For the first time since 2019, Phoenix Raceway is scheduled to host a NASCAR Cup Series postseason race that is not the season finale.
Sunday's 312-lap race around the four-turn, 1.022-mile (1.645-kilometer) oval in Avondale, Arizona is the seventh of 10 races on the 2026 Chase playoff schedule.
The qualifying order, provided that qualifying actually happens this week after it's been canceled for four of the first six postseason races due to inclement weather, was determined by the qualifying metric that NASCAR has used since 2025.
That metric is based 30% on the owner standings and 70% on the results of the most recent race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Worth noting is the fact that the 16 playoff drivers are separated from the 21 non-playoff drivers when it comes to calculating the qualifying order, to guarantee that the playoff drivers are guaranteed to occupy the final 16 spots in the order, even if they don't necessarily have the best 16 metric scores.
The only changes to the driver lineup from the race at Charlotte involve the removal of two entries. NY Racing Team fielded the No. 44 Chevrolet for B.J. McLeod and Garage 66 fielded the No. 66 Ford for Gray Gaulding, but neither is on the entry list at Phoenix.
23XI Racing did field the No. 67 Toyota for Corey Heim at Charlotte, and it is on the entry list again. But that in and of itself is a change, since the team did not initially plan on fielding the car for Heim again until the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.
Because Phoenix is more than one mile in length, it is technically considered an intermediate track, rather than a short track, so each driver is set to get only a single qualifying lap. And unlike on superspeedways, there is no second-round shootout for the pole position.
Here's how the Phoenix qualifying order would look if qualifying actually happens on Saturday.
NASCAR Cup Series qualifying order at Phoenix
Order | Driver |
|---|---|
1 | Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
2 | John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
3 | Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet |
4 | Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
5 | Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
6 | Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet |
7 | Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
8 | A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
9 | Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
10 | Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
11 | Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
12 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
13 | Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
14 | Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
15 | Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
16 | Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota |
17 | Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
18 | Corey Heim, No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota |
19 | Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
20 | Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
21 | Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
22 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
23 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
24 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
25 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
26 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
27 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
28 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
29 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
30 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
31 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
32 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
33 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
34 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
35 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
36 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
37 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
Sunday's Freeway Insurance 500 is set to be shown live on USA Network from Phoenix Raceway beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET. Don't miss any of the action from race number seven of 10 on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series postseason calendar!
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