Phoenix live blog: All the updates from NASCAR Championship Weekend
We‘re bringing you live updates leading up to Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App, Peacock). Bookmark this page and check back often as we chronicle the action from the 1-mile track in the desert.
Overview:
The 1-mile Phoenix Raceway hosts the 312-lap championship race on Sunday afternoon. Leaving the weekend, we‘ll have our 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Champion.
Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney and William Byron all escaped the Round of 8 and will compete for the 2023 title.
The goal is simple, yet extraordinarily difficult — be the first among the four to take the checkered flag, and you’re the champ.
It’s the youngest Championship 4 ever. Larson is the only former champion among them, with Bell the only returner from last year’s title contenders. It’s the first Championship 4 for both Byron and Blaney.
Links to keep handy:
Phoenix Championship Race 101, an overview of all things Phoenix from NASCAR.com‘s Cameron Richardson.
What to Watch, a guide for all things Phoenix by our friend Kobe Lambeth. (Seriously, read this and you‘ll know what you‘re talking about this weekend.)
At-track photos from folks talented with the camera.
Keep up with the action on the go with NASCAR Mobile, watch live in-car cameras with NASCAR Drive and follow along with live leaderboards and scanner audio with Race Center.
All times listed are Eastern.
Friday, November 3
8:53 p.m.: Kyle Larson, currently 10th fastest in practice, has been pushing the limits with the outside wall.
Setting up for Turn 1 a couple of laps ago, #Championship4 contender Kyle Larson got centimeters from the outside wall.
Not sure if he actually touched it, but certainly pushing the limits on how he can arch his entry into the flatter end of the race track. #NASCAR
— Zach Sturniolo (@zachstur) November 4, 2023
8:37 p.m.: AJ Allmendinger has gone for a spin after contact with Kyle Busch. There‘s some minor visible damage on Allmendinger‘s No. 16 car, but it doesn‘t look like anything that‘ll ruin the weekend for either team.
8:20 p.m.: After 15 minutes, Kyle Busch and Bubba Wallace are quickest, followed by championship contenders Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell. Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson are seventh- and eighth-fastest so far.
8:00 p.m.: Let‘s practice for the final time in 2023. The teams get 50 minutes to dial in their cars, then they‘ll qualify tomorrow (4:35 p.m. ET). We should get a good idea of who‘s got what for the weekend. Follow along with our Race Center leaderboard.
7:45 p.m.: Hard to believe we‘ll know the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion in about 48 hours from now! The weekend schedule is chock-full of racing action. The Cup Series hits the track at 8 p.m. ET for practice, just before the Craftsman Truck Series championship race.
