What to Watch: Championship on the line as teammates go head-to-head at Phoenix

Posted on November 1, 2025November 2, 2025 by Zack Albert

Track: Phoenix Raceway
Location: Avondale, Ariz.
Track length: 1 mile
When: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET
Where to tune in: NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App
Race purse: $12,394,135
Race distance: 312 laps | 312 miles
Stages: 60 | 185 | 312
Defending winner: Joey Logano, November 2024
Starting lineup: Denny Hamlin on pole at Phoenix

With a championship on the line, it’s 2-on-2 for teammates in season-ending clash

AVONDALE, Ariz. — The culmination of the NASCAR Cup Series season is here, and with it comes a coronation. Three drivers — Chase Briscoe, William Byron and Denny Hamlin — will be vying for their first Cup Series championship in Sunday’s season finale at Phoenix Raceway, while a fourth — Kyle Larson — will be bidding to become a two-time title winner.

Each of the Championship 4 drivers have individual aspirations for themselves and the teams that support them. They’ll chase those goals, though, within the framework of racing teammates for NASCAR’s ultimate prize.

Two Hendrick Motorsports drivers (Byron, Larson) and a pair of contenders from Joe Gibbs Racing (Briscoe, Hamlin) will battle it out in Sunday’s 312-lap showdown. The teammate vs. teammate dynamic for the championship race is intriguing, but not unique. One organization has placed multiple cars on the Championship 4 grid in seven of the last eight seasons, and it’s the second time the final-four field has been swept by two organizations with two cars each.

MORE: Schedule, TV info: Phoenix | Cup Series entry list

The last time that happened, it was again two Hendrick drivers against two JGR drivers, with Larson emerging with the 2021 Cup Series crown. That experience, Larson said, didn’t require a radical change in how Hendrick’s four teams operate.

“Every year I’ve been in the final four, I’ve had a teammate in there with me. It does not feel any different than any other week,” said Larson, making his third Champ 4 appearance. “I feel like with all four teams, Hendrick teams still communicate extremely well together. Nothing has changed. I think if I can’t win, I want William to win. I think the same goes that way to me. I think we want to bring Hendrick Motorsports a championship. To do that, you have to work extremely good together. Yeah, that’s what we do. We do it all year long, so why change now?”

How teammates race each other has been a subplot at multiple points of this postseason campaign, and Hamlin has been at the center of two internal flare-ups — bumping JGR teammate Ty Gibbs out of the way at New Hampshire, then clashing with Toyota mate and 23XI Racing employee Bubba Wallace on the final lap at Kansas.

Thursday at Championship 4 Media Day, the 44-year-old veteran said it was among the biggest challenges he faced this year, calling it “such a fine line” to juggle team objectives with personal ones.

“We’re always going to want to get the best result for ourselves,” Hamlin said. “How you balance that with how can you end up not hurting each other, then letting someone else in the picture. For instance, if you’re battling 1-2, understanding only battle for a certain amount of time, then whoever is faster, let the other go. You’ll live to race another lap. And you don’t keep the competition back in — don’t get them back in the game. Those are obviously conversations that we’ll have. Certainly, we’ll all work through it.”

PHOENIX RECAPS: Friday practice | Saturday qualifying

Patrick Vallely | NASCAR Digital Media

From atop the pit box …

What do crew chiefs have in focus to win Sunday’s race?

The last time Cup Series teams were at Phoenix Raceway, race procedures presented a choice of Goodyear rubber compounds, with option and prime tires available. A single tire setup greets the Cup Series field this time around, and teams have already pushed the limits of what those tires can take.

RELATED: Cup Series standings | Full 2025 schedule

Briscoe’s No. 19 JGR Toyota slowed just four minutes into Friday’s lone practice with a flat left-rear tire, one of the first of several issues for teams taking an aggressive approach with lower air pressures. Briscoe completed just 24 laps in the nearly hour-long session — extended from 50 minutes by a handful of red flags — while the rest of the Championship 4 contenders all ran 60-plus.

With their largest test of the season approaching, here’s the word from all four title-contending crew chiefs (in order of where their team will start Sunday):

Chris Gayle, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (Hamlin starts first; fifth in practice): “I’m trying not to let (pressure) get to me at all. Every piece of advice from any of these guys that have done it before are basically like, ‘enjoy the moment, it’s going to be hard to not let it get to you.’ You want to be successful, you want to do everything. Like, what happened with Denny not making it before me has no reflection on what happens this time, right? I shouldn’t let that pressure bother me. It should be separate. We’re going to come in and do the best job we can and see what happens.”

Rudy Fugle, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (Byron starts second; ninth in practice): “When it comes to tire failures, it’s not their responsibility. It’s ours to make those decisions, drive it, take care of them when we need to. When it comes to durability, making them live on a long run, they have a huge part in that. [Byron] knows he’s got to take care of that. Yeah, he’s worried about what he has to do. Just give us information to make good decisions, hopefully.”

Cliff Daniels, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (Larson starts third; 11th in practice): “Overall for the weekend, I think our team is in a really good spot. Kyle feels pretty comfortable in the car. We were looking for a few different things through our practice progression (Friday), trying to find the right look at short-run speed, then capture a run or two really focused on the medium- to long-run pace. We certainly presented that to ourselves; a couple things we need to work on. Scuffed the wall a little bit, so a little bit of repairs on the car, but that’s OK. Overall, we’re in a reasonable spot. Got to make a few adjustments (Saturday) morning. Met with the team this morning at the hotel. Everybody was fresh and ready. We’re locked in.”

James Small, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (Briscoe starts 12th; 16th in practice): “I was actually calm (during practice). No, it was fine. I think we rode pit road more time than we ran laps. Still feel good about it. The pace on the eight laps we did was actually really good. The car is feeling really good. Few things we need to clean up. Not worried one bit.”

Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media

History tells us …

Expect Byron up front. Typically, at some point during the season finale, the Championship 4 will run 1-2-3-4 on the leaderboard. If this race goes according to form, William Byron will be the most likely to be in that mix. Since the Next Gen car debuted in 2022, Byron has spent the most time — 1,618 laps total — running among the top five at Phoenix Raceway. That total outranks the rest of the Champ 4 field, with Larson (954 laps), Hamlin (517) and Briscoe (478) rounding out the list. All four are former Phoenix winners.

He may not be the favorite to win, but watch out for …

CHRIS BUESCHER. Given the frequency with which Championship 4 contenders win in the season finale, almost any other driver outside that quartet could be considered a sleeper. But a dive into recent results offers a reminder of Chris Buescher’s quiet confidence here. In the last five Phoenix races, Buescher has four top-10 finishes and an average finish (7.2) that ranks third in the Cup Series. That stretch includes a runner-up result in the spring of 2024. | See Buescher’s projected finish

Fantasy update

NASCAR Fantasy Live expert Dustin Albino provides insight for your Sunday lineup.

As anticipated in Fastlane earlier this week, the Championship 4 drivers and Team Penske have ruled much of practice and qualifying at Phoenix. If you’re fortunate to have starts left with any of those drivers, lean heavily that way. Ryan Blaney led the way on long-run pace during practice, though Larson was best among Championship 4 competitors. Denny Hamlin followed that up by winning his 48th Busch Light pole on Saturday. Despite JGR drivers Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell starting outside the top 10, they should remain a factor. There could be some risk with the No. 19 car, as he didn’t attempt a single long run during practice with multiple miscues. Ultimately, no changes here this week. Carson Hocevar and Josh Berry narrowly missed the cut.

Lineup: Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott
Garage: Chris Buescher

MORE: Lineup advice in Fantasy Fastlane

Speed reads

Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.

• NASCAR at Phoenix: Key info, qualifying reports and more | Read more
• Paint Scheme Preview: Fresh designs set for season finale | View gallery
• At-track photos: Trackside sights, scenes from title weekend | View gallery
• Is this year different? Inside Hamlin’s playoff heartbreaks | Read more
• No. 11 crew chief’s journey: Chris Gayle reflects after crossroads season | Read more
• Larson on legacy: No. 5 driver inching closer to Gordon, Stewart | Read more
• Playoff benediction: Assessing the eliminated from Round of 8 | Read more
• Hauler Talk: Why details matter in season-finale inspection | Read more
• Power Rankings: How all 12 national-series title contenders stack up | This week’s ranks
• Neil Paine: Crunching the numbers and making a title pick | Read more
• NASCAR Classics: Inside the video vault with Phoenix full-race replays | Watch now

Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media

Posted on November 1, 2025November 2, 2025 by Staff Report

NASCAR will host pre-race and post-race shows Sunday to accompany the Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

Both shows will stream live on NASCAR.com and NASCAR’s YouTube channel.

Alex Weaver and Carla Metts will host the pre-race show at 1 p.m. ET to get you ready for Sunday’s race as Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson and William Byron battle for the 2025 Bill France Cup.

After the race, the 2025 Cup Series champion will join Steve Letarte, Alex Weaver, Jeff Burton, Kyle Petty and Mamba Smith for a special live edition of Inside the Race.

Posted on November 1, 2025November 1, 2025 by Holly Cain

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin issued a strong statement for his 2025 championship intentions Saturday afternoon by claiming pole position for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race.

Three of the four championship-eligible drivers – also including Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson – claimed the top three positions in the qualifying session. The fourth, Hamlin’s JGR teammate Chase Briscoe will roll off the grid from 12th position in Sunday’s Championship Race (3 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Starting lineup | At-track photos

Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota turned in a lap of 133.759 mph around the 1-mile Phoenix oval – a slight .042-second faster than Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

It marks the fifth pole position for Hamlin on the season – 48th of his career – and perhaps stands to be one of the most impactful.

“We’ve really been working hard and hope it will pay off tomorrow,” said the 44-year-old Virginian Hamlin, a 60-race winner, whose six trophies this season are double that of any championship competitor.

“We’re obviously going to be in a great starting spot there, but then obviously, we’ve got to make sure we’re doing all the right things the entire day, and largely that’s going to rest on my shoulders. And I’m going to do the best that I can.”

Hamlin said winning the pole was certainly a positive, but that it did not necessarily provide a huge advantage on the field as close as his competitors typically are to him. But he conceded, the strong qualifying showing among the championship contenders was indicative of the intensity necessary in this high-stakes one-race way that NASCAR decides the title.

MORE: Practice recap | How to watch Sunday’s race on NBC, Peacock

Among the four championship-eligible drivers, only the 2021 series champion Larson has hoisted the sport’s most acclaimed trophy, previously winning from pole position here at Phoenix. His teammate, Byron, this year’s Daytona 500 winner, comes into the race as the Regular Season Champion and is making his third consecutive appearance in the championship race. Hamlin’s teammate, the 30-year-old Briscoe, is the only one among the four competing in his very first championship bid.

“Certainly, it’s always an advantage to qualify on the pole; there’s never a disadvantage to starting first and having the number one pit stall,” Hamlin said. “So, I don’t know if it directly correlates, but it’s always an advantage.

“Just try to do everything you can to execute,” Hamlin added. “I just truly believe that tomorrow that the best cars, whoever it is and it could be somebody who qualified 20th, could make their way to the front with the tire and track surface we have right now.

“I think it’s going to be a battle amongst us four, with a few others sprinkled in there. It’s going to be fun to watch.”

Posted on November 1, 2025November 1, 2025 by Staff Report

See where your favorite NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers will pit this weekend at Phoenix Raceway.

NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series Championship on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

NASCAR Xfinity Series

NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

MORE: How to watch NASCAR on The CW

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: How to watch NASCAR on FS1

Posted on November 1, 2025 by Zack Albert

AVONDALE, Ariz. — NASCAR competition officials issued changes Saturday to the eligibility rules for its three national series in 2026, lowering the minimum age requirement for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and expanding the amount of races that Cup Series drivers are able to enter in both the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Craftsman Truck Series.

The announcement marks the first significant change to the eligibility requirements since 2020, when competition officials limited Cup Series drivers with three or more years of experience to participating in a maximum of five events in the Xfinity Series. That circuit will become the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series next year.

Under the new participation guidelines for 2026, drivers 17 years of age will be eligible to compete in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series on road courses and oval tracks 1.25 miles or shorter. Drivers 18 and up — the previous age limit for all drivers at all tracks in the series — are eligible to participate on ovals 1.25 miles and longer.

Drivers with three-plus years’ experience in the Cup Series who have also elected to earn Cup Series points will be able to compete in more events next season in the lower national series, which are currently capped at five races each. In 2026, Cup Series drivers at that experience level will be eligible to compete in a maximum of 10 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races and a maximum total of eight Craftsman Truck Series events.

Cup Series drivers will not be eligible to participate in regular-season finales, playoff races or championship events in either the O’Reilly Auto Parts or Craftsman Truck Series. Additionally, O’Reilly Auto Parts Series drivers will not be permitted to enter the Craftsman Truck Series title race.

Posted on October 31, 2025November 1, 2025 by Holly Cain

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Ty Majeski climbed out of his race runner-up No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford F-150 on Phoenix Raceway pit road Friday night with the smoke from Corey Heim’s championship burnout nearby still lingering overhead.

Less than a second separated the popular 31-year-old 2024 series champion Majeski from the race winner Heim in his bid to become only the second driver in Craftsman Truck Series history to claim back-to-back season titles — matching his ThorSport teammate Matt Crafton.

It certainly was a valiant try. As happens in big-time auto racing, a couple breaks this way or that, and Majeski might have hoisted the trophy. He certainly forced Heim to earn it and walks away from Phoenix with his head held high.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Majeski, who ran on Heim’s bumper for much of the 161-lap race, bolted out front to the race lead on the first of two overtime restarts in Friday’s Truck Series Championship race. His two-tire stop to Heim’s four-tire change looked initially to be the winning move.

On the ensuing restart, however, Heim’s four fresh tires helped him move forward immediately and he pulled off an amazing seven-wide overtake into Turn 1 that put him directly on Majeski’s bumper. But a second yellow flag flew.

This time, the front row pitted the two trucks side by side, and Heim was able to get the edge and pull away to his first NASCAR championship by 0.993 seconds.

It marked the third time in four years Majeski raced for the series title, and on this night, Majeski and his team gave it their all, but the season’s most dominant driver, the 23-year-old Heim – a 12-race winner – was just too good.

“Really proud of the whole season this group put together,” Majeski said. “We had a pretty rough stretch in April, May and June months. We had a pretty strong meeting with ourselves, looked in the mirror and said, ‘Hey, we’re champions, we can turn this thing around.’

“We did. We put on a streak of 12 races in a row in the top 10, nine of them top fives. I thought we were poised to do something very special tonight.

“Honestly, just a little bit short. Very close.”

As with his driver, Majeski’s car chief, Brad Means, said the team could only be proud of the effort despite the near-miss.

“Obviously, we had high hopes coming back here from last year’s success we had here as the dominant truck,” Means said. “We thought maybe yesterday in practice we were going to have the same trend. But we didn’t qualify as well as we wanted to, I think the daytime temperatures kind of threw us for a loop earlier and we just never quite hit on it like we did last year when we dominated the race.

“But honestly the 11 [Heim] has been the class of the field all year. We’ve struggled this year and as a team had the worst luck. We had really good trucks a lot of the time, but never really capitalized on it with the finishes we needed.

“We had great pit stops tonight, our guys were phenomenal job and have been all year, but we just didn’t get it done. I thought the two tires was going to be the call to win the race had a caution not come out. We were like literally 200 yards away from winning the race.”

WATCH: Heim goes from 10th to second place in one move

Although disappointed to come so close to a second championship, Majeski closed out the season proud of the effort — 18 top-10 finishes and 10 top-fives in 25 races, including three runner-up finishes.

“Proud of [crew chief] Joe [Shear] for making that gutsy call,” Majeski said. “Hard to make that in that moment. You always want to be on offense at the end of these races. I think two tires gave us the best opportunity to win tonight.

“I think it was the right call, gave ourselves a shot at a championship. If that restart goes a little bit differently, I get a little bit of a gap, we’re probably sitting here as two-time champion.”

Posted on October 31, 2025November 1, 2025 by Reid Spencer

AVONDALE, Ariz. — The best man won on Friday night, but it was far from a foregone conclusion.

The statistics might suggest otherwise. In winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway, Corey Heim swept the first and second stages, led a race-high 100 of 161 laps and took the checkered flag 0.993 seconds ahead of defending series champion Ty Majeski in a second overtime.

On the restart for the first attempt at overtime, however, Heim was buried in 10th place on the inside lane, but with four fresh tires from a pit stop under caution on Lap 150, he steered his No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota to the bottom of the track and ran wide open through the dogleg as the field spread out seven-wide into Turn 1.

Charging to the inside of Grant Enfinger’s No. 9 Chevrolet, Heim emerged from Turn 2 in second place, on the bumper of Majeski’s Ford. Joe Shear Jr., Majeski’s crew chief, had opted for two tires on the Lap 150 pit stop — a move Majeski agreed was his only chance to retain the championship.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Instead, Heim claimed the title that had eluded him for the previous two seasons, and the weight of the world fell from his shoulders.

“I just am so grateful to be where I’m at,” Heim said. “So thankful for the Tricon Garage, Toyota taking a chance on me years ago, (sponsors) Safelite, Mobil 1, Yahoo, Celsius, for every bit of their support.

“I was so stressed out ever since we went to the (Charlotte) Roval (where Heim won from the pole Oct. 3 to advance to the Championship 4). I’ve been, like, so terrible to talk to as a person, so stressed out.

“This is just such a relief, to say the least. So thankful for everybody.”

WATCH: Zipadelli on four-tire call | Champ 4 field on Heim’s restart maneuver

Clearly, the pressure had gotten to Heim as he approached a championship he was supposed to win. Coming to Phoenix, the 23-year-old from Marietta, Georgia, had posted 11 victories in 24 races. On Friday, he added a 12th, extending his series record.

When Heim took the lead from Chandler Smith on Lap 22, he completed a perfect record of leading laps in all 25 Truck Series races, a unique accomplishment. Heim finished the season with a record 1,625 laps led, eclipsing the mark of 1,533 set by Mike Skinner in 1996.

“I don’t care if I was on hundred-lap tires, nobody was going to beat me tonight,” asserted Heim, who won for the first time at Phoenix and the 23rd time in his career. “It wasn’t going to happen. We struggled all weekend in practice a little bit. In qualifying, we missed it a little bit. You can always trust (crew chief) Scott (Zipadelli) up on the box to do everything he can to put me in position to win the race. That’s what he did.

“Drove it in deep until I couldn’t anymore. Drove away with it.”

Heim, however, wasn’t in a position to win the race until Connor Mosack hit the Turn 4 wall with just over two laps left in regulation to cause the sixth caution and send the race to overtime.

At that point, Layne Riggs was leading Heim by less than one second. Eliminated from the drivers’ playoff on a tiebreaker last weekend at Martinsville, Riggs remained eligible for the owners’ title, and had the race gone to conclusion in regulation, he and Heim likely would have split the two championships.

MORE: Heim’s historic championship-winning season

The caution changed everything. Heim already was challenging Majeski for the lead in the first overtime when a four-truck wreck in Turn 4 that included playoff driver Tyler Ankrum necessitated a second try at an extra period.

After the restart on Lap 160, Heim cleared Majeski quickly and pulled away to win the race.

“Honestly, just a little bit short,” Majeski said. “Yeah, very close. Tonight, at portions of the run to the 11, I thought at times we were actually better than him. Overall, he was just too strong.

“I couldn’t get a good enough restart to take advantage of where in the run my truck was better.”

Playoff driver Kaden Honeycutt ran third, overcoming a first-lap penalty for changing lanes before the stripe at the start of the race.

Riggs came home fourth, followed by Rajah Caruth, Jake Garcia, Corey LaJoie, Smith, Tyler Reif (in his Truck Series debut) and Jack Wood.

Matt Crafton, retiring from full-time NASCAR racing after this season, was 13th in his last ride in the No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford.

NOTE: Inspection in the Craftsman Truck Series garage concluded without issue, confirming Heim as the race winner and 2025 series champion. Teardown of the No. 11 Toyota’s engine Saturday morning also concluded without issue.

Posted on October 31, 2025November 1, 2025 by Zach Sturniolo

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Corey Heim had been to the Championship 4 each of the past two seasons and fallen short at Phoenix Raceway. The third time was the charm.

After late cautions and pit strategy seemed to jeopardize his chances, Heim used an incredible two restarts in overtime to charge to a record-setting 12th win en route to the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship at Phoenix.

MORE: Race results | 2026 Craftsman Truck Series schedule

“Last year, I thought it was our year. We had the momentum. And for lack of a better word, we kind of got our teeth kicked in,” Heim said. “And this year we came back, and, I mean, broke just about every record you possibly could.”

His 2025 campaign was legendary. In addition to his outrageous win total — besting the previous record of nine set by Greg Biffle in 1999 — Heim led a record 1,627 laps, became the first driver to lead a lap in every race and averaged an improbable 1.4 finish through the seven playoff races. He also led all drivers with seven poles, 19 top fives, 21 top 10s and 23 stage wins.

No one has ever had a season as dominant in the Craftsman Truck Series as Heim did. To cap it with a championship in Friday’s winner-take-all event was everything Heim hoped for.

“It’s definitely a lot of weight off my shoulders to be able to come and do it at the championship race, for sure,” Heim said. “I think everyone has known how good we’ve been throughout the year and how dominant we’ve been, how many stage wins and wins and poles, whatever, you name it. At the end of the day and coming into Phoenix, we all knew we were the best team, but anything could happen at the end of the day.

“So I was very stressed, to be honest. I think everyone that’s close to me knows that at this point. But yeah, to be able to win and do it for everyone on our crew that’s worked so hard those early mornings and late nights … those guys work their tails off on the 11 crew, and everyone at Tricon and Toyota really put an effort into it. To be able to see the smiles on their faces after the race really means the world to me.”

Despite his historic campaign, his title chances were in doubt until the final moments of Friday’s race. Heim was running second to Layne Riggs and in position to claim the championship when the caution flag waved with three laps to go. The ensuing round of pit stops plummeted Heim to 10th with four fresh tires on the restart after two trucks stayed out and seven others elected to take two tires.

Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media

The circumstances seemed reminiscent of so many races early in 2025 that seemed to slip away from Heim and his No. 11 Tricon Garage team. But in a microcosm of his season, Heim overcame the odds and rocketed from 10th to second in one set of corners with the restart of a lifetime, diving to the bottom of Turns 1 and 2 against the inside wall in an improbable seven-wide move.

“I don’t care if I was on hundred-lap tires; nobody was going to beat me tonight,” Heim said. “It wasn’t going to happen. We struggled all weekend in practice a little bit. In qualifying, we missed it a little bit. You can always trust Scott (Zipadelli, crew chief) up on the box to do everything he can to put me in a position to win the race. That’s what he did.

“Drove it in deep until I couldn’t anymore. Drove away with it.”

Zipadelli never questioned the call to take four tires, nor did he question Heim’s ability to charge back forward despite the limited laps left.

“We do a lot better when we’re on offense and not defense,” Zipadelli said. “When you put two tires on like that, it’s going to mess your balance up as it is, and then you’re going to be on defense to anybody who does put four tires on.”

WATCH: Heim goes from 10th to second place in one move

Challenges have always presented themselves to Heim — sometimes in the form of mechanical gremlins like at Homestead-Miami Speedway in March that hindered his chances of winning, and sometimes in the form of errant contact from on-track competitors.

But from those moments have come notable growth in how Heim reacts, leading to wiser, more calculated moves at age 23.

“I think at the end of the day, it just takes the experience to understand how to conquer adversity,” Heim said. “To conquer adversity, I feel like you have to be in adversity, and you have to learn how to get through those things. Just being put in the spot where you’re in 10th place on a green-white-checkered (restart) and having to go get after it, I feel like you’ve had to be on the losing side of that once or twice to understand how to execute on that and actually win.

“I’ve been on the losing side of it a lot of times in my short career. I’ve gotten wiped out; I’ve wiped people out. It takes everything to understand. And sometimes you don’t like it at the end of the day, but as long as you can grow and learn from it, I think that’s the most important part. And I’ve been able to kind of digest these tough experiences in past championship races, and I feel like I’ve been able to apply that too.”

Zipadelli has witnessed that growth firsthand, first as a budding, first-time full-timer in 2023 and now into a champion. The key, he said, simply boils down to trust.

“The biggest thing (is) him entrusting us,” Zipadelli said. “Trusting the truck’s gonna be OK and we’re gonna make the right adjustments and we’ll bring a good truck to him, and when we say pit, you pit. I think you earn that trust over those over those ups and downs. And obviously, when you start winning races regularly, the confidence builds.

“So probably the biggest thing is his confidence in himself, and then his confidence in that we’re going to bring a good truck to the track. And if it’s not good, we’re going to work on and make it better and give the opportunity for us to win.”

The No. 11 Toyota had plenty of opportunities to win in 2025. Heim made sure it did 12 times in 2025. And this time, he wheeled it all the way to a championship.

Posted on October 31, 2025November 1, 2025 by Staff Report

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was the best among the Championship 4 drivers in Friday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice session at Phoenix Raceway as teammate Chase Briscoe suffered an early tire issue.

Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Toyota, put down the fifth fastest time overall at 131.262 mph, besting fellow title competitors William Byron (131.099 mph), Kyle Larson (130.961 mph) and Briscoe (130.714 mph).

Overall, it was Hamlin’s JGR teammate, Ty Gibbs, who topped the leaderboard in the 50-minute session, as the No. 54 Toyota led the way with a speed of 131.868 mph. Team Penske drivers Ryan Blaney (131.406 mph) and Austin Cindric (131.377 mph) were second and third fastest, followed by RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece (131.353 mph) in fourth.

Chase Elliott (131.147 mph), Ross Chastain (131.137 mph) and Josh Berry (131.104 mph) were sixth through eighth fastest, with Byron ninth and Christopher Bell (130.971 mph) completing the top 10. Larson was 11th fastest overall with Briscoe in 16th.

RELATED: Practice results | At-track photos

During the first 10 minutes of practice, Briscoe stopped on track due to a flat left-rear tire on his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Out of the four drivers still eligible to win the Cup Series title, Briscoe completed the fewest laps with 24 circuits and reported a vibration in the closing minutes of practice.

Briscoe was one of several drivers to have a tire go down during their practice runs, including JGR teammate Christopher Bell, AJ Allmendinger, Daniel Suárez, Riley Herbst and Kyle Busch.

Zach Sturniolo | NASCAR Digital Media

“Yeah, I guess it’s a good thing that it’s not just us, right?” Briscoe told truTV after practice. “It’s unfortunate it’s happening, but at least we’re not on an island by ourselves. Yeah, so I’m sure that James (Small, crew chief) and everybody on our Bass Pro Shops Tracker Toyota will figure out what we can do to help manage that on Sunday. Definitely alarming. This wasn’t a great practice for us just because we didn’t really get to run a lot because of the issues. We’ll get to work on it and see what we can do.”

The No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota of Herbst made hard contact with the Turn 1 wall after his tire went down. After Allmendinger came to a stop initially for a flat tire, he was later involved in a second on-track incident when his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet veered off and made heavy contact with the Turn 3 wall.

Posted on October 31, 2025October 31, 2025 by Zach Sturniolo

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Kyle Larson is the only driver in this year’s Championship 4 quartet that has won a NASCAR Cup Series championship.

On Sunday, he can reach rarefied air by becoming a two-time title winner at NASCAR’s highest level.

MORE: Phoenix schedule | Projected results in title race

Larson is back in the Championship 4 for the third time in five years and will chase that second title at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). And while his legacy would grow by becoming just the 18th multi-time champion in Cup Series history, that isn’t his driving motivation.

“I don’t really like to think about the legacy part of it,” Larson said during Thursday’s Championship 4 Media Day, “but I’ve always really looked up to Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, and they’re multi-time champions. Just getting a second would mean I’m closer to them.”

Stewart won three titles across his Hall of Fame career, earning the 2002, 2005 and 2011 titles in a tenure that spanned from 1999 through 2016. Gordon, now vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, where Larson races, is a four-time champion with titles in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001.

Larson idolizes both drivers and uses their milestones to help set personal targets. With 32 career Cup wins, Larson has given up on ever catching Gordon’s win total — a whopping 93 that will be difficult for any driver to ever reach again. But catching Stewart’s mark of 49 is absolutely on the radar.

“As far as wins, again, I’ve always looked at Tony. I’ll never catch Jeff,” Larson said with a laugh. “I don’t think about Jeff. But Tony … if I could get to that, I would be pretty satisfied.”

Sean Gardner | Getty Images

Larson has plenty in common with both Stewart and Gordon. All made names for themselves as dirt racers before eventually making the transition into stock-car racing. Larson’s passion for dirt racing still shines as he regularly competes in sprint car races across the country, and he now also serves as co-owner of the sprint car series High Limit Racing. That admiration for dirt racing is oftentimes misconstrued, though, Larson said, for a not-as-burning desire in his NASCAR endeavors.

On the precipice of his second NASCAR Cup Series championship, Larson vehemently disputed that notion.

“It’s always bugged me that people just assume that I don’t like doing this (or) I don’t like NASCAR,” Larson said. “This is, like, my 12th year. If I didn’t like it, I would not be here suffering through NASCAR racing. I absolutely love it. I just love racing. I love competing. I love the team aspect. I love everything about racing. It doesn’t just have to be NASCAR or just be sprint cars or whatever. I love racing. Obviously, it provides a lot for us and our family and whatnot. I get to compete at the highest form of American auto racing. What’s there to hate about that?”

That passion continues to drive him toward greatness. Larson has won three or more races per year since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2021, earning three early-season victories this season to continue that streak. At age 33, Larson is still searching for more. His contemporaries are, too, though.

Fellow Championship 4 driver Denny Hamlin earned a milestone 60th career win on Oct. 12 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to clinch his way into the title round of the playoffs, but more historically to tie Kevin Harvick for 10th on the Cup Series’ all-time wins list. That triggered some “quizzing” by Larson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels, about the goals that are still out there for him and what he wants his future to look like.

“I told him I’m 33 right now, and I can absolutely see myself racing till I’m 40,” Larson said. “After that is kind of when I want to re-evaluate. I could still go another five (years), seven, 10, or stop then. But 40 is where my head is at before I can really think outside of that.”

But why target age 40 as a particular check-in? That, Larson said, comes down to time with his sons, Owen and Cooper, and his daughter, Audrey.

“Owen will be 18, Audrey will be mid-teens, and Cooper will be about 10,” he said, “so I think life is going to look completely different for them. I’m sure they’ll be hopefully successful. If Owen is racing or Audrey is racing, whatever, they’ll have a lot going on in their lives then. I would think right now I would want to be a part of that.”

In the meantime, Larson loves the ability to go out and contend for wins and championships. His next chance to do so comes Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.