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The NASCAR Cup Series will crown its 2023 champion Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, and 2021 series champion Kyle Larson will vie for the championship at the unique dog-leg oval. Bell, Blaney and Larson all won in the Round of 8 to advance, while Byron, who with six victories is the winningest driver in the series this year, had to sweat it out at Martinsville last week to point his way into the finale.
But points don’t matter Sunday – it’s simply the driver who finishes best among those four who will hoist the Cup.
Here’s what to know ahead of the championship race:
NASCAR Cup Series Championship TV/streaming schedule
All times Eastern
Friday
8-9 p.m.: Practice (USA, NBC Sports app)
Saturday
4:30-5:30 p.m.: Qualifying (USA, NBC Sports app)
Sunday
3-6:30 p.m.: NASCAR Cup Series Championship (NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports app)
NASCAR Cup Series Championship details
Track: Phoenix Raceway | 1-mile, low-banked dog-leg oval in Avondale, Arizona
Banking: Frontstretch dog-leg – 0-11 degrees | Turns 1-2 – 8-9 degrees | Backstretch – 3 degrees | Turns 3-4 – 10-11 degrees
Race length: 312 laps
Stage lengths: Stage 1 – 60 laps | Stage 2 – 120 laps | Stage 3 – 127 laps
2022 winner: Joey Logano (22), Team Penske Ford
Top drivers and best bets for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship
The championship quartet understandably are the four drivers with the best odds to win the race according to BetMGM. In all nine years under the current playoff format, the champion has won the finale, which includes Kyle Larson’s 2021 crown. Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron took the first of his six victories this season in the spring race at Phoenix.
Best odds to win
• Kyle Larson +175
• Ryan Blaney +275
• William Byron +325
• Christopher Bell +450
Yahoo Sports’ Nick Bromberg broke down the title race odds earlier in the week and in addition to backing the favorites, likes recently eliminated Denny Hamlin (+2000), who has the third-best average finish of any driver in the field at Phoenix. If you’re looking at the long-shots, Kyle Busch (+5000) sports an even better average finish at Phoenix than Hamlin at 10.6.
Kevin Harvick’s final ride
Sunday will mark Kevin Harvick’s final race in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Harvick announced his retirement back in January. He will step away after 23 seasons in which he’ll have made 826 starts and has scored 443 top 10s, 251 top fives and 60 wins so far. Harvick has 30 top-10s, including 20 top-5s and nine wins in 41 career starts at Phoenix, so adding to one or all of those totals is a distinct possibility as he bids farewell.
The Bakersfield, California, native’s career began under tragic circumstances as he stepped into the legendary Dale Earnhardt’s car after the seven-time champion was tragically killed at the 2001 Daytona 500. Harvick famously won in just his third start that season and has not looked back.
NASCAR Cup Series Championship entry list
Ross Chastain (1), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Austin Cindric (2), Team Penske Ford
Austin Dillon (3), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Kevin Harvick (4), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Kyle Larson (5), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Brad Keselowski (6), RFK Racing Ford
Corey LaJoie (7), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Kyle Busch (8), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Chase Elliott (9), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Aric Almirola (10), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Denny Hamlin (11), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Ryan Blaney (12), Team Penske Ford
Chase Briscoe (14), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
J.J. Yeley (15), Rick Ware Racing Ford
A.J. Allmendinger (16), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Chris Buescher (17), RFK Racing Ford
Martin Truex Jr. (19), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Christopher Bell (20), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Harrison Burton (21), Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Joey Logano (22), Team Penske Ford
Bubba Wallace (23), 23XI Racing Toyota
William Byron (24), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Justin Haley (31), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Michael McDowell (34), Front Row Motorsports Ford
Todd Gilliland (38), Front Row Motorsports Ford
Ryan Preece (41), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Carson Hocevar (42), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet
Erik Jones (43), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet
Tyler Reddick (45), 23XI Racing Toyota
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47), JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
Alex Bowman (48), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Ryan Newman (51), Rick Ware Racing Ford
Ty Gibbs (54), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Ty Dillon (77), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
BJ McLeod (78), Live Fast Motorsports Ford
Daniel Suárez (99), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
NASCAR Cup Series Championship weather
The forecast calls for daytime high temperatures in the high 80s with little-to-no cloud cover. That puts things squarely in the hands of the drivers – particularly the Championship 4 – as the track will be slick and evolve as the day goes on.