Phoenix Raceway remains on the NASCAR Cup Series postseason schedule, but for the first time since 2019, it will not host the season finale.
Sunday's 312-lap Freeway Insurance 500 around the four-turn, 1.022-mile (1.645-kilometer) Avondale, Arizona oval is the seventh of 10 races on the 2026 Chase playoff schedule, and there is just one non-chartered (open) car on the entry list.
That open car competed at Charlotte Motor Speedway this past weekend, but it was not initially in line to compete two weeks in a row.
3 lineup changes confirmed for Phoenix NASCAR Cup playoff race
Corey Heim is set to be back behind the wheel of the No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota for the second consecutive week, after his initial plan was to compete only at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the new host of the season finale, in November before the season concludes.
The Phoenix start was a late addition to a 12-race-turned-13-race schedule for 2026, as he prepares to make the full-time move to 23XI Racing next year as Riley Herbst's replacement.
The other two changes simply involve two cars that competed at Charlotte but will not do so this weekend at Phoenix.
NY Racing Team fielded the No. 44 Chevrolet for B.J. McLeod, marking his first start for a team other than the one he owns (Live Fast Motorsports) since 2024, and Garage 66 (MBM Motorsports) fielded the No. 66 Ford for Gray Gaulding, who hadn't run a Cup race since June 2023.
NY Racing Team do not currently have plans to return later this year, while Garage 66 are set to enter the No. 66 Ford next weekend for a driver TBD at Talladega Superspeedway. Gaulding is then set to return the following weekend for the season's penultimate race at Martinsville Speedway.
Tune in to USA Network at 3:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, October 18 for the live broadcast of the Freeway Insurance 500 from Phoenix Raceway. All remaining races on the 2026 schedule beyond this weekend are set to be shown live on NBC, so begin a free trial of FuboTV now and catch all of the action!
Add us as a preferred source on Google