Getty NASCAR has altered the practice schedule for championship weekend.
The three national NASCAR series cap off their respective seasons at Phoenix Raceway on November 3-6. The drivers will have extra time to prepare for their championship battles with longer practice sessions at the one-mile track.
According to the schedule, the Camping World Truck Series, Xfinity Series, and Cup Series will all have 50-minute practice sessions. The Truck Series will go first on Thursday, November 3 (no TV). The Xfinity Series and Cup Series will follow on Friday, November 4 (USA Network) at 7:05 p.m. ET and 8:05 p.m. ET, respectively.
While there will be extended practice sessions, there will not be changes to the qualifying format. The drivers will still have one lap to post the fastest time and battle for the pole award.
The Truck Series drivers will take part in qualifying on Friday, November 4, at 6 p.m. ET (FS1). The Xfinity Series drivers will qualify on Saturday, November 5, at 2:30 p.m. ET (USA). The Cup Series drivers will qualify last with their session on Saturday, November 5, at 3:30 p.m. ET (USA).
Multiple Weekends Have Featured Longer Practice Sessions
GettyThe Cup Series drivers have taken part in multiple expanded practice sessions.
Few race weekends have featured 50-minute sessions as NASCAR only used them for those with the “expanded” label. This was an addition that the sanctioning body revealed on November 19, 2021, when it laid out the practice and qualifying format for the 2022 season.
For the Cup Series, in particular, this list included the Daytona 500, Bristol Dirt, Atlanta Motor Speedway 1, World Wide Technology Raceway, Nashville Superspeedway, and the season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
The Xfinity Series had an expanded weekend for the season-opening trip to Daytona International Speedway, Atlanta 1, Nashville Superspeedway, and Phoenix Raceway. The series also had an extended session for the trip to Portland International Raceway.
The Truck Series drivers had several weekends that fell under the “expanded category.” They shared Daytona, Atlanta, Bristol Dirt, Nashville, and Phoenix with other series. The Truck Series drivers also had expanded weekends at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Sonoma Raceway, and Knoxville Raceway.
The Session Will Benefit the Cup Series Drivers
GettyRoss Chastain (front) will pursue his first championship.
The trip to Phoenix Raceway will be the second time that the Cup Series drivers have taken on the one-mile track with the Next Gen car. The extended session will provide them with more opportunities to dial in their respective cars before battling for the championship.
The drivers have some notes from the spring race, which featured championship-hopeful Ross Chastain finishing second behind Chase Briscoe. The weather conditions should be similar with a forecast calling for temperatures in the high 70s.
The differences will come from the amount of time that the drivers and teams have spent with the Next Gen cars. The last trip to Phoenix Raceway was the fourth race of the year. There were still some unknowns surrounding the car.
Months later, the teams and drivers know far more about the abilities — and shortcomings — of the Next Gen car. They will be better prepared to dial in their cars for the season finale, and they will be able to put their setups to the test during the extended practice session.