How to Watch the NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on NBC & Peacock
The Championship 4 field is locked for a full-throttle finale like no other.
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After 37 races spread across a grueling nine months, the journey to the promised land has all led to this: the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway. Revving up for action this Sunday at Arizona’s “Desert Diamond,” the final battle royale will see one of the four championship contenders capture eternal glory and hoist the Bill France Cup. With so much at stake, it promises to be an epic conclusion for racing’s top flight, and it’s all going down on NBC and Peacock.
Rounding out the field of four, William Byron led a career best 304 laps en route to fending off Ryan Blaney and winning the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway over the weekend. Byron’s walk-off victory sets up a heavyweight team showdown — Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe versus Hendrick Motorsports’ Byron and Kyle Larson, whose fifth-place finish at Martinsville helped knock Christopher Bell out of contention and lock down the final Championship 4 berth. Furthermore, the spots Byron and Larson captured mean Team Penske’s streak of three consecutive Cup Series championships was snapped after Blaney and Joey Logano were eliminated.
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But before the high-octane finale in Phoenix this Sunday, November 2 on NBC and Peacock, here’s a look at what you need to know about the last remaining race in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
How can you watch the NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix?
On Sunday, November 2 at 3 p.m. ET, the NASCAR Cup Series Championship will be broadcast on NBC and simulcast on Peacock. Ahead of the desert finale at Phoenix Raceway, racing fans should tune into Countdown to Green on NBC at 2 p.m. ET for the best pre-race analysis around.
Which drivers are competing in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race?
1. Chase Briscoe, Championship 4
No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2. Denny Hamlin, Championship 4
No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
3. William Byron, Championship 4
No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
4. Kyle Larson, Championship 4
No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
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Storylines for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship
Here are a few storylines to be aware of when the NASCAR Cup Series Championship contenders fire up their engines ahead of Sunday’s main event.
Kyle Larson
As the only former champ set to compete for the crown this year, Kyle Larson’s battle-tested on the biggest stage, but is he the favorite? Despite earning a spot, Yung Money enters Phoenix with a 23-race winless streak. That said, he’ll do it alongside a familiar face in Cliff Daniels – the only winning crew chief among the four.
Denny Hamlin
“Is this the year?” If you ask the intrepid wheelman himself: absolutely. Aside from his season-leading six victories, including his 60th career Cup Series win, Hamlin’s looked about as formidable this season as he ever has since his Cup debut at Kansas in 2005. Sure, he’s endured some recent struggles with engine failures and other mechanical issues, but the crafty veteran is the ultimate unflappable competitor. He’s got the will; he just needs the way.
Chase Briscoe
Like Hamlin, JGR’s Chase Briscoe also suffered race-ending engine trouble at Martinsville, but that’s not muddying his focus ahead of Sunday. In addition to being one of the most consistent drivers this season, Briscoe scored his first Cup Series win at Phoenix back in 2022 in a Ford with Stewart-Haas Racing. In the three years since, he’s worked on his craft, evolving into a faster, smarter, and over-all better racer.
William Byron
It can’t be overstated how big of a win William Byron captured at Martinsville. Having grown up watching races at the Paperclip in the grandstands, Byron’s walk-off win not only punched his ticket to Arizona, it sends him to the desert riding an unbelievable wave of confidence. Out of his last five races in Phoenix, including a win back in March of 2023, he’s finished outside of the Top 10 only once.
Hendrick Motorsports vs. Joe Gibbs Racing: With a combined 19 Cup Series championships between the two, Joe Gibbs Racing is aiming for its lucky number seven while racing’s ultimate juggernaut Hendrick Motorsports, who also leads the league with the most Cup wins (312), is honing in on its jaw-dropping 15th title. While both crave the glory only a championship can bring, there is a scenario where both, in theory, achieve just that. A driver from one team could win the Driver’s Championship while aggregate point totals could award the other team the Owner’s Championship. It’s not perfect harmony, but either way, when the green flag drops in Phoenix, two of the best organizations in professional sports will show the world what success looks like.
Catch the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on November 2 – exclusively on NBC and Peacock!
