Phoenix Raceway is home to two annual NASCAR race weekends, one of 13 facilities on the NASCAR schedule to host more than one race weekend a year. It first joined the NASCAR Cup Series schedule in 1988 as a late season event, and in 2005 the track was given a spring date. The now-NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was added in 1995 and the now-NASCAR Xfinity Series began running there in 1999.[2]
Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver.
(i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
The first practice session was held on Friday, November 11, at 9:30 am MST, and would last for 55 minutes.[3]William Byron, driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 26.479, and an average speed of 135.957 mph (218.802 km/h).[4]
The final practice session was held on Friday, November 11, at 1:00 pm MST, and would last for 50 minutes.[3]Spencer Gallagher, driving for GMS Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 26.637, and an average speed of 135.150 mph (217.503 km/h).[5]
Qualifying was held on Friday, November 11, at 6:30 pm MST.[3] Since Phoenix International Raceway is under 1.5 miles (2.4 km) in length, the qualifying system is a multi-car system that included three rounds. The first round was 15 minutes, where every driver would be able to set a lap within the 15 minutes. Then, the second round would consist of the fastest 24 cars in Round 1, and drivers would have 10 minutes to set a lap. Round 3 consisted of the fastest 12 drivers from Round 2, and the drivers would have 5 minutes to set a time. Whoever was fastest in Round 3 would win the pole.[6]
William Byron, driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 26.039, and an average speed of 138.254 mph (222.498 km/h) in the third round.[7]
