Phoenix 101: Story lines, formats, track facts and more

The Championship 4 is set. Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain will go head-to-head in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday afternoon (3 p.m. ET).

The practice session for the 2022 NASCAR Cup is on Friday at 8:05 p.m. ET. Qualifying for starting lineup will take place on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.,m., with the fastest five drivers from each group advancing to the final round of qualifying. The driver who sets the quickest lap in the session will start first on Sunday.

For the first time since 2018, four different organizations are represented in the Championship 4. Kyle Larson’s Homestead-Miami win locked the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team into the championship for the owners” championship. Only twice in Cup have there been a separate owners champion and driver champion. 19 different drivers have won this year, tied for most all time. Joe Gibbs Racing has 200th win. Trackhouse Racing's second season locked both of its drivers into playoffs.

Goodyear returns to the 1-mile tri-oval with the same tire setup that it used in the Next Gen’s inaugural Phoenix race back in March. Since then, teams have also run these tires at Richmond, Worldwide Technology Raceway and New Hampshire. Two of this year's Championship 4 contenders have already won with this configuration.

Phoenix Raceway opened in 1964. AJ Foyt won the first oval race there in March 1964 and Richard Petty won a NASCAR-sanctioned event in 1978. In 1988, three years after Buddy Jobe purchased the track from Dennis Wood, Phoenix held its first Cup Series event, won by Alan Kulwicki. International Speedway Corporation purchased Phoenix in 1997. The track was reconfigured and repaved in 2011 and renovated in 2018. Sunday marks the 53rd race at Phoenix and third championship race.

Chase Elliott is the preliminary favorite at 5-2 odds. Christopher Bell is second at 13-4 odds, Joey Logano is 4-1 at 4.5. Ross Chastain is also a 4/5 favorite. The winner of the season finale has been the champion for the last eight years. Hendrick Motorsports has won each of last two title races held at Phoenix. Logana was the earliest to lock himself into the Championship 4 thanks to his win at Vegas. Chasstain has a series-leading 14 top-five finishes this year.

The 2022 Fantasy Live points leaders are Chase Elliott (1,186), Joey Logano ( 1,087) and Ryan Blaney (0,078). NASCAR.com is offering the Playoffs Grid Challenge during the playoffs.

NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement to the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more.