NASCAR Preview: Phoenix 500
The NASCAR Cup Series heads back west with four races left to crown a 2026 champion.
Track preview
Phoenix Raceway is a one-mile asymmetrical tri-oval located in Avondale, Arizona. The track features nine degrees of banking in Turns 1 and 2, 11 degrees in Turns 3 and 4, nine degrees on the frontstretch and three degrees on the backstretch.
For the last six NASCAR seasons, Phoenix Raceway hosted the championship weekend. Its race date moved up on the calendar with the announcement that the finale would return to Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2026. Since 2005, the venue has held two Cup races a year. Kevin Harvick holds the record for most victories at the track, with nine.
Weather forecast
The weather report indicates sunny skies and temperatures around 27 degrees Celsius throughout the afternoon. No precipitation is expected.
The race is set to include 312 laps. Stage 1 will last 60 laps, Stage 2 will last 125 laps and Stage 3 will last 127 laps.
The race is scheduled to begin on October 18 at 15:00 EST (12:00 PT, 20:00 BST).
The storylines
Based on recent history, Ryan Blaney and Phoenix are a winning combination. Blaney was victorious in the last two Cup events at the track, and in the last nine, he has only finished outside the top five once, when he retired from engine issues in March 2025. Signs of a strong performance stem from more than track-specific results, however. Blaney has posted a string of top fives in the last three Chase races - fifth at Kansas, fifth at Las Vegas and third at Charlotte. It will be difficult to keep him from victory lane on Sunday.
Blaney’s veteran teammate Joey Logano has claimed more Phoenix wins than any other active driver: four, the most recent coming in 2024. Good finishes have not come easy, though. Despite leading 73 laps back in March, Logano finished outside the top 30 following an accident. Between other incidents and poor performances, he has only collected four top-10 results in the last 10 races at Phoenix. Logano finished ninth last weekend in Charlotte and earned another top-10 finish the week prior, but if his team can find their postseason momentum again, he could be capturing his fourth win of 2026.
Christopher Bell has won two of the last five races at Phoenix and was runner-up in the spring. He was winless in 2026 until the first race of the Chase but has shown speed throughout the year, boasting 14 top fives. Last week at Charlotte, he came up one spot short of victory, losing to teammate Chase Briscoe by half a car length. He should be among the frontrunners again this weekend.
Kyle Larson’s only win at Phoenix allowed him to clinch the 2021 Cup Series title. While the win count is low, he has a strong record at the track, with six top-fives in the last seven races and third-place finishes in each of the last three. Larson’s worst finish of the 2026 Chase came last weekend in Charlotte, but there’s no need for the team to panic - he still crossed the line sixth. With an average result of 2.83 since the Chase began, he cannot be counted out this weekend. Can anyone keep him from his third championship?
As it stands currently, Denny Hamlin has the best shot. Still second in the standings, Hamlin aims to not only catch Larson but extend what is now a narrow lead over Christopher Bell. For most of Hamlin’s career, Phoenix has been a mixed bag, but his team seems to have hit their stride in recent years. Hamlin was second and fifth in the last two spring events, and in the 2025 championship race, he led 208 laps before finishing sixth. Hamlin will need another strong performance this weekend to keep his title hopes alive.
Dark horse: Chris Buescher
Buescher has never won at Phoenix but has accumulated four top-10s in the last six races there, with a runner-up finish in March 2024. A 10th-place result at Charlotte last week was his best since July. Could his history of consistent performances place him among the leaders this Sunday?
A look at The Chase
At Charlotte, Kyle Larson increased his lead over Denny Hamlin by another nine points. He now holds a 49-point advantage. Hamlin is only two points ahead of teammate Christopher Bell. After back-to-back wins, Chase Briscoe leapfrogged from sixth to fourth, 65 points behind Larson. Ryan Blaney is in fifth, while Joey Logano dropped two places to sixth.
Weekend snapshot
The Craftsman Truck Series is set to compete at Phoenix on Friday. Kaden Honeycutt is currently the championship leader, with Layne Riggs 17 points behind. Chandler Smith, Christian Eckes and Daniel Hemric round out the top five in the standings. The series has not raced at Phoenix since last November, when Corey Heim won the race and the championship. Out of full-time 2026 drivers, Ty Majeski was the highest finisher in that event.
The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will take to the track on Saturday. Sheldon Creed comes into the weekend leading the standings by two points over Jesse Love and seven points over Corey Day. Justin Allgaier and Carson Kvapil sit in fourth and fifth place, respectively. The last time the series raced in Phoenix, Allgaier was the winner.
Schedule
Friday
Craftsman Truck Series Practice - 15:30 EST (12:30 PT, 20:30 BST)
Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying - 16:35 EST (13:35 PT, 21:35 BST)
Craftsman Truck Series Race - 19:30 EST (16:30 PT, 00:30 BST)
Saturday
O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Practice - 14:00 EST (11:00 PT, 19:00 BST)
O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Qualifying - 15:05 EST (12:05 PT, 20:05 BST)
Cup Series Practice - 16:30 EST (13:30 EST, 21:30 BST)
Cup Series Qualifying - 17:35 EST (14:35 PT, 22:35 BST)
O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Race - 19:30 EST (16:30 PT, 00:30 BST)
Sunday
Cup Series Race - 15:00 EST (12:00 PT, 20:00 BST)
Edited by Tarun Suresh
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