The 2025 NASCAR Cup Season has made its way to the final race of the season. It is now time to crown the 2025 champion, but before I get into the Fantasy Live picks for the championship race, I want to say THANK YOU!!! My goal every year is to provide you the best picks and teach you a little bit about how to be a better Fantasy NASCAR player. I appreciate you giving me the chance to be your “Fantasy NASCAR Crew Chief.” The 2025 season is almost complete and I already cannot wait for the 2026 season.
This has been my worst season in the Fantasy Live game. The picks have outscored 99% of the entries over the last 13 seasons. There are many factors that caused this downfall, but I learned from them and I expect to get back on track in 2026. NASCAR is changing their rules package for the Cup Series in 2026. They are adding horsepower to the car and they are “likely” to change the playoff format. The added horsepower will separate the top teams from the bottom teams and make the racing more like what it was in the past. This means my picks should be more like they were in the past. I hope you decide to return to fantasyracingtips.com next year for the 2026 Fantasy Live season. Now, onto the picks for Phoenix…
PRACTICE SPEEDS FOR PHOENIX
This is championship weekend and that means NASCAR needs a Championship Schedule. The Cup Series had a 50-minute practice session and then they were able to make adjustments before qualifying Saturday afternoon. This is how the schedule used to be and it is refreshing to see this schedule back for the races at Phoenix.
NASCAR had this same practice schedule last year. I looked at how the practice speeds compared to the race speed. It really compared well. Nine of the drivers who posted top-10 speeds on the 10-lap average speed chart finished the race last year in the top-11. The drivers at the top of the 10-lap average speed chart should finish up front Sunday.
Here are the practice speeds for the Championship Race…
STRATEGY FOR PHOENIX
The four drivers competing for the championship (DENNY HAMLIN, CHASE BRISCOE, WILLIAM BYRON and KYLE LARSON) are going to get a lot of help this weekend to run up front. They got to pick the four top pit stalls and the drivers will have a lot of notes from the other teams from their manufacturer. The four championship drivers WILL EARN Stage Points Sunday; so we want as many of these drivers in our lineups as possible. I know some of you do not have the same allocations left that I do, so I will try to give you some other options this week.
Here are my picks for the Championship Race….
FANTASY LIVE LINEUP FOR PHOENIX
CHASE BRISCOE (1): This is the first time that Briscoe has made the Championship Four. He won at Phoenix in the Gen-7 car in 2022. Can he do it again this weekend? Briscoe had a lot of problems in practice, but I am not worried about. He had all four Joe Gibbs Racing teams working to fix his car. Briscoe has the second-best average finishing position in the playoffs this year (behind Christopher Bell). Briscoe finished 10th at New Hampshire in September on the tire that will be used this weekend. You need to have as many playoff drivers as possible in your lineup Sunday and Briscoe is the only one I have an allocation left with. He is an easy pick for the race this weekend in Phoenix.
RYAN BLANEY (1): The Team Penske cars have dominated the playoff races at Phoenix and it could happen again Sunday. Goodyear brought the same tire that was used at New Hampshire in September to the championship race this weekend. Blaney led 116 laps, scored 17 Stage Points and won the race at New Hampshire. He also finished 2nd in four of the last six races at Phoenix. Blaney posted the second-fastest speed in practice, with the fastest long-run speed. The No. 12 car has a good chance to win Sunday.
JOEY LOGANO (2): I saved an allocation with Logano for this race, so I am going to use it Sunday. Logano won two of the last three playoff races at Phoenix. He also led the most laps (147), scored 19 Stage Points and finished 4th at New Hampshire, on the tire that will be used Sunday. Most of the drivers will move over and give the championship four drivers plenty of room to race on the track Sunday. Logano is not “most drivers.” He loves the spotlight, so I expect the No. 22 team to try and win the race Sunday.
CHRIS BUESCHER (5): Buescher could be one of the best contrarian plays Sunday. He finished 5th, 9th, 5th and 2nd in his last four races at Phoenix. That is third-best in the series over the last four races. The Fords got shut out of the Championship Four, so they will have no problem going for the win Sunday. Buescher should be a good pick for your Fantasy Live lineups.
ROSS CHASTAIN (5): If you think Chastain is going to pull over and let one of the championship four drivers win the race Sunday, you do not know Chastain. He has a history of racing the championship four drivers hard in this race. Chastain finished 3rd in the playoff race at Phoenix in 2022 and he won the race in 2023. The No. 1 car has the speed to finish up front again Sunday.
(GARAGE PICK) JOSH BERRY (5): Berry has been at his best this year on the short, flat tracks. He finished 4th at Phoenix in March, 8th at Richmond in August and 2nd at New Hampshire in September. The tire that will be used this week is the same that was used at Richmond and New Hampshire. Berry ran well in those races and I expect the No. 21 car to run well again this weekend in Phoenix.
* I am out of allocations with DENNY HAMLIN, WILLIAM BYRON, KYLE LARSON and CHRISTOPHER BEL. I would use Hamlin, Byron and Larson (in that order) if I had any allocations left with them over CHRIS BUESCHER, ROSS CHASTAIN and JOSH BERRY if I could.
Good luck and be sure to follow me on X (Twitter) @MrFantasyNASCAR. I will send out a Tweet during the race to let you know if I plan to swap out one of my drivers for my Garage pick.