The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series champion will be crowned at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Ariz., this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. A special edition of Countdown to Green will begin pre-race coverage at 1:30 p.m. ET. Below are the Championship 4 drivers vying for the Cup Series title:
- Joey Logano: three wins during 2022 season, owns two career victories at Phoenix (2020, 2016), and won 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Championship
- Chase Elliott: series-high five wins during 2022 season, won at Phoenix in 2020 and was the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion
- Ross Chastain: making his first career Cup Series Championship 4 appearance after making a thrilling move on the final lap last Sunday at Martinsville Speedway to finish in fifth place; won two races during the season
- Christopher Bell: won last weekend’s race at Martinsville, his third victory of the season, to clinch a spot in the Championship 4, his first career appearance
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship will be presented from Phoenix this Saturday at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network with Countdown to Green beginning pre-race coverage at 5:30 p.m. ET. The Championship 4 drivers competing for the Xfinity Series title are Noah Gragson, Ty Gibbs, Justin Allgaier, and Josh Berry.
NASCAR: CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP & XFINITY SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP
Coverage of the NASCAR Cup Series Championship will be presented this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET and Countdown to Green will begin pre-race coverage at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
The special edition of Countdown to Green will include:
- Special interviews with all Cup Series Championship 4 drivers, including:
- Christopher Bell and crew chief Adam Stevens with Steve Letarte
- Chase Elliott at the front of the grid with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton
- Joey Logano on the Peacock Pit Box with Dale Jarrett, Kyle Petty and Brad Daugherty
- Ross Chastain at the front of the grid with Earnhardt Jr. and Burton
- A look back at the thrilling 2022 Cup Series season that featured 19 different winners in the first year of the Next Gen car;
- A discussion and breakdown of Ross Chastain’s ‘video game’ last-lap move at Martinsville;
- Vignette on Jimmy Makar, the first employee hired at Joe Gibbs Racing, who will be retiring after Sunday’s race;
- Feature that offers an inside perspective on Chris Kalnins, who has traveled to every NASCAR track on the Cup Series circuit this season;
- Multiplatinum country musician Jon Pardi’s performance at Phoenix Raceway.
NASCAR America post-race coverage will immediately follow the checkered flag with continuing coverage at 7 p.m. ET on Peacock.
Two-time Daytona 500 Champion and NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., 21-time Cup Series race winner and “The Mayor” of NASCAR Jeff Burton, and Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte will serve as analysts for the Cup Series Championship from Phoenix Raceway with lead NASCAR race announcer Rick Allen. Burton, Letarte and Allen will call the Xfinity Series Championship.
Marty Snider, Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman and Dillon Welch will serve as pit reporters this weekend.
Snider will anchor pre- and post-race studio coverage with NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Jarrett,racing icon Kyle Petty and JTG Daugherty Racing team owner Brad Daugherty from the Peacock Pit Box Saturday and Sunday. Earnhardt Jr. will join studio coverage on Saturday to share his unique perspective as a team owner with two Championship drivers (Gragson and Allgaier) racing for the title.
NBC Sports’ Rutledge Wood will report and share stories throughout the weekend from around Phoenix Raceway, including Rattlesnake Hill.
Earnhardt Jr. (2003, 2004, 2015), Burton (2001, 2000), and Jarrett (1997) own Cup Series victories at Phoenix.
MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Earnhardt Jr., Burton, Letarte and Allen will have a media availability at the NASCAR Championship 4 media day Thursday, Nov. 3, at 1 p.m. PT at the Phoenix Convention Center. Click here for more details.
BIG EVENT WEEKEND
The Cup Series Championship is part of NBCUniversal’s “Big Event Weekend” featuring numerous high-profile events across NBC and Peacock this Saturday and Sunday (programming details below). For more on “Big Event Weekend,” click here.
| Date | Event | Platform | Time (ET) |
| Sat., Nov. 5 | Breeders’ Cup Classic | NBC, Peacock | 3:30 p.m. |
| No. 4 Clemson vs. Notre Dame | NBC, Peacock | 7:30 p.m. | |
| Saturday Night Live | NBC, Peacock | 11:30 p.m. | |
| Sun., Nov. 6 | NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race | NBC, Peacock | 3 p.m. |
| Sunday Night Football: Titans vs. Chiefs | NBC, Peacock | 8:20 p.m. |
BROADCAST TEAM
- Analysts: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte
- Play by Play: Rick Allen
- Pit Reporters: Marty Snider, Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, Dillon Welch
- Specialty Reporter: Rutledge Wood
STUDIO COVERAGE TEAM
- Host: Marty Snider
- Analysts: Dale Jarrett, Kyle Petty, Brad Daugherty
HOW TO WATCH
- TV – NBC, USA Network
- Streaming – Peacock, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app
| Date | Coverage | Platform | Time (ET) |
| Fri., Nov. 4 | NASCAR Xfinity Series Practice | USA Network | 7 p.m. |
| NASCAR Cup Series Practice | USA Network | 8 p.m. | |
| Sat., Nov. 5 | NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying | NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app | 2:30 p.m. |
| NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying | USA Network | 3:30 p.m. | |
| Countdown to Green – NASCAR Xfinity Series | USA Network | 5:30 p.m. | |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship | USA Network | 6 p.m. | |
| NASCAR America Post-Race – NASCAR Xfinity Series | USA Network | 8:30 p.m. | |
| Sun., Nov. 6 | Countdown to Green – NASCAR Cup Series | NBC | 1:30 p.m. |
| NASCAR Cup Series Championship | NBC, Peacock | 3 p.m. | |
| NASCAR America Post-Race – NASCAR Cup Series | Peacock | 7 p.m. |
MOTOGP: GRAND PRIX OF VALENCIA
The 2022 MotoGP championship will be decided this Sunday in the season finale at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain, at noon ET on NBC. This marks the first time that the title will be decided at the final race of the year since 2017.
Following his victory last weekend in the Malaysian Grand Prix, Francesco Bagnaia can clinch the title if he finishes in 14th place or better, but second-place Fabio Quartararo remains alive in the race to win his second consecutive title.
THE DALE JR. DOWNLOAD
Steve Letarte, who served as Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief for four years including a victory of the 2014 Daytona 500, joins this week’s The Dale Jr. Download episode streaming Thursday at 6 p.m. ET on Peacock. USA Network will also present the episode starring Letarte this Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.
Weekly and on-demand episodes of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s podcast will stream exclusively on the platform, taking viewers table-side for unparalleled perspective, candid commentary, and insight from Dale Jr.
NASCAR AMERICA MOTORMOUTHS
NBC Sports’ fan-favorite NASCAR call-in show, NASCAR America Motormouths, discusses the latest motorsports news and interviews with NBC Sports’ NASCAR analysts and reporters each Monday and Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET exclusively on Peacock.
RACE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP
The Race for the Championship season finale premieres Thursday at 10 p.m. ET on USA Network and will be available to stream on Peacock on Friday. The one-hour unscripted docuseries will take viewers inside the lives of NASCAR’s top drivers and teams on and off the track. Click here for more details on the series.
Across ten thrilling episodes, the all-access series will chronicle the sport’s best as they balance their personal lives with the passion, pressure and perils of racing, all for a chance to make history.
–NBC SPORTS–
