PREVIEW: Double-duty efforts and some surprises among entry list storylines for Phoenix championship weekend
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Spencer Boyd, @SpencerBoyd
Friday, October 31, 2025 (Green Flag 7:50 P.M. ET, FS1)
TRUCKS Race 25 of 25
Championship Race
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship at Phoenix
2024 Last-Place Finisher: Jack Wood
CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR
#11-Corey Heim
#18-Tyler Ankrum
#52-Kaden Honeycutt
#98-Ty Majeski
LASTCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Last Friday in Martinsville, damage suffered during practice led to Clayton Green pulling off the track before the race even started, giving him a one-finish lead in the LASTCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship. For this race, the challenge is simple – three-time last-place finishers Norm Benning and Stephen Mallozzi can only win the title by finishing last in tonight’s race. However, as of this writing, both Benning and Mallozzi aren’t entered, so Green would already clinch the title and could potentially add to his season total tonight.
ENTRY LIST
There are 34 drivers entered for 36 spots in tonight’s race, so all will qualify for the 18th short field in 25 races this season and the second in a row.
MISSING: #6-Norm Benning Racing
Last Friday in Martinsville, Norm Benning returned to the track last Friday just days after escaping a serious fire at Talladega, and this time made it into the final stage before he was parked for not meeting minimum speed. Benning and team will not be making the trip to Phoenix, and in so doing avoids his second LASTCAR Truck Series Championship following his title in 2020.
DRIVER CHANGE: #7-Spire Motorsports
Stefan Parsons has landed new sponsorship from Transportation Charter Services (TCS), a charter bus service based in southern California. This marks the sixth series start of the year for Parsons, his first since a 25th-place showing under the lights in Bristol. He’s finished better than that in his other four starts, capped by a 12th in Texas, and completed all but seven of 839 combined laps. TCS’ logos will adorn both this #7 entry for Parsons in the Truck Series race and his XFINITY ride for Saturday with the Joey Gase team (see below). Parsons takes the place of Brenden Queen, who finished 10th last week in Martinsville. Queen will instead focus on Saturday’s XFINITY race, where he’ll again run the #11 for Kaulig Racing.
DRIVER CHANGE: #22-Reaume Brothers Racing
Mason Maggio will round out his 2025 season with his own sixth series start of the year, his first since a 28th-place showing as Frankie Muniz’ relief driver on the Charlotte “Roval.” Denssi Energy Pouches is again the sponsor for the #22 Ford of Maggio, who takes the place of Alan Waller, who wrecked midway through last week’s Martinsville race.
RETURNING: #35-Greg Van Alst Motorsports
Greg Van Alst has started the ARCA Menards Series West opener at Phoenix three times with a best finish of 10th in 2023, and made each of the last two XFINITY races with a best finish of 31st this past spring. This time around, Van Alst brings the Truck Series team he debuted this past summer. This will mark only the fourth Truck Series start of the season for Van Alst, his first since a 25th-place showing in Talladega. Prescott Tire Pros is the listed sponsor of his Chevrolet.
DRIVER CHANGE: #41-Niece Motorsports
Nevada native Tyler Reif scored his first career ARCA Menards Series win at this same Phoenix track on March 10, 2023, completing a last-lap pass on Landen Lewis. He will now make his NASCAR national series debut at the same track, taking the place of 22nd-place Martinsville finisher Conner Jones in Al Niece’s #41 Chevrolet. McLaren Transport is the listed sponsor.
MISSING: #56-Hill Motorsports
Not among this week’s entrants is Timmy Hill, who finished 16th last Friday in Martinsville.
RETURNING: #62-Halmar Friesen Racing
Cole Butcher returns to the Truck Series for the first time since his series debut at Bristol this past summer, where he piloted this same second HFR entry to a 23rd-place finish after leading four laps. A native of Porter’s Lake, Nova Scotia, Butcher makes the long trip southwest on a night where teammate Kaden Honeycutt competes in the “Championship Four” in relief of Stewart Friesen. Atlanta Tiltload is the listed sponsor for Butcher’s Toyota.
RETURNING: #66-ThorSport Racing
Luke Baldwin will close out the season for ThorSport’s part-time #66 entry, which he last piloted to a season-best 12th-place finish in Pocono. This team last raced at Talladega, where Luke Fenhaus’ last start of the season yielded a 23rd-place finish where he led 5 laps before a late-race spin while battling teammate Ben Rhodes for the lead.
MISSING: #69-Motorsports Business Management
Casey Mears will not be among tonight’s competitors after his 600th career NASCAR start came in Carl Long’s #69 last Friday in Martinsville, ironically Mears’s Truck Series debut. However, both Mears and Long will make the trip this weekend for Sunday’s Cup Series race, where Mears will make his 602nd NASCAR start following a 33rd-place finish in Martinsville, where he fell out in the final laps with electrical woes.
RETURNING: #74-Mike Harmon Racing
The Mike Harmon team returns to the track this week, where they will pull double-duty with the XFINITY Series. Their driver on the Truck Series side will again by Caleb Costner, who made his fifth and most recent series start in this Toyota at Talladega, where he finished next-to-last with electrical woes midway through the race. Costner has two previous ARCA West starts at this track, most recently a 25th-place showing in the 2024 season opener.
MISSING: #84-Cook Racing Enterprises
The Cook team will not make the trip west following Patrick Staropoli’s solid 15th-place finish last Friday in Martinsville.
TEAM UPDATE: #88-ThorSport Racing
Tonight marks 49-year-old Matt Crafton’s final start as a full-time driver, his last in the iconic bright yellow #88 entry he’s raced in all but 26 of his 591 consecutive series starts dating back to the 2000 series finale at Fontana on October 28, 2000 – 25 years ago this past Tuesday. Before Ty Majeski takes over the ride in 2026, Crafton has one more shot at a 16th career victory, his first since 2020.
MISSING: #90-Terry Carroll Motorsports
Justin S. Carroll’s family-owned team will not be among this week’s entrants after a 20th-place finish last Friday in Martinsville.
DRIVER CHANGE: #02-Young’s Motorsports
“Byrdman,” Nathan Byrd, will close out the season for Randy Young’s #02 effort – appropriate as Byrd happens to be an Arizona native from Litchfield Park. Byrd rounds out the year with his 15th series start of the season, his first since a solid 18th-place showing in Talladega. He takes the place of Logan Bearden, who last Friday on Martinsville finished three laps down in 25th.
CUP INVADERS: None
Saturday, November 1, 2025 (Green Flag 7:40 P.M. ET, CW)
XFINITY Race 33 of 33
Championship Race
NASCAR XFINITY Series Championship at Phoenix
2024 Last-Place Finisher: Stefan Parsons
CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR
#1-Carson Kvapil
#2-Jesse Love
#7-Justin Allgaier
#88-Connor Zilisch
LASTCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
The XFINITY Series’ LASTCAR championship is the most wide-open of the weekend with seven drivers eligible for the title. Parker Retzlaff remains the leader by a single bottom-five finish over Daniel Dye with Christian Eckes, Thomas Annunziata (not entered), Justin Bonsignore, William Sawalich (not entered), and Anthony Alfredo still in contention. Retzlaff is only guaranteed the title if he finishes last. Retzlaff can also win with a Bottom Five or Bottom Ten unless one of the other six contenders finishes last. Of those six, a last-place finish by five of them will guarantee the title – Alfredo can still lose with a last-place finish if Retzlaff also earns a Bottom Five. A Bottom Five by Dye will tie Retzlaff, but Dye can’t win a tiebreaker as he already trails Retzlaff in Bottom Fifteens by 14-12.
ENTRY LIST
There are 38 drivers entered for 38 starting spots, so all will qualify.
RETURNING: #5-Alpha Prime Racing
For the first time since Caesar Bacarella’s career-best 5th-place finish at the finish of this month’s race in Talladega, Alpha Prime has brought back their part-time #5 entry, which this week is driven by Glen Reen, back in the field for the first time since his 31st-place showing in Gateway. This car had TBA in the driver’s column at first publication of the entry list.
TEAM UPDATE: #18-Joe Gibbs Racing
Justin Bonsignore, who finished 10th in Martinsville, will again pilot the #18 this weekend. William Sawalich tweeted early Wednesday that he has not yet been medically cleared and will focus on returning at the start of next season.
MISSING: #24-Sam Hunt Racing
As with the Truck Series, Patrick Staropoli is not among this week’s entrants following a 17th-place finish in Martinsville. However, SHR has already confirmed they will field two full-time entries in 2026 as Harrison Burton joins Dean Thompson as teammates. Staropoli’s plans for 2026 are still to be announced.
MISSING: #32-Jordan Anderson Racing
Also not among this week’s entrants is Austin Green, who finished 24th at Martinsville in what turned out to be his last start of 2025. Jordan Anderson’s team has likewise not fielded the #32 for the first time since Iowa in August.
DRIVER CHANGE: #35-Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen
Stefan Parsons closes out his double-duty effort in Phoenix with the Gase team, marking his 70th series start and first since an early crash with this same team left him 36th under the lights in Bristol. Parsons takes the place of ARCA West Series veteran Takuma Koga, whose XFINITY Series oval track debut last Saturday saw him struggle to a 37th-place finish with carburetor trouble. Parsons has six previous XFINITY starts at Phoenix, including this race last year, when an early crash put him in last place.
DRIVER CHANGE: #28-RSS Racing
DRIVER SWAP: #39-RSS Racing
DRIVER CHANGE: #41-Haas Factory Team
The biggest news on the XFINITY Series side this week involved Sam Mayer, who on Tuesday was suspended from this weekend’s finale following his wrecking of Jeb Burton just after the checkered flag in Martinsville. Mayer’s suspension opens the door for none other than Ryan Sieg, who in this, his 400th career XFINITY Series start, will drive one of the strongest entries he’s ever raced. This also marks the first time Ryan Sieg has driven for a team other than RSS Racing in a XFINITY Series race since his first two series starts in 2013, when he drove for Jeremy Clements at this same Phoenix track and at Las Vegas. Kyle Sieg will take the controls of Ryan’s #39, opening the door for Nick Leitz to return and drive the #28, per an announcement on Wednesday.
MISSING: #50-Pardus Racing
Preston Pardus and his family’s team are not entered this week after sliding tires cost him a spot in last weekend’s race in Martinsville.
DRIVER CHANGE: #53-Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen
Joey Gase closes out his 2025 season in his #53 entry with returning backing from Donate Life Arizona on his Chevrolet. Gase takes the place of Mason Maggio, who after his 32nd-place finish with the team in Martinsville will instead focus on tonight’s Truck Series race (see above).
DRIVER CHANGE: #70-Cope Family Racing
One week after moving into LASTCAR XFINITY Series Championship contention with just his second last-place finish of the season, Thomas Annunziata will not contest the title on Saturday as he’s completed his scheduled races for the season. Taking his place will be Leland Honeyman, Jr., who we last saw challenge for the win in Talladega before he was shaken out back to 8th.
RETURNING: #74-Mike Harmon Racing
The Harmon team will also pull double-duty this week as Dawson Cram drives the team’s Chevrolet, which was likewise last seen in Talladega with Carson Ware finishing a team-best 21st for the 2025 season. Cram last ran this car in Iowa in August, where a vibration put him out of the race near the halfway point. He finished 35th with this team in the spring Phoenix race earlier this year, nearly making the finish before crash damage.
DRIVER CHANGE: #91-DGM Racing x JIM
Josh Bilicki makes his 20th XFINITY Series start of the season in Mario Gosselin’s #91, taking the place of 14th-place Myatt Snider, who recovered from a spin to finish on the lead lap. Bilicki has seven XFINITY Series starts at Phoenix including a 23rd with this same team this past spring, and earned a track-best 21st in this race last year.
DRIVER CHANGE: #07-SS-Green Light Racing
Patrick Emerling makes his 60th XFINITY Series start tomorrow, completing a year which saw him earn his first series top-ten finish with a 10th in the season opener in Daytona. Emerling, who last ran in the series during August’s return to Daytona and finished an equally strong 13th, takes the place of Brad Perez, who survived Martinsville with a 31st-place showing.
CUP INVADERS: None
Sunday, November 2, 2025 (Green Flag 3:34 P.M. ET, NBC)
CUP Race 36 of 36
Championship Race
NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix
2024 Last-Place Finisher: Ty Gibbs
CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR
#5-Kyle Larson
#11-Denny Hamlin
#19-Chase Briscoe
#24-William Byron
LASTCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Riley Herbst nearly locked-up the LASTCAR Cup Series Championship last Sunday in Martinsville, where he ran in last place for most of the middle stages until Chase Briscoe’s engine failure. Herbst still picked up another bottom-five finish, extending his lead. Herbst’s only two contenders are A.J. Allmendinger and Josh Berry. Both Allmendinger and Berry have a narrow path to the title – each can only win if they finish last at Phoenix, AND if Herbst does not finish in the Bottom Five.
ENTRY LIST
There are 38 drivers entered for 40 spots, marking the 30th short field in 36 races for the 2025 season. This matches last season, which also saw 30 short fields.
RETURNING: #44-NY Racing Team
J.J. Yeley returns for his 21st Cup start at his home track, his first since this race last year, when he finished 35th in a field of 40. Fanatic Sports Book is the sponsor for Yeley’s entry owned by John Cohen. This will be Yeley’s tenth series start of the 2025 season, his first since a season-best 30th in Las Vegas. Yeley joins fellow series veteran Casey Mears in the Garage 66 entry as the only two part-time entries in Sunday’s field.
TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (October 31, 1982): Happy Halloween! On this day in 1982, Rick Newsom picked up the 10th last-place finish of his NASCAR Winston Cup Series career in the Warner W. Hodgdon American 500 at the North Carolina (Rockingham) Motor Speedway when his #20 Bull Frog Knits Chevrolet crashed after 27 laps. Rockingham was also the site of Newsom’s 11th and final Cup Series last-place finish on March 2, 1986.
