The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on November 5, 2023, at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 312 laps on the one-mile (1.6 km) oval, it was the 36th and final race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. Ross Chastain won the race, with Ryan Blaney finishing second and claiming his first Cup Series championship. This was also the final race for both Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola before their retirements from the Cup Series.
Report
Background
Phoenix Raceway – also known as PIR – is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. It is named after the nearby metropolitan area of Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the IndyCar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series. The raceway is currently owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.
The raceway was originally constructed with a road course that ran both inside and outside of the main tri-oval. In 1991 the track was reconfigured with the current interior layout. PIR has an estimated grandstand seating capacity of around 67,000. Lights were installed around the track in 2004 following the addition of a second annual NASCAR race weekend.
Phoenix Raceway is home to two annual NASCAR race weekends, one of 13 facilities on the NASCAR schedule to host more than one race weekend a year. The track is both the first and last stop in the western United States, as well as the fourth and the last track on the schedule.
Championship drivers Kyle Larson was the first of four drivers to clinch a spot in the Championship 4, winning the first race of the Round of 8 at Las Vegas. Christopher Bell clinched the second spot in the Championship 4, winning the second race of the Round of 8 at Homestead. Ryan Blaney clinched the third spot in the Championship 4, winning the third race of the Round of 8 at Martinsville. William Byron clinched the final spot in the Championship 4, based on points.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points. (CC) denotes championship contender.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5 Kyle Larson (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney (CC) Team Penske Ford 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Carson Hocevar (i) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Ryan Newman (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice Kyle Busch was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 27.520 seconds and a speed of .
Practice results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.520 130.814 2 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 27.549 130.676 3 12 Ryan Blaney (CC) Team Penske Ford 27.602 130.425Official practice results
Qualifying William Byron scored the pole for the race with a time of 27.150 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 24 William Byron (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.074 27.150 2 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.182 27.168 3 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 27.067 27.186 4 5 Kyle Larson (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.149 27.191 5 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 27.130 27.219 6 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.124 27.244 7 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 27.151 27.368 8 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 27.106 27.386 9 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 27.129 27.458 10 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 27.150 27.957 11 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.181 — 12 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 27.182 — 13 20 Christopher Bell (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.203 — 14 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 27.205 — 15 12 Ryan Blaney (CC) Team Penske Ford 27.218 — 16 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 27.232 — 17 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 27.241 — 18 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.246 — 19 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 27.249 — 20 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.266 — 21 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.275 — 22 42 Carson Hocevar (i) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 27.280 — 23 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.295 — 24 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 27.316 — 25 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 27.421 — 26 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 27.444 — 27 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 27.446 — 28 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 27.460 — 29 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 27.557 — 30 51 Ryan Newman (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 27.578 — 31 6 Cole Custer (i) RFK Racing Ford 27.582 — 32 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 27.599 — 33 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 27.606 — 34 15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 27.662 — 35 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 28.003 — 36 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 29.248 —Official qualifying results
Race Note: Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, and William Byron were not eligible for stage points because of their participation in the Championship 4.
Race results For the first time since 2013, the final race of the season was not won by the eventual Cup Series Champion. Instead, Trackhouse driver Ross Chastain, who was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs, wound up dominating the second half of the race to take the win, his second of the season and his fourth overall. As Ryan Blaney, who placed second, had the highest finishing position of the drivers who qualified for the Championship 4, he was declared the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Champion.
Stage results
Stage One Laps: 60
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 24 William Byron (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 02 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 93 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 84 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 75 5 Kyle Larson (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 06 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 57 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 39 20 Christopher Bell (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 010 12 Ryan Blaney (CC) Team Penske Ford 0Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 125
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 102 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 93 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 84 24 William Byron (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 05 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 66 12 Ryan Blaney (CC) Team Penske Ford 07 5 Kyle Larson (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 08 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 39 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 210 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 1Official stage two results
Final Stage results
Stage Three Laps: 127
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 8 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 312 572 15 12 Ryan Blaney (CC) Team Penske Ford 312 353 4 5 Kyle Larson (CC) Hendrick Motorsprots Chevrolet 312 344 1 24 William Byron (CC) Hendrick Motorsprots Chevrolet 312 335 9 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 312 476 2 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 312 417 3 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 312 478 6 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 312 299 19 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 312 2810 5 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 312 3711 16 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 312 2612 21 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 312 2513 28 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 312 2414 12 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 312 2315 31 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 312 2416 20 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 2117 23 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 2018 17 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 312 1919 22 42 Carson Hocevar (i) Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 312 020 7 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 312 2121 11 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 312 1622 10 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 312 1523 24 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 312 1424 26 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 312 1325 18 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 311 12 26 25 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 311 1127 34 15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 311 028 33 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 310 929 35 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 310 830 14 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 309 731 29 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 308 632 32 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 308 533 36 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 306 034 30 51 Ryan Newman (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 305 035 27 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 301 236 13 20 Christopher Bell (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 108 1Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 18 among 8 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 4 for 27 laps Red flags: 0 Time of race: 2 hours, 52 minutes, and 1 second Average speed:
Media
Television NBC covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, two–time Phoenix winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and three-time Phoenix winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Kim Coon, Parker Kligerman and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane.
NBCBooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Steve LetarteColor-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dave BurnsKim CoonParker KligermanMarty Snider
Radio MRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace called the action from the broadcast booth when the field races down the front straightaway. Dave Moody called the action from turns 1 & 2 and Mike Bagley called the action from turns 3 & 4. Steve Post, Jacklyn Drake, Jason Toy, and Chris Wilner covered the action for MRN from pit lane.
MRN RadioBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Rusty Wallace Turns 1 & 2: Dave MoodyTurns 3 & 4: Mike Bagley Steve PostJacklyn DrakeJason ToyChris Wilner
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings