NASCAR Confirms Phoenix Championship Weekend to Run as Scheduled

On Thursday, NASCAR confirmed 2020 Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway will run on its scheduled dates of Nov. 6-8 amid the Coronavirus. 

NASCAR announced their remaining schedule for the 2020 season, including the playoffs for all series, laying out the final stretch of its full 36-race season and even after a nine-week hiatus due to the COVID-19 shutdown. NASCAR rigorously adjusted its schedule with brutal turnaround times but is on track to complete its full 2020 season in its original timeframe. 

Championship Weekend at NASCAR’s most interactive track will still be adjusted due to COVID-19. On July 21, NASCAR announced there will be no qualifying or practice sessions for the remainder of the 2020 season, including the championship races at Phoenix. When the drivers take the green flag, they will race at over 160 mph at Phoenix Raceway for the first time in eight months.

“We’re all taking it one day at a time,” Track President, Julie Giese, said on The Brad Cesmat Show in July. “We’re working through every potential scenario that could happen. It’s a long way away and we have the benefit of time but it tests our patience because we want to know, just like everyone else, what is it going to look like in November?”

There is no announcement if NASCAR will allow fans either in a limited capacity or in any capacity for Championship Weekend at their most interactive and fan-friendly track on the circuit. 

According to a season ticket holder brochure obtained by the Arizona Republic, NASCAR plans to once again hold Championship Weekend in Phoenix to conclude the 2021 season. If confirmed by NASCAR, any fans who don’t make it to 2020 Championship Weekend will have another chance next year. NASCAR plans to officially release its entire 2021 schedule in the coming months with drastic changes and new tracks added to the Cup Series schedule.

NASCAR also announced two procedure changes for the remainder of the 2020 season. A ‘choose rule’ has been added beginning this weekend at Michigan, allowing drivers to ‘choose’ which lane they wish to restart in after a caution as opposed to designated starting spots. NASCAR also changed how starting lineups will be set. Prior, they were set by a random draw based on points position. Starting lineups will now be determined by competition-based performance metrics. Both changes will be in effect at Phoenix Raceway.

All final ten races of the Cup season will be on the same track and same date that was planned on the original schedule from the beginning of the 2020 season. The Xfinity, Truck, and ARCA West Series had minor adjustments to their playoff schedule but remains mostly the same.

According to Racing-Reference, NASCAR first began racing in the valley at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in 1951. Phoenix Raceway opened in 1964 and started holding NASCAR Cup races in 1988. The track’s first Cup winner was Wisconsin’s, Alan Kulwicki.

Championship Weekend will crown the champions of the Gander Outdoors & RV Truck Series, Xfinity Series, ARCA West Series, and Cup Series Nov. 6, 7, and 8.