This isn’t exactly Desert Storm, is it?
Four drivers and teams will go to Phoenix this weekend with championship hopes. Two are picking up the pieces from broken engines at Martinsville. One is considered by many as the best current American racer, yet he hasn’t won a Cup race since mid-May.
And the fourth, who did actually win his way to a championship shot, entered Martinsville with just one finish better than ninth since mid-August. And to get the win, William Byron had to shove aside Ryan Blaney, who probably had 90% of the non-Hendrick Motorsports rooting interest on his side.
With the possible exception of Larson and those who appreciate his abilities in a wide range of racing disciplines, the majority of emotional vibes at Phoenix will be aimed at Hamlin, who has doggedly pursued, without gratification, a Cup championship for 20 seasons now.
If Denny wasn’t Denny, for better and at times otherwise, all of those vibes would be in his favor. But it’s that “otherwise” Denny who complicates the matter.
Figuratively speaking, of course, some are pulling for a kamikaze mission, and don’t recoil at the mere mention.
After all, Denny is the one who brought it up. Kinda.
We’ll get to that and more as we point toward the cactus and climb through the gears. Denny, if you reach Death Valley, please make a U-turn.
First Gear
Briscoe has to be the favorite of everyone whose allegiance isn’t strapped to one of the other three, right? Unless you consider Denny’s two decades of effort, Chase is the closest thing we have to an underdog in this fight.
But admit it, prior to the past few months, you wouldn’t have recognized Chase Briscoe if he came to your porch wearing his officially licensed Bass Pro cap and his Nomex fire suit. After climbing out of a Toyota with a big number 19 on its side.
Well, OK, maybe you would, but the casual fan next door would have no clue.
As mentioned here last week, however, this is no rags-to-riches story for Briscoe, who’s driving for Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 19 Toyota that had 15 wins and two championship runners-up between 2019-23 with Martin Truex at the controls.
And “the other Chase” didn’t come out of nowhere, though it might’ve felt like it after struggling through the final season for Stewart-Haas Racing last year. Stewart-Haas, by the way, is where the native Hoosier made his first big mark in NASCAR, winning nine Xfinity Series races in 2020.
So far, Briscoe remains the second most famous man out of Mitchell, which is in south-central Indiana. A fellow Mitchell High grad was Virgil “Gus” Grissom, one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts.
Second Gear
Back to Denny and his kamikaze reference.
In normal times, Denny would spend the pre-Phoenix days answering a lot of questions about his latest attempt to win a Cup Series championship — it’s the one gaping void in a career that will land him in the NASCAR Hall of Fame as soon as he’s eligible.
And he’ll surely get a good dose of that chatter this week. But that’s only part of the story. There’s also that ongoing legal matter involving a pair of race teams — including 23XI, which Hamlin co-owns with Michael Jordan and Curtis Polk — and NASCAR, which is defending itself against antitrust accusations.
A jury trial has long been scheduled for the first week of December. Last week, at the behest of the sitting judge, the two sides met for two days of mediation with the possibility of a settlement as the obvious goal.
Nope.
So on to trial they go, and don’t underestimate the consequences. A loss in court for 23XI and Front Row Motorsports would almost surely be the end of those teams. And a loss for NASCAR would likely, and significantly, alter the landscape of North American stock-car racing.
Or, as Denny put it this past weekend in Martinsville …
“I think both sides probably feel strong about their case. I think one of us is on a suicide mission.”
Yikes.
Third Gear
NASCAR would undoubtedly like to remind you it’s not just the big-league Cup Series that settles things this coming weekend. The other two national touring circuits under the flag are also producing champs in Phoenix.
And both see the possibility of crowning someone other than the driver and team that thoroughly dominated their 2025 seasons.
In the Truck Series, Corey Heim, driving for David Gilliland’s Tricon Garage, made Martinsville his 11th win in 24 starts this year. Friday at Phoenix, he competes for the championship against Tyler Ankrum, Ty Majeski and Kaden Honeycutt. Ankrum won once this year, while Majeski and Honeycutt are winless.
And yes, they can remain winless and still win the title by finishing first among the four finalists. Not optimal, but those are the rules.
Connor Zilisch, a 10-time Xfinity Series winner this year, goes to Phoenix and tries to cap his great season by finishing ahead of Carson Kvapil, Justin Allgaier and Jesse Love — all are in Chevrolets.
Kvapil is winless, while Allgaier has won three times and Love once this year.
A win for Love would give owner Richard Childress his sixth Xfinity Series championship, to match the six Cup titles he won with Dale Earnhardt on board the No. 3 Chevy. The other three finalists? They all drive for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and JR Motorsports.
Fourth Gear
“Did you hear, the Xfinity Series is getting a new name next year?”
“Oh, really?”
“No, O’Reilly.”
Sorry to borrow from the old Irish groaner, but it’s true, you won’t be seeing that word — Xfinity — around these parts much longer. Next year, the telecommunications company, a division of Comcast, will pull the plug on its run as series title sponsor after this season.
For 20-plus years beginning in the mid-1980s, it was known as the Busch Series, then Nationwide took over through 2014 before Xfinity cut a check.
When the cars roll off the trucks at Daytona next February, the flags atop the garage will be touting the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
By mid-week, most will probably just call it the O’Reilly Series, and by mid-season, it might simply be known as “The O.”
— Email Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com
