flat left-rear tire forces a slower stop for Denny Hamlin’s team. Believe he will come out in 7th.

Ryan Blaney wins the race off pit road.

The top 10:

Denny HamlinRyan BlaneyWilliam ByronKyle LarsonChristopher BellRoss ChastainChase BriscoeJoey LoganoCarson HocevarChase Elliott

Left-rear looks visibly flat on the No. 11 car, and Denny Hamlin believes he has a tire down. The stage will end here, but Hamlin will have to nurse his car around until pit road opens.

Austin Dillon cuts a tire, five laps before the end of the stage. His brother Ty cuts a tire down a couple laps later. Right-rear issue for both.

Ryan Blaney is within three car-lengths of Denny Hamlin for the lead. Second stage is over at Lap 185.

Let’s reset the Championship 4 just past halfway:

1. Denny Hamlin3. William Byron (-1.7 seconds)4. Kyle Larson (-2.4 seconds)8. Chase Briscoe (-4.4 seconds)

Denny Hamlin retains the lead ahead of Ryan Blaney, with William Byron in 3rd and Kyle Larson 4th.

Chase Briscoe is 12th, navigating some heavy traffic.

Crew chief James Small tells Chase Briscoe that they should be well used to overcoming adversity. All positive on the No. 19 radio. After the stop, Briscoe is back into the top 15.

Caution is out for AJ Allmendinger, who hits the wall hard coming to the start-finish line similar to the practice session a couple days ago. Possible tire failure.

A couple things to clean up:

Chase Briscoe wanted his team to see the in-car camera view of his wheel to check out the visible vibration. The No. 19 team has been re-assuring to their driver about their title chances.Kyle Busch had a right-rear tire go down and came down pit road.

Denny Hamlin has built a 2.6-second lead over Kyle Larson. Ryan Blaney has passed Wililam Byron for 3rd. Chase Briscoe remains well back, in 28th and a half-lap behind.

Chase Briscoe is worried about a vibration, but his lap times are starting to return back to competitive levels after a couple laps of feeling the car out.

“Just be as efficient as we can here,” Briscoe is told by his team.

It’s Hamlin-Larson-Byron up front, with Chase Briscoe mired back in 32nd after the tire issue and a second stop.

Briscoe is complaining of a vibration and is well off the pace.

As the caution comes out for Shane van Gisbergen’s spin, Chase Briscoe has a tire come apart. Right rear tire is cut.

Briscoe’s team changes the tire. Doesn’t appear to have any real damage.

Denny Hamlin’s lead is up past 3 seconds ahead of Kyle Larson. Hamlin is told his lap times are very good. Let’s see if his long-run speed is any better this time around.

Bubba Wallace is slowing down, not up to speed and falling back from around 20th. NBC reports an electrical issue.

Danny Hamlin re-takes the lead as Ryan Blaney falls back to 4th. Kyle Larson drives past William Byron for 2nd.

John Hunter Nemechek crashes on the old front straightaway. Caution is out.

Ryan Blaney wins the race off pit road and leads off the restart, with Denny Hamlin ahead of William Byron for second. Kyle Larson is 4th, with Chase Briscoe up to 6th after the stop.

The top 10:

William ByronRyan BlaneyDenny HamlinAustin CindricKyle LarsonCarson HocevarAlex BowmanJoey LoganoChris BuescherChase Briscoe

William Byron passes Denny Hamlin for the lead with five laps to go in the stage. Ryan Blaney then passes Hamlin for second.

William Byron has cut a couple tenths of a second off the lead with a lower line through turns 1 and 2. Nothing too notable yet from the top two.

Denny Hamlin leads William Byron by one second as lap traffic becomes a looming factor. Kyle Larson is 4th, while Chase Briscoe is up to 10th.

Denny Hamlin sprawls out low and clears William Byron for the lead. Kyle Larson loses a spot to Austin Cindric.

Engines have fired in Phoenix. Tires were a big factor late in the Xfinity and Truck Series races this weekend. Is that going to be the case today? 312 laps, including a 60-lap first stage.

Actress Sydney Sweeney is in attendance for the season finale, attending the pre-race drivers meeting.

Kyle Larson

Age: 33Championship 4 history: Third appearance (2021, 2023), 1 championship (2021)2025 stats: 3 wins, 14 top-5s, 21 top-10sPhoenix finishes in NextGen era: 34-9-4-3-14-4-3

Denny Hamlin

Age: 44Championship 4 history: Fifth appearance (2014, 2019, 2020, 2021)2025 stats: 6 wins, 14 top-5s, 17 top-10sPhoenix finishes in NextGen era: 13-8-23-8-11-11-2

Chase Briscoe

Age: 30Championship 4 history: First appearance2025 stats: 3 wins, 15 top-5s, 19 top-10s (all career bests)Phoenix finishes in NextGen era: 1-4-7-24-9-29-35

William Byron

Age: 27Championship 4 history: Third appearance (2023, 2024)2025 stats: 3 wins, 11 top-5s, 16 top-10sPhoenix finishes in NextGen era: 18-6-1-4-18-3-6

Here’s where every playoff driver is starting on Sunday:

1. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota2. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet3. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet12. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Find the full starting lineup here.

The NASCAR Cup Series Championship race will be aired on the radio by the Motor Racing Network. MRN has affiliates all across the country, and their feed can also be streamed on NASCAR.com as well as the NASCAR app. The race can also be heard on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

Green Flag Time:  Approx. 2:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, Nov. 2Track: Phoenix Raceway (1-mile oval) in Avondale, ArizonaLength: 312 laps, 312 milesStages: 60 laps, 125 laps, 127 lapsTV coverage: NBCRadio: MRNStreaming: Watch FREE on Fubo; HBO MAX app for in-car cameras (subscription required); NASCAR.com and SiriusXM on Channel 90 for audio (subscription required)

The NASCAR Cup Series Championship race will be broadcast nationally on NBC. Other streaming options for the race include HBO MAX for in-car cameras for each driver.

2025 spring: Christopher Bell2024 fall: Joey Logano2024 spring: Christopher Bell2023 fall: Ross Chastain