Phoenix Raceway will see a bevy of action this championship weekend with three NASCAR Series events. The Cup Series wraps up the action on Sunday after races for the Craftsman Truck Series on Friday and Xfinity Series on Saturday.
The Cup Series playoffs concluded the Round of 8 last week with Ryan Blaney winning in Martinsville to secure his spot in the championship four.
Christopher Bell's win in Homestead secured his spot in the championship four. Cup Series 2021 champion Kyle Larson secured his spot first with a win in Las Vegas.
William Byron rounds out the championship four thanks to his stage and bonus points as well as top results in the playoffs.
Here's how the odds look for race winner and championship winner with odds from BetMGM:
Changing calendar:NASCAR adds Iowa to 2024 Cup schedule, shifts Atlanta, Watkins Glen to playoffs
No repeat champion:Denny Hamlin wins at Bristol, defending champ Joey Logano knocked out of NASCAR playoffs
Eric Smith writes Phoenix is one of Blaney's best tracks and Bell's shown he can turn around an average track record, like he did last week in Homestead. Larson's track record isn't much better with one win in 18 career Cup races there. As far as Byron goes, he won the first Cup race there this spring and it's been a decade since someone swept both Phoenix races in one season.
Nate Ryan says it's between Larson and Blaney, with the 2021 champion Larson having the edge. "There are a lot of elements here that are kind of synthesizing for Kyle Larson to emerge as the champion," he says.
Bob Pockrass writes "give the edge to Larson. In seven of the nine playoff races, Larson has finished in at least the top three in 10 of the 18 stages. He is consistently fast. His pit crew is solid. He's the one to beat."
Staff write "Byron has seven top-ten playoff finishes and hasn’t finished lower than 15th since Michigan." Even though Larson is the favorite, Byron's prior win makes him the pick.
Saturday glory:Predictions, odds for Xfinity Series Championship Race Saturday
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