Prior to Friday's Cup Series session was practice in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Corey Day is back in the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet this weekend and was fast off the truck, turning in the fourth-best lap time at 28.143 seconds.

Larson is the only driver in the final four with a championship, the one he won in 2021, his first season at Hendrick.

Final practice for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season happened to be one of the most eventful, including for the title contenders.Ty Gibbs was fastest at 131.868mph (27.300s) with Ryan Blaney second at 131.

Hamlin ranked fifth overall (131.262 mph) to lead the title contenders. William Byron was ninth on the speed chart at 131.100 mph. Kyle Larson ranked 11th at 130.961 mph. Chase Briscoe, who had a tire go down and also had vibration issues in practice, was 16th overall at 130.714 mph.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race will take place on Saturday, Nov. 1, at 7:30 p.m. ET. The final Xfinity Series race will be broadcast on The CW. There are 38 drivers entered, meaing everyone will fill the full field, unless there are entry list changes.

NASCAR has suspended Sam Mayer from Saturday's Xfinity Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway. This comes after the Haas Factory Team driver's contact with Jeb Burton in Martinsville violated the sport's conduct code.

Blaine Anderson, a front tire changer in the Cup Series, won a college football national championship with Alabama in Phoenix.