“Who’s asking for this?”: Impending Phoenix Raceway announcement leaves NASCAR Expert confused

Aneesh
NASCAR Cup Series Shriners Children
NASCAR expert unhappy with Phoenix Raceway's return in 2025 championship weekend

Phoenix Raceway will be hosting the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship race, with no change in the venue so far. The move, hence, has attracted scrutiny from NASCAR insider Jeff Gluck.

The baton for hosting the finale was handed to the 1-mile oval back in 2020 and since then the asphalt has witnessed championship battles for four consecutive years. However, before Phoenix, the season's final battle used to commence on the 1.502-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Due to plummeting viewership, NASCAR gambled on the Phoenix Raceway which paid off massively. Keeping the early success of the track handy, the officials expressed their reluctance to remove the short track from the championship race in 2025. But that's become a concerning point for the NASCAR expert.

During a discussion with Jeff Gluck, motorsports reporter Jordan Bianchi confirmed that Phoenix Raceway will return for the championship weekend in 2025 for the Cup Series, the Xfinity Series, and the Truck Series. This didn't sit well with Gluck, following which he reprimanded the notion, saying (via Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Dirty Mo Media on Youtube):

"I just don't even know what to say about it. Who was asking for this? Who wants this?"

Bianchi replied to Gluck's dismay and said:

"I don't disagree with you but I'm just going to play the devil's advocate. The devil's advocate is there's a lot of support from the city, they've poured a lot of money into that track and the fans have turned out for that race."

Nonetheless, Jordan's rationale didn't satisfy Jeff and he said:

"I don't care, who cares? We didn't get enough advertising in the airport or enough billboards so this is how the championship race is determined."

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Homestead-Miami Speedway in talks for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series championship race

Though the 1.5-mile HMS is considered to produce a better racing experience than Phoenix Raceway, the lack of support from the State reduced the allure of racing in Miami and the focus shifted elsewhere.

On the contrary, Phoenix invested a staggering $178 million in renovation work, taking the venue's hype to new heights. The job was completed in April 2018 and the amendments included an additional grandstand, expanded concourse, entertainment zones, escalators, and an ingenious underground tunnel heading straight to the in-field.

With that, the Raceway has now held four championship races. The 1.5-mile track is in talks to host the 2026 Championship event, while the 1-mile track has already reserved the 2025 season. In a meeting on April 17 this year, the city council gave their approval to try bringing back championship weekend at the HMS.

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Edited by Vaishnavi Iyer
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