Cole Cusumano
 | Particular for The Republic
NASCAR Championship Weekend countdown unveiled in Phoenix
The NASCAR Championship countdown clock was unveiled at Phoenix Sky Harbor Worldwide Airport on Oct. 6, 2025.
Historical past might be made but once more right here on the hallowed grounds of Phoenix Raceway, as 4 drivers share a date with future within the desert by being topped the 2025 champion of their respective sequence. Nonetheless, the anticipation for what profiles as probably the most aggressive title fights is met with a bittersweet feeling, as NASCAR bids farewell to Arizona as its website of the finale – for now.
After half a decade of supplying followers with among the most exhilarating and iconic moments in inventory automotive racing, NASCAR just lately introduced it is going to be shifting its “Championship Weekend” again to Homestead-Miami Speedway (the earlier website of the finale for 18 years), as the game braces for a game-changing overhaul in 2026.
The excellent news for Arizonans is, though a brand new playoff format continues to be to be decided, NASCAR has gone on document saying the location of the finale will rotate and Phoenix might be among the many tracks to host sooner or later. Evolution is critical, however Avondale’s desert jewel has additionally proved its value in being a featured venue for the championship.
Courtesy of a $178 million, state-of-the-art renovation that rivals one of the best amenities throughout skilled sports activities, Phoenix Raceway has develop into a vacation spot location accountable for a $473 million financial increase for Arizona, in response to Phoenix mayor Kate Gallego.
Nov. 2’s championship race can also be trending towards a sixth sell-out in as many occasions internet hosting, with greater than 70% of ticketholders touring from exterior Arizona. In accordance with Observe President Latasha Causey, all 50 states, 21 nations, and 5 continents might be represented within the grandstands and all through the infield to witness who wins the 2025 NASCAR Cup Sequence championship.
Whereas the Cup finale garners probably the most consideration, there’s no scarcity of unbelievable storylines spawned all through the season throughout all three nationwide sequence that viewers needs to be keyed in on earlier than the checkered flag waves on Nov. 2.
Heavyweight title combat
Starting with the primary occasion, the NASCAR Cup Sequence Championship Race (Nov. 2 at 1 p.m.) might be a title combat for the ages, that includes a battle for supremacy between powerhouse groups Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing. To the shock – and reduction of followers and drivers alike – Staff Penske didn’t qualify for the winner-take-all race, which means they won’t contend for a fourth consecutive championship.
As an alternative, there might be a 50-50 shot on the Invoice France Cup between William Byron and Kyle Larson representing HMS, with Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe vying for JGR.
Hendrick Motorsports claimed the ultimate two spots in NASCAR’s ultimate 4 final weekend at Martinsville (Virginia) Speedway, by way of a dominant, walk-off win by Byron and a gutsy top-five effort by Larson, who bested reigning Phoenix winner Christopher Bell by seven factors for the chance to contend for his second title.
Simply as they’ve executed all season, Hamlin and Briscoe punched their tickets to Phoenix early with victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Talladega (Alabama) Superspeedway, respectively. Serving as the category of the sphere in 2025, the duo has mixed for 9 of JGR’s 13 wins.
What makes this Championship 4 significantly intriguing and unpredictable is that every driver has received at Phoenix. All 4 even have distinctive qualities about them and their groups, which might give both a decisive edge over the remaining.
Hamlin is proving age is only a quantity at 44, racking up a series-best six wins this season – his most up-to-date being No. 60, which moved him to tenth on the all-time checklist. The opposite three drivers have three victories apiece in 2025, however Byron could have the benefit with momentum on his facet because the regular-season champion with most laps led on the season (1,278) and making his third consecutive Championship 4 look.
Considered one of the best racer in motorsports proper now, Larson is the one driver of the contending quartet with a title underneath his belt, again in 2021. Briscoe will be the largest enigma of the bunch, however he’s successfully damaged out in his first season with JGR, making his maiden Championship 4 look on the website of his maiden win.
The ascension of superstars
Those that observe NASCAR’s developmental sequence have had the privilege of witnessing two of the best campaigns within the sport’s historical past. Overshadowed by Cup, Connor Zilisch of the Xfinity Sequence and Corey Heim of the Craftsman Truck Sequence command respect, admiration and celebration for what they’ve been capable of do in 2025.
Touted as a generational expertise, Zilisch has lived as much as the hype after which some in piloting the long-lasting No. 88 made well-known by Dale Earnhardt Jr. to 10 Xfinity wins. At one level, the 19-year-old phenom went on an 18-race tear of inserting fifth or higher within the 33-race season.
Heim has been basically unbeatable all season in vans, scorching the sphere with 11 wins, 1,525 laps led (greater than 1,000 higher than next-best) and posting a 5.6 common end in 24 begins.
To ensure that each superstars to complete the job, they’ll need to undergo the defending champions of their respective sequence. Removed from a championship hangover, Justin Allgaier seeks so as to add to his Cinderella story of yesteryear in Xfinity, as Ty Majeski makes an attempt to attain his first win because the Truck Sequence championship in 2024.
When and the place to observe
On Oct. 31, at 4:30 p.m. (Fox Sports activities 1), Heim will try and greatest Majeski, Tyler Ankrum and Kaden Honeycutt within the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Sequence Championship Race. A day later, the NASCAR Xfinity Sequence Championship Race will function Zilisch, Allgaier, Carson Kvapil and Jesse Love at 4:30 p.m. (the CW).
Nov. 2 will conclude a six-year tenure of Phoenix Raceway’s time because the finale, as Hamlin, Byron, Larson and Briscoe vie for the title of 2025 NASCAR Cup Sequence Champion at 1 p.m. (NBC).
