The 2026 Freeway Insurance 500 is an upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race that will be held on October 18, 2026, at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. It is currently scheduled to be held over 312 laps on the oval, it will be the 33rd race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, and the seventh race of the NASCAR Chase.
Report
Background
Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. Phoenix Raceway has also hosted the CART, IndyCar Series, USAC and the IMSA SportsCar Championship. The raceway is currently owned and operated by NASCAR.
Freeway Insurance was announced as the title sponsor.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points. (CC) denotes chase contender.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 2 Austin Cindric (CC) Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Noah Gragson Front Row Motorsports Ford 5 Kyle Larson (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 7 Daniel Suárez (CC) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Ty Dillon Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 11 Denny Hamlin (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney (CC) Team Penske Ford 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher (CC) RFK Racing Ford 19 Chase Briscoe (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Josh Berry Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano (CC) Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace (CC) 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 33 Austin Hill (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 34 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 35 Riley Herbst 23XI Racing Toyota 38 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Cole Custer Haas Factory Team Chevrolet 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 45 Tyler Reddick (CC) 23XI Racing Toyota 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 54 Ty Gibbs (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 Ryan Preece (CC) RFK Racing Ford 71 Michael McDowell Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 77 Carson Hocevar (CC) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 88 Connor Zilisch (R) Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 97 Shane van Gisbergen Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Media
Television USA Sports will cover the race on the television side. Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte will call the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Kim Coon, and Marty Snider will handle pit road, while Trevor Bayne provided analysis from the pace car for the television side.
USABooth announcersPit reportersPace car Lap-by-lap: Leigh DiffeyColor-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Steve Letarte Dave BurnsKim CoonMarty Snider Trevor Bayne
Radio MRN will cover the radio action for the race which will also be simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley, and former crew chief Todd Gordon will call the race when the field races past the start/finish line. Dan Hubbard will call the action from turns 1 & 2, and Tim Catafalmo will call the action from turns 3 & 4. Pit lane will be manned by Lead MRN Pit Reporter Steve Post, Chris Wilner, and Jacklyn Drake.
MRN Booth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Mike BagleyAnnouncer: Todd Gordon Turns 1 & 2: Dan HubbardTurns 3 & 4: Tim Catafalmo Steve PostChris WilnerJacklyn Drake
References