It will be Martin Truex Jr. who will be on the pole for the championship-deciding race at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday afternoon.

They will drop the green flag at 3 pm ET and you can watch the race on NBC or stream it live on Peacock and fubo tv (FREE trial).

The forecast looks perfect, with sunny skies and temperatures in the 80s.

Truex Jr., who is retiring from full-time NASCAR competition after Sunday’s season finale, lapped at 134.741 mph Saturday to earn the top starting spot. He will start ahead of title contender Joey Logano, who is trying to become NASCAR’s only three-time active Cup champion.

• THAT: NASCAR Cup Series title race
• WHERE: Phoenix race track
• WHEN: 3 pm ET Sunday
• LOOK: NBC or live broadcast on Peacock and fubo tv (FREE trial)

The other contenders for the title are William Byron, who qualified eighth, Tyler Reddick, who qualified 10th, and reigning NASCAR champion Ryan Blaney, who qualified 17th.

Truex told The Associated Press He was excited for this final weekend of racing to conclude his long career.

“We’ll see how it goes. I’m not sure it’s really sunk in yet and I’m not sure about the emotions. I guess I’m not too excited, so we’ll see what happens after the race. “I’m looking forward to a fun weekend and hopefully a great day.”

Ross Chastain, the defending race winner at Phoenix, qualified third in a Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing. Last year he became the first non-title contender to win the final in this format.

Kyle Larson qualified fifth and was followed by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott in a pair of Chevrolets.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs was sixth in a Toyota and followed by teammate Christopher Bell.

According to AP, Here are summaries of each of the four finalists:

Blaney, No. 12 Ford, Team Penske:

The 30-year-old is a third-generation driver from Ohio and son of retired NASCAR driver Dave Blaney. He is making his second appearance in the final four and won on his debut last year.

This year he bounced back from a devastating loss two weeks ago at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where Reddick passed him in the final turn to steal a spot in the championship. Blaney bounced back last Sunday to win at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia, the same place where he earned his championship spot in 2023, and he’s very good in Phoenix.

No driver has led more laps in the Next Gen car at Phoenix than Blaney, who has two wins this year on tracks 1 mile or less. Phoenix is ​​a 1 mile low banked tri-oval.

What works against Blaney is that no driver has won back-to-back championships in the playoff elimination era, which began in 2014. The last driver to defend his title was Jimmie Johnson, who won five consecutive championships from 2006 to 2010. .

Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske:

Logano is the only two-time champion in the field, and along with Kyle Busch, the only active multiple champion in NASCAR, and is making his sixth appearance in the final four. The 34-year-old from Connecticut won in 2018 and 2022, earning him the nickname “Logano of the Even Year.”

Logano won a five-overtime race in Nashville just to make the playoffs and finished 15th in the regular season standings. He won the first playoff game in Atlanta, but was eliminated in the second round until NASCAR disqualified Alex Bowman for failing post-race inspection.

That put Logano back in the playoffs and he quickly won the opening race of the third round in Las Vegas, putting his Team Penske team in cruise control preparing for Phoenix.

But, of the four contenders, Logano had the weakest season and wouldn’t even be in the finals if it weren’t for Bowman’s disqualification.

William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports:

The Daytona 500 winner has three wins this season and will return to the final four for the second consecutive year. The 26-year-old from Charlotte only made the championship race because Bell’s move at Martinsville was quashed.

His circumstances have changed because a year ago he was in a relationship with Blaney’s younger sister and the two drivers referred to each other as “brothers-in-law.” Byron is no longer dating Erin Blaney, and tension between Byron and Ryan Blaney has flared on the court at times this season.

Byron won at Phoenix in March 2023 and is the only Hendrick driver in the championship. But he hasn’t won a Cup race since April and is on a 27-race winless streak heading into Sunday.

Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota, 23XI Racing:

Reddick is the only driver to make his first appearance in the championship four and he does so with a team that is only three years old. His team is owned by NBA great Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, who was eliminated from title contention last week.

The 28-year-old Californian was the regular season champion and this year led more laps than any other driver in the finale. He also got married earlier this season, making it one of the most important years of Reddick’s life.

But to top it all off, he’ll need a Cup title. Both Reddick and crew chief Billy Scott are in the finals for the first time and Phoenix isn’t one of their best tracks: Reddick’s wins this season have been on 1.5-mile tracks. in length or more.

Reddick won a pair of Xfinity Series titles in this elimination format.