This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to Arizona to determine the champion. Coverage of the Season Finale 500k begins with Countdown to Green at 2 p.m. ET on NBC. Race coverage will start at 3 p.m. ET The green flag should fly around 3:15 p.m. ET.  Radio coverage will be provided by local MRN Radio affiliates and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

Records and facts

Last year's Season Finale 500k was a change from previous championship races. A non-Championship 4 driver dominated. That driver was Ross Chastain.

Chastain took the lead from Denny Hamlin on the final restart and pulled away to take the victory, but he led 157 of 312 laps in doing so. He had the best car.

Chastain won by 1.23 seconds over Ryan Blaney, who won the championship. Kyle Larson was third, then William Byron and Chris Buescher. Christopher Bell, who was the fourth driver in the Championship 4, crashed out and finished 36th.

Kevin Harvick is the winningest driver at Phoenix International Raceway all-time with nine victories on the tricky tri-oval. Jimmie Johnson has four victories in his own right, while Logano, Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. each have three.

Eight drivers have two victories in Phoenix. Denny Hamlin is the only active driver in the group. The others are Davey Allison, Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin and Ryan Newman.

Track Facts 
Track / Race Length: 1 mile tri-oval, 312 laps (312 miles, 502.32 kilometers)
Banking: 10-11 degrees in the backstretch dogleg, 8-9 degrees in Turns 1-2, 10-11 degrees in Turns 3-4

Frontstretch: 1,551 ft., banked 9-11 degrees

Backstretch: 1,179 ft., banked 3 degrees

Grandstand Seating: 45,000

Pit Road Speed: 45 mph
Pace Car Speed: 50 mph
Opened: 1964 (first Cup race in 1988)

Website: http://www.phoenixraceway.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhoenixRaceway

Twitter: http://twitter.com/phoenixraceway

Pre-Race Schedule:

Practice: Friday, Nov. 8, 6 - 6:55 p.m. ET on USA Network

Qualifying: Saturday, Nov. 9, 5 p.m. on USA Network

Say What!

"Honestly, for me a sense of ease. In a really good place I feel like mentally going into this weekend. We know what's ahead of us, but not letting it overwhelm us or myself really for that matter.

"Things have changed. Some teams have come on, some have gone away. But it's the same track we raced on in the spring. So certainly I think when you look at all of the Toyotas across the board, our performance here, whether it was Legacy, 23XI or Joe Gibbs Racing, we were all solid in points throughout this weekend.

"There's something about that that lends itself to the Camry. Certainly that's just another thing we can stack in our corner when we're trying to get ready from the confidence side of things, things that we did well.

"Nothing's guaranteed for sure, right? But certainly it feels good knowing that the last time we were here we were really solid." -Tyler Reddick

"I think the advantage I have, and a lot of us have, is that we know we’re going to be competitive. But every race is a new race, and just because you won this race in the spring does not guarantee results by any means and it does not mean that you’re the favorite or whatever. You have a good feeling you’re going to be competitive because the track hasn’t changed, the cars haven’t changed, the rules package hasn’t changed. So, ‘You’ll be in the hunt,’ is a good way to look at it. But the results of the previous race don’t guarantee anything. I know we are going to give it our all this weekend at Phoenix and try to finish off the year on a high note with our Interstate Batteries/DeWalt Camry." - Christopher Bell

"I enjoy going out to Phoenix. It is definitely a one-of-a-kind race track, and I have always felt comfortable there. I’m excited to see the speed our No. 7 team unloads on Friday. We’ve had speed since I came back to Spire, but something has prevented us from getting the finish we deserved. Hopefully we will get the run we have been looking for heading into the offseason.

"There has been a learning curve for sure, especially in familiarizing myself in the processes and how they execute. Things will obviously be different with Rodney [Childers] and other guys coming in at the end of the year, but it is still good to get inside the building and start to familiarize myself." - Justin Haley

Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of NASCAR Media via Sean Gardner of Getty Images.