Championship Race: Larson becomes two-time Cup Series champion, Blaney wins at Phoenix

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson was crowned the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series champion after finishing third at Phoenix Raceway, ahead of fellow Championship 4 contenders Denny Hamlin (sixth), Chase Briscoe (18th) and William Byron (33rd).

Larson did not lead a single lap in the Championship Race or win since May at Kansas Speedway, but the driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet stayed consistent enough throughout the Cup Series Playoffs to win his second title.

“I’m just speechless… I can’t believe it,” Larson said. “We had an average car, at best. We had the right front go down and lost a lap. We got saved by the caution and did the wave-around. We really struggled that run. We took two tires and I was like — oh, here we go… we’re going to go to the back now. But I had a lot more grip than I anticipated. We got lucky with the final caution. I was really hoping we were going to take two again. I felt like I learned a lot on that restart, bombing one and two really hard. Thought I could do the same thing if we got another one.

“It’s just unbelievable. What a year by Hendrick Motorsports. Cliff Daniels’ (crew chief) leadership just showed that whole race. He kept us all motivated and always had a plan. That’s just the story of our season. Again, just unbelievable. I cannot believe it. This is insane.”

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin did everything he possibly could during the Championship Race to get his long-awaited first title. The driver of the No. 11 Progressive Toyota led 208 of 319 laps, which was the most laps ever led in a Championship Race.

Hamlin finished in the top three in Stage 1 (third) and Stage 2 (first), but a late-race caution and a decision to take four tires while Larson took two ended his chances.

“Yeah, nothing I can do different,” Hamlin said. “Prepared as good as I could coming into the weekend. My team gave me a fantastic car. Just didn’t work out. I was just praying that no caution. Had one there. What can you do? Just not meant to be.”

Then, Hamlin was asked a series of questions regarding the race and his immediate thoughts:

Can you do this again? “I’ll try. I got a couple more shots at it. Man, if you can’t win that one, I don’t know which one you can win.”

What are you feeling right now? “Just numb. I feel like there’s still some racing left. I can’t believe it’s over, but there’s nothing I can do. Suck it up and it’s just another year.”

How strong was your Toyota Camry today? “It was a championship-winning car. Prepared so hard for the weekend and felt like I did the right things and was strong where I typically am weak. Just had everything we needed, just needed 40 more seconds of green flag.”

With 60 wins, Hamlin will remain the driver with the most wins in Cup Series history without a championship. This is now the second time Hamlin has had a second-place finish in the Cup Series standings (2010).

After battling multiple tire issues during the race, Hamlin’s JGR teammate Chase Briscoe finished third in the final standings in his first season with the Toyota organization.

“Yeah, just wish something went our way today,” Briscoe said. “Our car was obviously good enough. We came from the back to the front two or three different times. It was just one of those weekends where nothing went our way. Sometimes that is how it goes. Truthfully, at the end, I think that James (Small, crew chief) wanted to take two tires and I kind of told him that I would rather be on offense. I didn’t think that many would take two tires, and I would rather be on offense. I don’t know. We had a great Bass Pro Shops, Tracker Boats Toyota. It stings for sure. I could taste it for a little bit, with 70 to go, and then we blew that tire. Something to learn from for sure.”

Hendrick driver William Byron seemed to be the only Championship 4 driver who could compete with Hamlin all race long. Byron, who won Stage 1 and was third in Stage 2, was running inside the top three with three laps to go before blowing a tire and effectively ending his chances at his first Cup Series title.

“It just stings,” Byron said. “It was three laps to go and I was just thinking — okay, let me get to the end. I felt something funny off of (Turn) 2 and thought it might be a flat. I thought at the time, if it’s the left-rear, you could maybe get back. But it just went straight into turn three. It laid down on the right rear and went straight. I just felt like a passenger at that point. But all-in-all, I’m proud of this No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet team. We had a good day going. We had a shot to win it. We just didn’t quite have enough.”

Final stats for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4:

DRIVER	STANDINGS	WINS	TOP FIVES	POLES	STAGE WINS
Kyle Larson	1st	3	15	1	10
Denny Hamlin	2nd	6	14	4	7
Chase Briscoe	3rd	3	15	7	6
William Byron	4th	3	11	3	10

 

Final standings for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season:

Other Race Facts

Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney won the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season finale race at Phoenix Raceway after making a last-lap pass on RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski in Turn 4 coming to the checkered flag.

The driver of the No. 12 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford led 20 laps and finished second in the first two stages. Blaney also became the second driver in the current playoff format to win the Championship Race without being in the Championship 4.

“It’s just cool to end it on a good note,” Blaney said. “It’s just cool and obviously we had a fast car all day. Those other guys were just kind of faster getting going and I could never retain the lead. Those guys were just really good and it took my car a while to come in, but it was a really good call for two there and keeping track position. I got a decent restart and I was able to kind of roll the bottom in three and four and eek the 6 out at the line. I’m just really proud of the whole group and cool to end it in Victory Lane. It’s a shame we weren’t in the Championship 4. Congrats to Kyle and that whole team. I’m happy for this team that we could end it the best way we could.”

Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch finished fifth to earn his 10th top 10 of the 2025 season, keeping his long streak alive of earning at least 10 top 10s in every season of his full-time Cup Series career.

“We struggled with a loose-handling Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet to start the race today at Phoenix Raceway, but crew chief Andy Street and the guys went back the other way on adjustments and our Chevy came to life,” Busch said. “It really became good, and we were able to tie corners together better and make some good moves on restarts to get track position. That was a positive note to end the season with a top-five finish and get some momentum for our team and everyone at RCR to get ready for the Daytona 500.”

Results from the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway are listed below:

Other Notes

Some other notes to conclude the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season:

• Daniel Suárez will be moving on from Trackhouse Racing after five seasons with the team.
• Shane van Gisbergen has been named the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year.
• Justin Haley will be moving on from Spire Motorsports.
• Haas Factory Team has run its final race with Ford, as the organization switches to Chevrolet.

GRID RANKING

With the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season officially over, the offseason is now here. The Cup Series returns to action on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, for the 68th running of the Daytona 500.

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