Devon HenryFor the sixth consecutive year, NASCAR Championship Weekend will host the coronation of their champions at the jewel in the desert, Phoenix Raceway, as drivers make their last-ditch charge in the season finale to earn the title of NASCAR Champion.
Three champions will be crowned over three days, Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2025, as the best drivers from the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will battle in the final round of the NASCAR Playoffs at the Avondale race track.
The desert's diamond will crown a champion once again.
Championship Weekend returns to @phoenixraceway in 2025. pic.twitter.com/z6BZNaez9g
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 16, 2024
“Our fans are the heart and soul of Phoenix Raceway, and they create an unforgettable atmosphere for NASCAR Championship Weekend,” said Phoenix Raceway President Latasha Causey. “They fill the grandstands and hillside and pack the GEICO Gecko Campground, which is nothing short of the best camping experience in all of NASCAR. This makes NASCAR Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway an incredible celebration of our fans and our sport, and we can’t wait to keep the celebration going in 2025.”
The 2025 Halloween weekend will heat up as NASCAR hosts a “Pixar’s CARS”-like championship race – after eliminating all but four drivers from the NASCAR Playoffs, those top four drivers enter the weekend tied in points. Whoever finishes the race ahead of the other three championship contenders wins the title. The only difference? The other 36 drivers are also on track striving to win the race as well, just like Ross Chastain did to upset the Championship 4 in 2023.
NASCAR's 75th Anniversary season comes to a stellar conclusion after another beautiful #ChampionshipWeekend of racing at @phoenixraceway!
Ryan @Blaney earns his first career NASCAR Cup Series title & delivers a 44th career championship to @Team_Penske! #NASCAR75 pic.twitter.com/JrKvBLwtP1
— Devon Henry (@devonhenry77) November 6, 2023
In 2018, Phoenix Raceway’s parent company, International Speedway Corporation, flooded $178 million into a modernization project, re-imagining the one-mile oval. Renovations included a new INfield with interactive garages and victory lane, new grandstand seating, new concourses, and a move of the start/finish line to just before the dogleg. One year later, NASCAR announced that Phoenix Raceway would host the championship beginning in 2020, moving the finale from Homestead-Miami Speedway which hosted the title race since 2002.
NASCAR continues to add to the championship resume that the valley has acquired over the past decade. Alongside the NASCAR Championship at Phoenix Raceway from 2020 now till 2026, the metro Phoenix area has welcomed in the College Football Semifinal in 2019, a Phoenix Suns NBA Finals run in 2021, Super Bowl LVII and the Diamondbacks’ MLB World Series run in 2023, and the 2024 College Basketball Final Four and Championship Game.
The Championship Weekend races are the final round of the NASCAR Playoffs. The Cup Series features a ten-race elimination bracket where 16 drivers get condensed down to just four. In a high-stakes final bout at Phoenix, those four drivers go toe to toe, and the highest finisher of the four claims the Bill France Cup.
The @phoenixraceway Midway is BUMPIN RIGHT NOW. And they're still lined up to get inside 😳
Almost time for #ChampionshipWeekend Sunday! #NASCAR75 pic.twitter.com/DrAOaVBf4g
— Devon Henry (@devonhenry77) November 5, 2023
The agreement between NASCAR and Phoenix Raceway to host the NASCAR Championship Weekend is a year-by-year decision made by NASCAR. The track has been able to hold the Championship race each year since 2020 after being the semifinal venue from 2002-2019.
According to racing-reference, NASCAR first began racing in the valley at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in 1951. Phoenix Raceway later opened in 1964 and began hosting NASCAR Cup races in 1988. The first Cup Series event was won by Wisconson’s Alan Kulwicki where the 1992 champion would bring birth to the “Polish Victory Lap,” now a popular celebration in NASCAR.
Be sure to mark your calendars for the 2024 NASCAR Championship Weekend as four champions are crowned in the ARCA Menards West Series, Craftsman Truck Series, Xfinity Series, and Cup Series. Limited tickets still remain for the three days of action November 8-10.
