By David Morgan, Associate Editor
AVONDALE, Ariz. – Day two at Phoenix Raceway will be highlighted by NASCAR’s second highest division, as the NASCAR Xfinity Series wraps up its 2022 campaign by crowning its newest champion.
Twelve championship hopefuls started the six-week march to the Valley of the Sun, with only four drivers left standing to duel it out in the Arizona desert on Saturday night. It all comes down to a battle between three JR Motorsports drivers in Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, and Josh Berry against the lone Toyota driver in Ty Gibbs.
By the Numbers
What: NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship, Race No. 33 of 33
Where: Phoenix Raceway – Avondale, Arizona
When: Saturday, November 5
TV/Radio: USA Network, 6:00 pm ET / MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Channel 90
Track Size: 1.0-mile oval
Banking: Eight to nine degrees in Turns 1-2, 10 to 11 degrees in Turns 3-4 and frontstretch dogleg
Race Length: 200 laps, 200 miles
Stage Lengths: Stage One/Two – 45 laps each, Final stage – 110 laps
March 2022 Race Winner: Noah Gragson – No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet (Started second, 114 laps led)
November 2021 Race Winner: Daniel Hemric – No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (Started fourth, 48 laps led)
Tale of the Tape – How the Championship 4 Stacks Up:
Noah Gragson – No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
2022 Stats: Eight wins (Phoenix, Talladega, Pocono, Darlington, Kansas, Bristol, Texas, Homestead), 20 top-five finishes, 25 top-10 finishes, two poles, 975 laps led, 8.3 average finish
Phoenix Specific Stats: Seven starts, one win (2022), two top-five finishes, four top-10 finishes, 146 laps led, 11.7 average finish
Practice Result: 13th
Why Gragson Can Win: The Las Vegas native has turned it up a notch in 2022, more than doubling his win total from a year ago and rounding into form late in the season to send a message to everyone that the championship will have to go through him. As part of the three-headed JR Motorsports monster at Phoenix, there is no doubt that the No. 9 Chevy will be at the front of the field early and often.
And should he win the title in his final season with the team before moving up to the Cup Series in 2023, the celebration is sure to be legendary.
What the Driver Says: “Winning the championship has been our goal all year long, and we won at Phoenix in the spring. This weekend, it’s for all the marbles, and this Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black…
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