After nine months, 35 points-paying races, two exhibition events, 19 different race winners, paddock parity like we've never seen before and nearly as much controversy as there have been thrilling moments, NASCAR's 16 playoff participants have spent their fall being whittled down to a dozen, eight and now, finally, the coveted Championship 4.
That quartet will battle mano a mano and machine to machine for at least 312 laps on the odd-shaped speedway that thinks it's a short track, the one-mile Phoenix Raceway. The format is simple. The highest finisher among those four will be crowned the champion of the 74th season of NASCAR's premier series.