AVONDALE, Ariz. – The NASCAR Cup season ends Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.

There will be plenty to follow throughout the 312 laps of racing around the 1-mile track (coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock).

Here are some things to watch out for during the race:

A Champion will be crowned, but will he win the race?

Last year was the first time in the last 10 years that the champion did not win the season finale. Ross Chastain won the race and Ryan Blaney won the championship by finishing second.

Could this happen again?

Martin Truex Jr. starts on pole. He enters the final race of his final full-time season on a 51-race winless streak. If he’s ahead, the chance for one more victory could make Truex difficult to get around in the later rounds.

“I hope we can celebrate (Sunday) after the race,” Truex said. “That would make the whole thing really, really cool.”

Others to watch include Chastain, who starts third, and Kyle Larson, the winningest driver this season with six victories. Larson starts fourth.

Christopher Bell was candid about his frustration with the Chevrolet teams at the end of the Martinsville race last weekend.

Additionally, Christopher Bell, winner in Phoenix in March, qualified seventh. He is bitter about what happened last weekend at Martinsville that kept him out of the Championship 4 race and has extra motivation today.

Among the title contenders, Blaney was fast in practice but qualified 17th. Joey Logano starts second, best among the title contenders. William Byron qualified eighth. Tyler Reddick will start 10th.

A late warning?

Two of the last five races at Phoenix have had a caution less than five laps from the scheduled finish. However, neither event was the championship final. They came during the spring race.

The final 31 laps of last year’s title race went without warning. The final 32 laps of the 2022 race were run without caution.

The pattern suggests that whoever wins the championship will need to be strong over a similar period.

Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Tyler Reddick will face off for the 2024 title.

“I think we have to take everything into consideration, but also not focus too much on one thing, because by the time you think about what you’re expecting, it’s something else,” said Billy Scott, Chief team. for Tyler Reddick.

“Just like we did at Homestead, you’re going to have to see where we are and be realistic about our expectations of winning when you go into that last stint or that last leg and play strategy accordingly.”

Know your competitors

This not only concerns drivers but also team leaders. Paul Wolfe’s pit call helped Joey Logano win the first game of the round of 16 in Las Vegas and force his way into this title race.

“I think we’re trying to learn the other team’s tendencies and maybe some pit calls and some strategies and whatnot,” Wolfe said. “Other than that, there aren’t a ton.”

“It’s really about what kind of cars they’re going to have, so what kind of teams are really good in the short term or really good at getting ahead of that. It’s probably the little things that you prepare for and know what to expect.

Joey Logano will start second in Sunday’s championship race, while the other three title contenders will start in the top 15.

But it’s also the teams and pit crews. Track position can be critical on this track.

William Byron enters with the best pit crew among the four title contenders. But it’s only good until the start of the race. Next, each team will have to excel because a mistake at the wrong time could cost a championship.

Look at these reboots

NASCAR officials made clear this weekend that they would closely monitor restarts.

Officials penalized four drivers, including a title contender, in Friday’s truck race for leaving the line on a restart before reaching the start/finish line.

Officials penalized Justin Allgaier during Saturday’s Xfinity race for the same infraction.

Justin Allgaier won his first NASCAR Xfinity Series championship in his seventh title chase.

Five such penalties in the two races preceding the Cup race are rare on a weekend.

“This is the most difficult place for this,” Blaney said. “It’s the most inviting going out there, and you’re always a little nervous about getting to the apron.”