NASCAR’s 2025 season concludes on Sunday with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway (1 p.m. Mountain time, NBC). Of the four drivers eligible to win the series title, three are seeking to achieve that feat for the first time.
At BetArizona.com, where you’ll find the top Arizona sports betting promotions, we assembled a guide for Sunday’s big event in the desert and odds for the contenders.
NASCAR Phoenix Raceway Odds For Cup Series Championship
Driver | Race Win Odds | Title Odds |
Denny Hamlin | +400 | +200 |
Kyle Larson | +500 | +250 |
William Byron | +600 | +275 |
Chase Briscoe | +700 | +370 |
The odds above are from DraftKings Arizona Sportsbook as of Oct. 28. Remember that odds can fluctuate before a race.
The two teams that have dominated much of the season find themselves in a struggle to earn the championship – Joe Gibbs Racing has two drivers eligible for the title and so does Hendrick Motorsports. Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe represent JGR, while William Byron and 2021 series champion Kyle Larson drive for Hendrick. Those four drivers have combined for 15 victories out of 35 races in 2025, including a series-leading six wins for Hamlin.
You can determine how much you think history means for Arizona sports betting in Sunday’s race at the 1-mile oval, but here is the form in the past 10 Phoenix races for each of the Championship 4:
Chase Briscoe Career Races at Phoenix Raceway
Wins | Top-5 Finishes | Top-10 Finishes |
1 | 2 | 4 |
Briscoe has nine Cup starts at Phoenix since his series debut in 2021. Three of his five career victories in NASCAR’s top series have come this season as he made the playoffs for the third time. This is his first time in the Championship 4 and his first career Cup win came at this 1-mile track in the spring of 2022, when he was with Stewart Haas Racing. But Briscoe, 30, has the worst career average finish of the four title competitors at Phoenix, at 18.4.
William Byron Past 10 Races at Phoenix Raceway
Wins | Top-5 Finishes | Top-10 Finishes |
1 | 3 | 7 |
Byron made it to the Championship 4 for the third consecutive year by winning last week at Martinsville. He finished third in points each of the past two years, with top-five finishes in both Phoenix fall races, but not quite good enough for a title. Byron’s lone win here came in the 2023 spring race. At bet365 Arizona Sportsbook, he has +500 odds to win Sunday’s race, tied for second with Larson and trailing only Hamlin (+400). At age 27, Byron should be a title contender for years.
Denny Hamlin Past 10 Races at Phoenix Raceway
Wins | Top-5 Finishes | Top-10 Finishes |
0 | 4 | 6 |
Is this the year that perhaps the greatest driver never to capture a championship finally sheds that distinction? Since NASCAR went to this playoff format in 2014 (an initial field of 16 title-eligible drivers is whittled to four for the finale), Hamlin has made the Championship 4 four times (2014, 2019, 2020 and 2021) but still seeks his first season-long crown. He turns 45 on Nov. 18, but shows no signs of slowing, and two of his 60 career Cup victories were in Arizona (in 2012 and 2019).
Kyle Larson Past 10 Races at Phoenix Raceway
Wins | Top-5 Finishes | Top-10 Finishes |
1 | 6 | 8 |
Larson, 33, earned his second ticket to the Championship 4 on cumulative points; his three title rivals clinched berths by winning over the past three races. Larson also made the last four in 2021 – where he won the race and his only series title – and in 2023. Larson has 10 career top-five Cup Series finishes at Phoenix, more than at any other track. Caesars AZ Sportsbook offers race props including match bets; Larson has -150 odds to earn a better finish than Briscoe (who is +120).
NASCAR Cup Series Schedule For Phoenix Race Weekend
Date, Time | Event | TV Network |
Oct. 31, 12:35 p.m. | Truck Series qualifying | FS2 |
Oct. 31, 4:30 p.m. | NASCAR Truck Series Championship race | FS1 |
Nov. 1, 12:30 p.m. | Xfinity Series qualifying | CW |
Nov. 1, 2 p.m. | Cup Series qualifying | truTV |
Nov. 1, 4:30 p.m. | NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship race | CW |
Nov. 2, 1 p.m. | NASCAR Cup Series Championship race | NBC |
All times local. Note that most of the country winds its clocks back an hour on early Sunday morning, but Phoenix (and most of Arizona) does not. Sunday’s Cup race is at 3 p.m. in the Eastern time zone; Friday’s and Saturday’s events are three hours later in the East.
The NASCAR second-tier Xfinity Series and the Truck Series also conclude their seasons at Phoenix this weekend.
One last thought for NASCAR betting this weekend at Arizona sportsbook apps: In the past 10 season finales, a driver in the Championship 4 has won the race (thus clinching the title) nine times. Not all of them were at Phoenix, but it’s enough of a trend to inform wagering. If you pick a driver who you think is most likely to take the title, you might as well bet him to win the race and get better odds.
USA Today photo by Jim Dedmon
NASCAR Phoenix 2025 Q&As
Denny Hamlin is the betting favorite to win Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Championship race at Phoenix Raceway at +400 odds, according to DraftKings Sportsbook in Arizona.
The NASCAR Cup Championship race on Sunday, Nov. 2 is at 3 p.m. Eastern (1 p.m. local time) and will air on NBC.
Christopher Bell won the spring race at Phoenix Raceway in 2025, leading 105 of 312 laps to take the Shriners Childrens 500.
NASCAR returns to the Valley of the Sun from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race. Phoenix Raceway has hosted NASCAR’s season finale since 2020 and the 1-mile oval also holds a spring race each year.
Author
Jim Tomlin has 30-plus years of experience writing and editing stories about sports, gambling and the intersection of those two industries. He has worked at the Tampa Bay Times, FanRag, Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition and now lends his expertise to BetArizona.com, among other sites.
