Kyle Larson claims his Second Cup title as Blaney wins season finale race
Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images
AVONDALE, Ariz.—When William Byron hit the Turn 3 wall with bone-jarring impact on Lap 310 of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race, the gut punch it delivered to Denny Hamlin was exponentially more painful.
The resulting caution and strategic call by crew chief Cliff Daniels allowed Kyle Larson to snatch the Cup Series championship from Hamlin without leading a lap at Phoenix Raceway.
Larson finished third behind race winner Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski to claim his second title in NASCAR’s top division and the 15th for team owner Rick Hendrick as the highest finisher among the Championship 4 drivers—Hamlin, Byron and Chase Briscoe.
It was the 15th Cup championship for team owner Rick Hendrick, and it came with a major plot twist in the final stage.
With the scheduled 312 laps winding down, Hamlin led Byron by nearly three seconds and appeared headed for the first Cup title in his 20 full-time seasons behind the wheel of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
In dominating fashion, Hamlin led seven times for 207 laps. Though he battled a balky clutch and rallied from a flat left-rear tire after winning the second stage, he failed to win the championship for the fifth time under the elimination Playoff format.
Instead, it was Larson who went to Victory Lane to receive the Bill France Cup, almost in disbelief.
“Honestly, I can’t believe it,” Larson said. “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.”
After Byron’s wreck, which sent the race to overtime, Daniels opted for two right-side tires for the second straight pit stop. Hamlin pitted from the lead and took fresh rubber on all four corners.
But with Keselowski, Ryan Preece and Alex Bowman staying out on older tires, and Blaney, Larson, Joey Logano, Josh Berry, Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott taking right sides only, Hamlin lined up 10th for the overtime restart—five spots behind Larson—and chose the bottom row for the final run.
From the outside lane, Larson charged through the first two corners and maintained a gap between his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Hamlin’s Camry. On the final lap, Hamlin lost momentum on the bottom in Turns 1 and 2 and couldn’t recover.
He finished sixth, as Blaney edged Keselowski by 0.097 seconds for the race win.
Larson got the confidence he needed on the first two-tire call under caution on Lap 281. He restarted second beside Briscoe and was able to maintain fifth place before Byron hit the wall.
“We had the right front go down (earlier), lost a lap,” Larson said. “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 (Turns) 1 and 2 really hard. Thought I could do the same thing if we got another one.
“Just unbelievable. What a year by this Hendrick Motorsports (team). 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.
“Again, just unbelievable. I cannot believe it. This is insane.”
Doubtless, Hamlin would agree. He and his team brought the fastest car to Phoenix and executed a near-flawless race. The clutch issue and flat left-rear tire were challenges the No.11 team overcame without panicking.
But the championship eluded Hamlin once again.
“Did the best I could,” Hamlin said. “Everything I really prepared for happened today. I felt like we responded. Even losing track position at one point, just battling back. Did really well on restarts. Hadn’t been good on restarts for the bulk of the year.
“Yeah, the team brought a great championship car. I felt like I drove it just right up until two laps to go. Yeah, this is the part that stinks…
“Golly, in this moment I never want to race a car ever again,” Hamlin said with a wry smile. “I mean, my fun meter is pegged.”
Blaney’s win was almost an afterthought, but it also was tantalizingly close to a second championship for the driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford. Blaney finished second to Byron in a must-win situation last Sunday at Martinsville Speedway—one spot away from qualifying for 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 (Hamlin and Byron) 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 (tires) there and keeping track position. I got a decent restart, and I was able to kind of roll the bottom in (Turns) 3 and 4 and eke the 6 (Keselowski) out at the line.”
Byron, who finished 33rd after leading 52 laps and winning the first stage, expressed sympathy for Hamlin, even though the Lap 310 accident gave his teammate the chance to win the title.
“I’m just super bummed that it was a caution, obviously,” Byron said. “I hate that. Hate it for Denny. I hate it for the 11 team.
“I’m happy for Kyle, for Mr. Hendrick, they deserve it. Yeah, it stinks, right? I don’t know, three laps to go, I’m thinking, ‘Let me get to the end.’
“I felt something funny off of two, thought it might be a flat. I thought at the time if it’s left rear, you can kind of get back. It just went straight into (Turn) 3. Laid down on the right rear, went straight (into the wall). I hate that.”
Briscoe rallied from flat tires twice on Sunday, restarted 15th in overtime and finished 18th.
In a race that featured nine cautions for 65 laps, Logano finished fourth, followed by Busch and Hamlin. Berry, Michael McDowell, Preece, Elliott and Christopher Bell completed the top 10.
Blaney led 20 laps in securing his fourth win of the season and the 17th of his career. The win was his first at Phoenix after three straight runner-up finishes in the Championship Race. In 2023, however, second place was good enough to earn Blaney his only series title to date.
NASCAR Cup Series Race Number 36
Race Results for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship - Sunday, November 2, 2025
Phoenix Raceway - Avondale, AZ - 1. - Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 319 Laps - 319. Miles
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sunday, 11/2/2025 @ 07:02 PM Eastern
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 5 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Dutch Boy Ford 319 2 2 58 Running 3 20
2 19 6 Brad Keselowski Castrol Ford 319 35 Running 1 6
3 3 5 Kyle Larson (P) HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 319 5 4 34 Running
4 10 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 319 8 8 39 Running
5 11 8 Kyle Busch Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet 319 32 Running
6 1 11 Denny Hamlin (P) Progressive Toyota 319 3 1 32 Running 7 208
7 7 21 Josh Berry Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 319 30 Running
8 37 71 Michael McDowell Tide Chevrolet 319 29 Running
9 21 60 Ryan Preece Fry's/Celsius Ford 319 28 Running
10 17 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 319 10 28 Running 1 30
11 20 20 Christopher Bell DEWALT/Interstate Batteries Toyota 319 5 32 Running
12 9 17 Chris Buescher Body Guard Ford 319 9 27 Running
13 13 1 Ross Chastain Busch Light Chevrolet 319 6 29 Running
14 29 7 Justin Haley Gainbridge Chevrolet 319 23 Running
15 8 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 319 7 26 Running
16 15 43 Erik Jones Dollar Tree Toyota 319 21 Running
17 16 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Real American Beer Chevrolet 319 20 Running
18 12 19 Chase Briscoe (P) Bass Pro Shops Toyota 319 10 7 19 Running 1 3
19 14 99 Daniel Suarez Trackhouse Chevrolet 319 18 Running
20 26 3 Austin Dillon BPS/Winchester Waterfowl Chevrolet 319 17 Running
21 25 54 Ty Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota 319 16 Running
22 30 34 * Todd Gilliland Love's Travel Stops Ford 319 15 Running
23 32 35 * Riley Herbst # Monster Energy Zero Sugar Toyota 319 14 Running
24 31 88 Shane Van Gisbergen # WeatherTech Chevrolet 319 13 Running
25 27 41 Cole Custer Haas/Bonanza Ford 319 12 Running
26 24 45 * Tyler Reddick The Beast Toyota 319 11 Running
27 18 4 * Noah Gragson Long John Silver's Ford 319 10 Running
28 6 77 Carson Hocevar Delaware Life Chevrolet 319 6 9 16 Running
29 22 38 * Zane Smith Aaron's Rent To Own Ford 319 8 Running
30 33 51 Cody Ware Mighty Fire Breaker Ford 319 7 Running
31 28 42 John Hunter Nemechek Mobil 1 Toyota 319 6 Running
32 35 44 * JJ Yeley(i) Fanatics Sportsbook Chevrolet 317 0 Running
33 2 24 William Byron (P) Axalta Chevrolet 317 1 3 4 Running 4 52
34 4 2 Austin Cindric Discount Tire Ford 301 4 10 Running
35 34 10 Ty Dillon Alpine Partners Chevrolet 296 2 Running
36 36 66 * Casey Mears(i) SI Yachts Ford 284 0 Running
37 23 23 * Bubba Wallace McDonald's Toyota 165 1 Brakes
38 38 16 AJ Allmendinger Celsius Chevrolet 146 1 Accident
Fastest Lap Bonus: # 11 lap 287 / 27.566
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 15 Mins, 53 Secs. Average Speed: 97.711 MPH Margin of Victory: .097 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 24, 12, 11, 2, 5, 77, 48, 22, 17, 19
Stage 2 Top 10: 11, 12, 24, 5, 20, 1, 19, 22, 77, 9
Race Comments: Ryan Blaney has won the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway, his 17th victory in the NASCAR Cup Series. Prior to the start of the race, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty: No. 16 (backup car).
Failed to Qualify: None.
Caution Flags: 9 for 65 laps; Laps: 62-69 (Stage 1 Conclusion [41]); 73-79 (#42, 34 Incident Backstretch [35]); 107-115 (#88 Spin Frontstretch [71]); 150-155 (#16
Incident Turn 3 [10]); 184-193 (#10 Incident Turn 2 [44]); 221-226 (#77 Incident Turn 4 [19]); 260-266 (#2 Incident Turn 3 [48]); 280-284 (#44 Incident Turn 3 [3]); 311-317 (#24 Incident Turn 4 [4]).
Lead Changes: 16 among 6 drivers; D. Hamlin (P) 1-52; W. Byron (P) 53-64; D. Hamlin (P) 65; R. Blaney 66-79; D. Hamlin (P) 80-188; R. Blaney 189-193; W. Byron (P) 194-221; D. Hamlin (P) 222; C. Elliott 223-252; W. Byron (P) 253-261; D. Hamlin (P) 262; W. Byron (P) 263-265; D. Hamlin (P) 266-281; C. Briscoe (P) 282-284; D. Hamlin (P) 285-312; B. Keselowski 313-318; R. Blaney 319.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: January 1, 1900 -
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NASCAR Cup Series
FINAL Points Report
Phoenix Raceway
NASCAR Cup Series Championship
UNOFFICIAL Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sunday, 11/2/2025 @ 07:42 PM Eastern UNOFFICIAL
Rank Driver Car Starts GL Points Ldr Nxt Race Wins Stage Wins Playoff Pts
1. Kyle Larson (P) 5 36 -3 5034 0 0 3 10 32
2. Denny Hamlin (P) 11 35 0 5031 -3 3 6 7 36
3. Chase Briscoe (P) 19 36 2 5019 -15 12 3 6 18
4. William Byron (P) 24 36 1 5004 -30 15 3 11 32
5. Christopher Bell 20 36 0 2403 -2631 2601 4 2 0
6. Ryan Blaney 12 36 0 2373 -2661 30 4 9 0
7. Joey Logano 22 36 -1 2330 -2704 43 1 3 0
8. Chase Elliott 9 36 -1 2310 -2724 20 2 1 0
9. * Tyler Reddick 45 36 2 2309 -2725 1 0 2 0
10. Ross Chastain 1 36 -1 2272 -2762 37 1 2 0
11. * Bubba Wallace 23 36 1 2256 -2778 16 1 4 0
12. Shane Van Gisbergen # 88 36 0 2211 -2823 45 5 3 0
13. Alex Bowman 48 36 0 2192 -2842 19 0 0 0
14. Austin Cindric 2 36 0 2156 -2878 36 1 3 0
15. Austin Dillon 3 36 0 2152 -2882 4 1 0 0
16. Josh Berry 21 36 0 2150 -2884 2 1 1 0
17. Chris Buescher 17 36 0 889 -4145 1261 0 2 0
18. Ryan Preece 60 36 0 861 -4173 28 0 2 0
19. Ty Gibbs 54 36 0 783 -4251 78 0 2 0
20. Brad Keselowski 6 36 0 762 -4272 21 0 2 0
21. Kyle Busch 8 36 -1 737 -4297 25 0 0 0
22. Michael McDowell 71 36 1 734 -4300 3 0 1 0
23. Carson Hocevar 77 36 0 702 -4332 32 0 0 0
24. Erik Jones 43 36 -2 665 -4369 37 0 0 0
25. John Hunter Nemechek 42 36 1 664 -4370 1 0 0 0
26. AJ Allmendinger 16 36 1 649 -4385 15 0 0 0
27. * Todd Gilliland 34 36 -1 616 -4418 33 0 0 0
28. * Zane Smith 38 36 1 615 -4419 1 0 0 0
29. Daniel Suarez 99 36 0 611 -4423 4 0 0 0
30. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 36 0 562 -4472 49 0 0 0
31. Justin Haley 7 36 0 559 -4475 3 0 0 0
32. Cole Custer 41 36 -1 486 -4548 73 0 0 0
33. Ty Dillon 10 36 1 477 -4557 9 0 0 0
34. * Noah Gragson 4 36 0 440 -4594 37 0 0 0
35. * Riley Herbst # 35 36 0 399 -4635 41 0 0 0
36. Cody Ware 51 36 0 233 -4801 166 0 0 0
37. Katherine Legge 7 0 63 -4971 170 0 0 0
38. Jimmie Johnson 2 0 35 -4999 28 0 0 0
39. Derek Kraus 2 0 6 -5028 29 0 0 0
40. Chad Finchum 3 0 5 -5029 1 0 0 0
41. Burt Myers 1 0 1 -5033 4 0 0 0
42. Martin Truex, Jr. 1 0 1 -5033 0 0 0 0
43. Will Brown(i) 1 0 1 -5033 0 0 0 0
44. Corey Heim(i) 4 0 0 -5034 1 0 0 0
45. Justin Allgaier(i) 1 0 0 -5034 0 0 0 0
46. Austin Hill(i) 5 0 0 -5034 0 0 0 0
47. Connor Zilisch(i) 3 0 0 -5034 0 0 0 0
48. Bj Mcleod(i) 5 0 0 -5034 0 0 0 0
49. * Casey Mears(i) 66 5 0 0 -5034 0 0 0 0
50. Josh Bilicki(i) 6 0 0 -5034 0 0 0 0
51. Anthony Alfredo(i) 2 0 0 -5034 0 0 0 0
52. Corey Lajoie(i) 4 0 0 -5034 0 0 0 0
53. Ryan Truex(i) 1 0 0 -5034 0 0 0 0
54. Jesse Love(i) 5 0 0 -5034 0 0 0 0
55. Joey Gase(i) 2 0 0 -5034 0 0 0 0
56. David Starr(i) 1 0 0 -5034 0 0 0 0
57. * JJ Yeley(i) 44 10 0 0 -5034 0 0 0 0
58. Brennan Poole(i) 1 0 0 -5034 0 0 0 0
59. Timmy Hill(i) 1 0 0 -5034 0 0 0 0
60. Chandler Smith(i) 0 0 0 -5034 0 0 0 0
61. Helio Castroneves 1 0 0 -5034 0 0 0 0
-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
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