Kyle Larson NASCAR Cup champion is the headline story after a tension-filled finale at Phoenix Raceway saw him seize his second championship, finishing third in a race dominated by dramatic tire calls and intense restarts. The Hendrick Motorsports driver made a pivotal two-tire pit strategy work, edging out title rivals in a wild overtime finish to secure the 2025 NASCAR Cup title.
Larson Seizes Opportunity Amid Late-Race Drama
The final race at Phoenix Raceway offered high drama from the outset, as Denny Hamlin commanded much of the event before a risky four-tire pit stop choice placed him deep in the field just as the decisive laps approached. Kyle Larson, running the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, instead gambled on two new tires, gaining better track position and ultimately capturing the championship with a third-place finish—his second NASCAR Cup title.
The conclusion was chaotic, featuring a late overtime restart that shuffled leaders and saw several contenders suffer tire issues. Hamlin, who led for extensive portions of the race, was unable to recover from his final pit stop decision and finished sixth, ending the year as the championship runner-up.
“We did the best job we could,”
smiled Larson.
“That’s the bracelet Owen made me. Honestly, I can’t believe it. Like, we didn’t lead a lap today. Somehow won the championship. I mean, really, I’m just speechless. I can’t believe it. We had an average car at best. We had the right front go down, lost a lap. Got saved by the caution. Did the wave-around. Was really bad that run. We took two tires. I was like, Oh, God, here we go. We’re going to go to the back now. It 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. Just unbelievable. What a year by this Hendrick Motorsports. Cliff Daniels, everybody, his leadership, his complete leadership just showed that whole race. Keeping us all motivated. Always having a plan. All of that. That’s just the story of our season.”
—Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
On the other side, Denny Hamlin reflected on what might have been, saying,
“Yeah, nothing I can do different,”
and
“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.”
—Denny Hamlin, Driver
Ryan Blaney, eliminated from championship contention in Martinsville, dramatically claimed the win for Team Penske in the final corner, joining Ross Chastain as one of the few non-title contenders to win the Phoenix finale under this playoff format.
In the overall standings, Hamlin secured second place in the championship race, Chase Briscoe finished 18th to take third, and Byron, following a late-race tire failure, slid to fourth in the final rankings.
A Tumultuous Start: Stage 1 Developments
The race unfolded with Hamlin taking the initial lead, while William Byron kept pace nearby. From the Hendrick Motorsports pit box, Jeff Gordon displayed nervous energy as Byron temporarily struggled to overtake Ty Dillon, who was a lap down. As Hamlin began encountering lapped traffic, Byron capitalized and overtook him on the outside for the lead, just seven laps before the end of the stage.
Blaney made a significant move late in the stage, pushing into second place ahead of Hamlin. At the end of Stage 1, Byron emerged victorious, Blaney was second, and Hamlin took third. Larson was in fifth, while Briscoe rounded out the top ten as tire concerns started to draw attention up and down pit road.
Mechanical Troubles and Tire Issues in Stage 2
During the second segment, Hamlin voiced frustration over a long-standing clutch issue that had plagued his No. 11 Toyota for much of the season. After the pit stops, Blaney led off pit road, and Briscoe gained ground as well. When natural caution waved for a spin by John Hunter Nemechek, Hamlin quickly regained the advantage over Byron on the ensuing restart.
The middle stretches of Stage 2 were marked by misfortune for several contenders. Bubba Wallace faced a mechanical setback and slowly guided his 23XI Racing Toyota to the pits, jeopardizing his shot at remaining inside the season’s top ten. Shortly after, Briscoe’s chance at the championship faltered as he suffered a flat tire while running fifth. Earlier practice sessions suggested tire durability would be a concern, and the race now confirmed those fears.
Tire failures proliferated, with Kyle Busch and AJ Allmendinger both suffering from flat right rears. Allmendinger, driving his backup car after crashing in practice, hit the wall again due to tire problems. The pit lane became a pivotal battleground, as the No. 19 car began to regain ground through quick stops and Briscoe clawed his way back into the top ten before the stage drew to a close.
Just a few laps before the end of Stage 2, Ty Dillon spun into the wall with a shredded tire, causing another caution. Hamlin held on to take the stage win under yellow, trailed by Blaney and Byron, with Larson finishing fourth and Briscoe rising back to seventh.
Lead Swaps, Tire Chaos, and Strategic Calls in Stage 3
The changing nature of Phoenix’s surface and the threat of tire wear shaped the pivotal third stage. Hamlin’s hopes suffered when he radioed a potential tire problem, leading to a slower stop that dropped him to eleventh. Larson’s pit woes were even greater, as difficulty tightening a wheel meant he fell to eighteenth.
On the restart, Byron took the lead, briefly followed by Ross Chastain, though Briscoe soon made a bold move into second. Disaster then struck both Larson and Briscoe, as each had to pit with damaged tires while green flag conditions prevailed, losing precious laps. A caution for a crash by Carson Hocevar closed the field back up, but the road ahead was no less treacherous.
As the dance at the front continued, Elliott led after pitting, chased by Blaney, Byron, and Hamlin. Byron soon reclaimed the top spot, but another incident brought out a yellow flag as Austin Cindric crashed, tightening up the race once more. Byron narrowly led off pit road, with Elliott receiving a penalty that elevated Hamlin onto the front row alongside Byron for the restart.
The intensity peaked as the four championship contenders restarted together. Hamlin muscled his way to the lead in a three-wide battle, then Byron briefly re-took the lead, only to have Hamlin reclaim it. Hamlin seemed poised for a decisive victory before Byron’s next tire problem sent him hard into the wall, prompting a late caution.
Hamlin chose four tires on his final stop, leaving him mired in tenth, while Larson again opted for two tires and remained near the front. The shuffled running order and chaos on the restart allowed Ryan Blaney to capture the win, with Larson holding steady for third place—just enough to clinch the season championship.
Looking at the Race Finish and What Comes Next
The timing and margin statistics showed how tight the field was at Phoenix, with mere tenths of a second separating the frontrunners as the checkered flag fell. The result cemented Kyle Larson’s place at the pinnacle of stock car racing, adding a second Cup title to his résumé as Hendrick Motorsports celebrated a season of adaptability and leadership from crew chief Cliff Daniels and the entire team.
Tire reliability and strategic gambles on pit road became the defining storyline for NASCAR’s finale, casting a spotlight on preparations for next year as teams and tire manufacturers review the unique demands of Phoenix. As for Larson and his crew, their ability to seize opportunity amidst unpredictability stands as a testament to perseverance in a fiercely competitive field.
With such a turbulent and unpredictable conclusion to the season, all eyes will be on how NASCAR responds to the tire issues and what evolution the cars and strategies might undergo for the seasons to follow. Attention now turns to the off-season, where teams analyze, adapt, and prepare for a new year, hoping to replicate the extraordinary resilience and flexibility shown by this year’s Kyle Larson NASCAR Cup champion and his Hendrick Motorsports squad.
