Phoenix Raceway unveils an addition at Sky Harbor International Airport for NASCAR Championship 4 weekend

As the NASCAR playoffs stride into the Round of 8, Phoenix Raceway, scheduled to host the Championship 4 race, recently inaugurated a countdown clock at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Phoenix Raceway was announced as a replacement for Homestead-Miami in 2020 and continues to host the season finale.

Phoenix Raceway, located in Avondale, Arizona, is a 1-mile tri-oval asphalt track, with 0-11 degrees of banking. Renovated in 2011, the track now can provide seating for around 42,000 spectators. The Championship Race in 2023 was won by Ross Chastain, who is currently out of the playoffs.

The president of Phoenix Raceway, Latasha Causey, along with the Mayor of Phoenix, Kate Gallego, and several other government officials unveiled the countdown clock. Following the revelation, Latasha Causey shed light on the initiative and what it means to its fans (via Speedway Digest).

“The excitement for NASCAR Championship Weekend continues building with each passing second. We are looking forward to welcoming all of the fans traveling to Phoenix Raceway for this amazing event and introducing travelers who aren’t NASCAR fans to the most heart-pounding, exciting sporting event our community has to offer,” Causey said.

The Round of 8 is scheduled to begin on October 20th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the South Point 400, followed by the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami, and the XFINITY 500 at Martinsville Speedway before heading to Phoneix Raceway for the Championship 4 race. Catch the races live on NBC Sports, SiriusXM, PRN Live, and Motor Racing Network(MRN).

---

NASCAR hits 23XI & FRM in court for 'baseless antitrust claims', alleges contract extortion

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and CEO Jim France. Following the lawsuit, the organization submitted a 22-page legal document denying these allegations and further labeling the lawsuit as "baseless."

The lawsuit is a product of the disputed charter negotiations which had been going on for nearly two years before 13 of 15 charter-holding teams signed the new agreement ahead of the Quaker State 400 in Atlanta.

A post shared on X on October 17 by NBC Sports' Dustin Long talks about the updates on the antitrust lawsuit and reveals parts of the document submitted by NASCAR to the U.S. District Court in Charlotte, North Carolina. The statement read:

"Plaintiffs have filed a meritless suit against NASCAR alleging baseless antitrust claims in order to obtain commercial agreements they previously rejected, and to attempt to extort more favorable contract terms."

"NASCAR is working on reallocating funds that Plaintiffs(23XI and FRM) would have received to increase prize money and other special awards for the 2025 season for the benefit of teams that timely executed 2025 Charters, as well as Open teams who can compete to win the increased prize money and other special awards."

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports (FRM) have teamed up to hire top antitrust attorney Jeffrey Kessler to represent their case. Meanwhile, both 23XI Racing's driver Tyler Reddick (#45) and Denny Hamlin (#11) of Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) — who also co-owns 23XI Racing — are in the hunt for their first Cup Series championship.