John Hunter Nemechek looks to win his first Xfinity championship before moving up to Cup.
Sam Mayer looks to win the fourth Xfinity championship in JR Motorsports history.
Cole Custer is on a mission to win the Xfinity championship after runner-up finishes in 2018 and 2019.
Justin Allgaier looks to check off his long-time goal of winning an Xfinity championship after five previous appearances in the Championship 4.
One of them will accomplish their goal in Saturday’s season finale at Phoenix Raceway (7 p.m. ET, USA).
The driver with the highest finishing position at the end of the race will be the champion.
Here is a look at the four title contenders entering Saturday’s race.
Sam Mayer - No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
- Age 20 from Franklin, Wisconsin
- First Championship 4 appearance
- Best Xfinity points finish: 7th in 2022
- This season: 32 starts with 18 top-10 finishes, 12 top fives and four wins
- 2023 season at Phoenix: Finished 11th after starting 14th and scoring seven stage points
- Crew chief: Mardy Lindley (first Xfinity Championship 4 appearance)
Three of Mayer’s Xfinity wins this season were at road courses. The fourth was at Homestead, a 1.5-mile oval. Mayer has one top-10 finish this season on tracks shorter than 1 mile in length. He finished ninth at Dover.
This season was Lindley’s first as a full-time Xfinity crew chief. He and Mayer reunited at JR Motorsports after previous success in ARCA. Their time together included five wins in 13 starts during the 2020 ARCA Menards Series season.
Mayer struggled early in the playoffs. He crashed in the first two races and finished 35th and 38th. He kept his season alive by winning the elimination race at the Roval. Mayer then put himself in the Championship 4 with a win at Homestead.
John Hunter Nemechek - No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
- Age 26 from Mooresville, North Carolina
- First Championship 4 appearance
- Best Xfinity points finish: 7th in 2019
- This season: 32 starts with 24 top-10 finishes, 17 top fives and seven wins
- 2023 stats at Phoenix: Finished sixth during the spring race
- Crew chief: Ben Beshore (first Xfinity Championship 4 appearance)
Two of Nemechek’s seven wins this season have been at tracks 1 mile in length or less. He won at Martinsville in the spring and at New Hampshire in July. Nemechek led laps at Phoenix in this season’s spring race but he received a penalty for a restart violation in stage 2. He then hit the wall with 24 laps to go in the race.
Ben Beshore joined Nemechek’s team in 2023 after two seasons in Cup, where he won three races as Kyle Busch’s crew chief. Beshore was Harrison Burton’s crew chief in Xfinity in 2020. They won four races together.
Nemechek has been the picture of consistency during the playoffs. He scored five top-10 finishes and four top fives in the first five races of the playoffs. He also won at Texas to reach the Round of 8. He was in contention for another top-10 finish at Martinsville before a crash on the final lap of the race.
Joe Gibbs Racing has won the past two Xfinity championships with Ty Gibbs and Daniel Hemric. Daniel Suarez (in 2016) and Kyle Busch (in 2009) also won Xfinity championships for the organization. Nemechek could deliver the organization’s fifth driver’s championship and seventh owner’s championship.
Cole Custer - No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
- Age 25 from Ladera Ranch, California
- Third Championship 4 appearance
- Best Xfinity points finish: 2nd in 2018 and 2019
- This season: 32 starts with 20 top-10 finishes, 13 top fives and two wins
- 2023 stats at Phoenix: Won the pole and finished 12th in the spring race
- Crew chief: Jonathan Toney (first Xfinity Championship 4 appearance)
Custer has two previous appearances in the Xfinity Championship 4 with Stewart-Haas Racing. He finished second behind Tyler Reddick in 2018 and 2019. He returns this season after pointing his way in at Martinsville.
Jonathan Toney makes his first appearance in the Championship 4 after being promoted to crew chief. He previously served as an engineer at SHR. He won a Cup championship with Tony Stewart in 2011. Toney worked with Custer in Xfinity from 2017-19.
Custer has not won since Chicago in July but has been consistent throughout the playoffs. He has four top-10 finishes and three top fives in the first six playoff races. He finished 13th at Homestead after starting from pole. He finished 19th at Martinsville after being collected in a crash in overtime.
Justin Allgaier - No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
- Age 37 from Riverton, Illinois
- Sixth Championship 4 appearance
- Best Xfinity points finish: 2nd in 2020
- This season: 32 starts with 19 top-10 finishes, 14 top fives and four wins
- 2023 stats at Phoenix: Started second but finished 36th after a crash
- Crew chief: James Pohlman (first Xfinity Championship 4 appearance)
Allgaier has five previous Championship 4 appearances in Xfinity’s playoff era (2016-present). He makes his sixth appearance this season after winning last weekend’s elimination race at Martinsville.
This season marked Allgaier’s first in Xfinity with crew chief James Pohlman. Jason Burdett was Allgaier’s crew chief from 2016-22. Allgaier and Pohlman won an ARCA Menards Series championship together in 2008.
Allgaier has been consistent in the playoffs, other than a crash at the Charlotte Roval. He won the opening playoff race at Bristol and posted top-10 finishes at Texas and Las Vegas. A 15th-place finish at Homestead put him below the cutline, but he won his way into the Championship 4 at Martinsville.
Phoenix is one of Allgaier’s best tracks. He has 26 starts with 17 top-10 finishes, nine top fives and two wins. A crash in this season’s spring race with 11 laps to go snapped his streak of five straight top 10s. He swept the first two stages and led 20 laps.