NASCAR XFINITY SERIES XFINITY CHAMPIONSHIP RACE

■ Site: Avondale, Arizona.

■ Schedule: Friday, 6:05 p.m. practice; Saturday: qualifying, 5:35 p.m., race, 8:30 p.m. (NBCSN)

Track: Phoenix Raceway. Race distance: 200 laps, 200 miles.

■ Last year: Austin Cindric won after starting third.

■ Last race: Noah Gragson passed Daniel Hemric for the lead in overtime and won.

■ Fast facts: Gragson will battle for the title against Cindric, the defending series champion, A.J. Allmendinger and Hemric, who has never won in 119 career starts in the series . ... Gragson’s victory knocked JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier out of the final four for the first time in four years. Also eliminated were Harrison Burton, Brandon Jones and Justin Haley . ... Gragson won last week by 0.064 seconds, the series’ closest finish ever at Martinsville.

■ Next race: Feb. 19, Daytona Beach, Florida.

■ Online: http://www. nascar.com

■ Schedule: Friday, practice, 1:30 and 5 p.m.; Saturday, practice, 1 p.m., and qualifying, 4 p.m.; Sunday, race, 2 p.m.

■ Track: Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

■ Race distance: 71 laps, 189.738 miles.

Last year: Did not race. Last race: Max Verstappen outran seventime series champion

Lewis Hamilton in Texas and claimed his series-high eighth victory of the year.

■ Fast facts: Verstappen leads Hamilton by 12 points with five races remaining.

... Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas is third, 102.5 points back . ... Verstappen and Hamilton (5) have combined to win 13 of the 17 races so far this year . ... Verstappen had led 504 of the 904 laps he’s run.

■ Next race: Nov. 14, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

■ Online: http://www. formula1.com

INDYCAR

■ Last race: Colton Herta won the season finale at Long Beach, California, as Alex Palou wrapped up the series championship.

■ Next race: Feb. 27, St. Petersburg, Florida.

■ Online: http://www. indycar.com