How to watch the NASCAR Championship at Phoenix: TV schedule, entry list, favorites

For the fourth straight year, the NASCAR championship will be decided in the desert.

The 2023 playoffs will conclude on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, with Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney and William Byron set to battle it out in the Championship 4.

It’s the youngest final four in history with an average age of 28 years, 11 months and 25 days. Larson is the only former champion (2021), while Bell, Blaney and Byron will aim for their first title.

Here’s everything you need to know about the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix:

What is the NASCAR at Phoenix entry list?

Thirty-six drivers will race at Phoenix – the 32 full-timers, plus four others.

Three of those four are veterans who race part-time – Ryan Newman, J.J. Yeley and B.J. McLeod. Additionally, Truck Series regular Carson Hocevar will make his ninth career Cup start before moving to the premier series full-time next season.

Here’s the full entry list for Phoenix (car numbers, driver names, team names and sponsors):

• No. 1, Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing, Worldwide Express
• No. 2, Austin Cindric, Team Penske, Discount Tire
• No. 3, Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing, Get Bioethanol
• No. 4, Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing, Busch Light
• No. 5, Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, HendrickCars.com
• No. 6, Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing, Castrol
• No. 7, Corey LaJoie, Spire Motorsports, NEGU
• No. 8, Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing, 3CHI
• No. 9, Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, NAPA Auto Parts
• No. 10, Aric Almirola, Stewart-Haas Racing, Smithfield
• No. 11, Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, FedEx
• No. 12, Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, Menards
• No. 14, Chase Briscoe, Stewart-Haas Racing, Mahindra Tractors
• No. 15, J.J. Yeley, Rick Ware Racing, Total Point/Patriot Mobile
• No. 16, A.J. Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing, Action Industries
• No. 17, Chris Buescher, RFK Racing, Fastenal
• No. 19, Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing, Bass Pro Shops
• No. 20, Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, DeWalt/Rheem
• No. 21, Harrison Burton, Wood Brothers Racing, Motorcraft/Quick Lane
• No. 22, Joey Logano, Team Penske, Shell/Pennzoil
• No. 23, Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing, Columbia Sportswear
• No. 24, William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports, Axalta
• No. 31, Justin Haley, Kaulig Racing, Campers Inn RV
• No. 34, Michael McDowell, Front Row Motorsports, Love’s Travel Stops
• No. 38, Todd Gilliland, Front Row Motorsports, Boot Barn
• No. 41, Ryan Preece, Stewart-Haas Racing, United Rentals
• No. 42, Carson Hocevar, Legacy Motor Club, Sunseeker Resort
• No. 43, Erik Jones, Legacy Motor Club, Allegiant
• No. 45, Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, Toyota
• No. 47, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., JTG Daugherty Racing, Kroger
• No. 48, Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports, Ally Financial
• No. 51, Ryan Newman, Rick Ware Racing, Serial 1 E-Bikes
• No. 54, Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing, Monster Energy
• No. 77, Ty Dillon, Spire Motorsports, Gainbridge
• No. 78, B.J. McLeod, Live Fast Motorsports, Pala Casino
• No. 99, Daniel Suarez, Trackhouse Racing, Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge

When is the NASCAR race this weekend at Phoenix?

Green flag for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix is set for Sunday, Nov. 5, at 3:32 p.m. ET.

Before the race, there will be practice and qualifying sessions. There will be a 50-minute practice session for all drivers on Friday at 5:05 p.m. ET. Then, on Saturday at 4:35 p.m. ET, there will be a two-round qualifying session.

The 36-car field will be split into two groups (found here) – then, each car from the two groups will make one lap in the first round, with the five fastest cars on single-lap speed in each group advancing to the final round. In the final round, the remaining drivers each get two laps to set the top 10 starting order, while positions 11 through 36 are set based on first round times.

NASCAR TV schedule this weekend at Phoenix

Friday, Nov. 3 (USA Network and streaming online)

• Practice: 5 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBCSports.com

Saturday, Nov. 4 (USA Network and streaming online)

• Qualifying: 4:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBCSports.com

Sunday, Nov. 5 (NBC, Peacock and streaming online)

• Countdown to Green: 2 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, NBCSports.com
• NASCAR Cup Series Championship: 3 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, NBCSports.com

Who is in the NASCAR Championship 4 and how does it work?

As aforementioned, the playoff field is down to four: Larson, Bell, Blaney and Byron.

Larson, Bell and Blaney locked up their Championship 4 spots with wins in the Round of 8 at Las Vegas, Homestead-Miami and Martinsville, respectively. Byron advanced based on points.

While points mattered through the first 35 races of the season, that’s not the case at Phoenix. The format for the Championship 4 is simple: Whichever one of these four drivers crosses the finish line first after 312 laps is the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion. The champion doesn’t have to win the race – he just has to beat the other three finalists.

Who was eliminated from the 2023 NASCAR playoffs?

Twelve drivers have been eliminated from the 2023 playoffs:

• Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Michael McDowell were eliminated in the Round of 16.
• Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch were eliminated in the Round of 12.
• Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Tyler Reddick and Chris Buescher were eliminated in the Round of 8.

NASCAR Phoenix past winners, race history

Two title contenders are past winners at Phoenix: Larson (2021) and Byron (2023), who won there earlier this season. Blaney has led the most laps at Phoenix (429) among the Championship 4 drivers in their careers.

Historically, there’s no doubt who the best Phoenix driver is: Harvick. The 2014 Cup champion, who will retire after Sunday’s race, has a record nine wins at the track. Additionally, Logano (3), Busch (3) and Hamlin (2) have multiple Phoenix wins. One-time Phoenix winners include Briscoe (2022), Truex (2021) and Elliott (2020).

NASCAR at Phoenix favorites, drivers to watch

Since the current playoff format began in 2014, the final race of each season has been won by the champion. The Championship 4 drivers have been even more dominant since the finale moved to Phoenix in 2020, with the competitors finishing 1-2-3-4 in 2020 and 1-2-3-5 in 2021. Last year, they were more spread out: first, third, 10th and 28th.

All four title contenders ran well at Phoenix earlier this season, so it’s a true toss-up between them. Byron won the race, Larson led 201 laps and finished fourth, Blaney finished second and Bell finished sixth.

Among the finalists, Larson has the best average finish (11.7) and most top-10s (11) at Phoenix. Byron and Blaney both have a 11.9 average finish, while Bell is just behind at 14.4.

If you’re looking for a driver outside the Championship 4, look no further than Harvick. He has nine wins, 20 top-fives, 30 top-10s and 1,699 laps led in 41 Phoenix starts. Busch (26 top-10s in 36 starts) and Hamlin (16 top-fives in 36 starts) are typically contenders, too.