By David Morgan, Associate Editor
AVONDALE, Ariz. — 35 races down, one to go.
Sunday afternoon, the NASCAR Cup Series will hit the track at Phoenix Raceway for the 2022 season finale, bringing this season to a close and crowning a champion.
Heading into this year’s championship race, it will be a battle between two former champions and two drivers making their first appearance in the Championship 4 to see who will be hoisting the Bill France Cup when the checkered flag falls.
Whittled down from the 16 original title contenders to the final four, defending Cup champion Chase Elliott will look to capture his second title in the past three years, with Joey Logano hoping to snag his second championship as well. Then come the Championship 4 rookies in Christopher Bell and Ross Chastain that will be gunning for the veterans to add their name to the record books on Sunday.
By the Numbers
What: NASCAR Cup Series Championship, Race No. 36 of 36
Where: Phoenix Raceway – Avondale, Arizona (Opened: 1964, first NASCAR Cup event was 1988)
When: Sunday, November 6
TV/Radio: NBC, 3:00 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: 312 laps, 312 miles (500 km)
Stage Lengths: Stage One – 75 laps each, Stage Two – 115 laps, Final stage – 122 laps
Pit Road Speed: 45 mph
Fuel Window: 85 to 90 laps
March 2022 Race Winner: Chase Briscoe – No. 14 Ford (Started 13th, 60 laps led)
November 2021 Race Winner: Kyle Larson – No. 5 Chevrolet (Started third, 143 laps led)
Tale of the Tape – How the Championship 4 Stack Up:
Ross Chastain – No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
2022 Stats: Two wins (Austin, Talladega), 14 top-five finishes, 20 top-10 finishes, 692 laps led, 13.6 average finish
Phoenix Specific Stats: Eight starts, no wins, one top-five finish, one top-10 finish, 20.5 average finish
Practice Result: First
Starting Position: 25th
Why Chastain Can Win: After pulling off a move that will forever live in NASCAR lore, Chastain is riding a wave of momentum into Phoenix as he looks to cap off his best season to date in the Cup Series with a championship. Week in and week out, both Chastain and Trackhouse have been forging their own path with their aggressive style. Expect more of the same on Sunday.
If the other three title contenders…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at NASCAR – Motorsports Tribune…