Larson snags 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship from Hamlin

AVONDALE, Ariz. — An overtime restart allowed Kyle Larson to snag the NASCAR Cup Series championship away from Denny Hamlin.

Kyle Larson restarted fifth and finished third in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series championship race at Phoenix. More importantly, he claimed the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Larson is the second driver to earn multiple Cup championships in the 2020s, now six seasons into the decade. Chase Elliott kicked off the decade with the 2020 championship, then Larson won in 2021, Joey Logano won in 2022 and 2024 and Ryan Blaney won in 2023.

When Blaney won the championship in 2023, he didn’t win the race. Sunday saw the roles reversed.

Blaney won the championship race by 0.097 seconds over Brad Keselowski and was just over a tenth of a second ahead of Larson at the start-finish line.

TOP-10 (LAP 319): Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Josh Berry, Michael McDowell, Ryan Preece, Chase Elliott.

Elliott finished 10th after getting a speeding penalty. He led 30 laps before the penalty.

The finish of the race provided heartbreak in a similar variety as the colors on William Byron’s car that smacked the outside wall in turn three with a few laps to go to send the race into overtime. At that point, Hamlin was leading Byron by about three seconds and was on his way to the breakthrough first crown.

Not all was lost with the caution. Hamlin’s No. 11 team had executed before and surely could do it again. With tire wear paramount Sunday, they went with four fresh tires — while three teams stayed out and six teams went with two tires — including Kyle Larson’s No. 5 team.

That put Hamlin in ninth for the restart, just four spots away from Larson for the championship. Surely, it seemed like an easy task but Larson got through the cars on older tires up front while Hamlin struggled on the inside lane.

In the end, Larson finished third while Hamlin finished sixth. Meanwhile, Briscoe finished 18th with no fresh tires left and Byron finished 33rd, two laps down.

Here is an archive of the live updates on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway.

FINAL STAGE – NASCAR CUP SERIES AT PHOENIX LIVE RACE UPDATES

OVERTIME: Keselowski, Preece, Bowman stay out. Then it’s Blaney, Larson, Logano, Berry, Busch, Elliott, Hamlin in 10th. Hamlin lost six spots with a slower stop but did take four while Blaney, Larson and Logano took two. Hamlin motors to the bottom for the first overtime restart.

3 to go: William Byron blows a tire and hits the wall! Goodbye 3 second lead for Denny Hamlin. We’re going to overtime.

4 to go: Denny Hamlin has it by 3 seconds.

8 to go: Denny Hamlin is out to a 2.8 second lead over William Byron. Byron is under fire from Ryan Blaney.

17 TO GO: Denny Hamlin is out to a 1.7 second lead over William Byron for his first title. He has led 191 laps.

TOP 10 WITH 20 TO GO: Hamlin, Byron, Logano, Blaney, Larson, Briscoe, Berry, Bell, Kyle Busch, Reddick.

RESTART LAP 284 (28 TO GO): Chase Briscoe gets the jump but struggles on older tires. They go four wide as Denny Hamlin gets through for the lead over William Byron with now 26 to go!

LAP 283: Briscoe, Larson, Hamlin, Byron, Blaney, Logano, Berry, Bell, Chastain, Keselowski the top-10 post-choose.

LAP 282: Chase Briscoe and Kyle Larson each take two tires and jump to first and second. Briscoe has “lightly used scuffs” while Larson has fresh tires. Hamlin and Byron go third and fourth with four fresh tires. Then it’s Logano, Blaney, Berry, Bell, Keselowski and Chastain.

Caution for JJ Yeley in trouble on lap 278: Top 10 is Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Josh Berry, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Brad Keselowski, Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick.

Denny Hamlin to the lead after a battle with William Byron. Lap 270.

Austin Cindric has crashed in turn three, caution, lap 258.

Denny Hamlin gets Chase Elliott for second, lap 256.

Leader Chase Elliott’s radio is quiet as teammate William Byron goes for the lead in pursuit of the championship. William Byron to the lead, lap 252.

Noah Gragson with a tire issue…. lap 248. William Byron goes for the lead on teammate Chase Elliott. Denny Hamlin is right there.

LAP 244: Denny Hamlin to third, he is right behind William Byron for the championship.

• Alex Bowman pits with a tire issue.

LAP 240: Denny Hamlin is running down William Byron, who is under fire from Ryan Blaney.

LAP 231: Ryan Blaney has got a run on William Byron and Denny Hamlin is on their heels. Blaney passing Byron could open the door for Hamlin. Chase Elliott still leads.

LAP 226: William Byron tried going three-wide but paid for it. He slides back to second, still going. Denny Hamlin for third on Josh Berry as Ryan Blaney rallies around the outside. Hamlin into Blaney!

LAP 224: Kyle Larson is told to manage the tire heat because “rubber is caked up on the brake duct opening.” On the car, Cliff Daniels tells Larson, “Everything is held together. There is nothing hanging on the outer body, can’t confirm on the underbody.”

Off pit road (Lap 222): Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain, Josh Berry, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, Chris Buescher. Berry and Elliott each gained two spots while Byron lost two.

Nemechek, SVG and Larson get the wavearound.

Kyle Larson is told: “You melted a bead… Just keep an eye on right front heat.” Larson reports his car is vibrating. Caution for Carson Hocevar with a tire issue. Lap 220.

Chase Briscoe with a tire down now! Lap 216.

LAP 214: Kyle Larson blows a tire and hits the wall. He has troubles getting to pit road and finally does.

LAP 211: William Byron goes to the top to defend against Chase Briscoe. Briscoe loses a little bit of lap time.

LAP 210: Chase Briscoe and Ryan Blaney are both faster than leader William Byron.

LAP 205: Denny Hamlin to sixth. Chase Briscoe ran Ross Chastain really wide to take second. Now Ryan Blaney looks for second on Briscoe.

Lap 199: Denny Hamlin takes seventh. Ross Chastain is looking for the lead. Kyle Larson three wide and through to eighth

Denny Hamlin goes to ninth over Carson Hocevar. William Byron leads Ross Chastain and Chase Briscoe, who sits second in the championship and third in the race. Ryan Blaney fourth now looking on him. Lap 197.

LAP 189: Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson are now 11th and 18th after some slow pit stops. Hamlin had a left-rear tire issue and Larson’s crew had issues getting one of the lugnuts. That was a key moment in the race.

Off pit road (LAP 189): 12 24 1 9 19 20 22 21 48 77. 9 up 6, 21 up 4. 1 up 3.

The final stage is 127 laps and ends with the checkered flag on lap 312.

STAGE TWO Winner: Denny Hamlin

STAGE TWO TOP 10 (LAP 185):: Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano, Carson Hocevar, Chase Elliott.

Ty Dillon spins in turn two and ends the stage under caution. Stage 2 Top 10: Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano, Carson Hocevar, Chase Elliott.

Austin Dillon to pit road with a tire issue, lap 180. Chase Briscoe and Kyle Larson simultaneously report they are loose in turns 3 and 4.

LAP 177: William Byron: “Still just need rotation but without hurting the back. A little bit of ride quality would help.”

LAP 174: Chase Briscoe to seventh.

Denny Hamlin is doing a really good job defending Ryan Blaney in turn two. Blaney rolls the entry and center very well but then Hamlin is able to get Blaney tight on the exit and is holding him back…. for now. Lap 171.

LAP 166: Ryan Blaney goes for the lead. If he can take it from Denny Hamlin, it will be interesting to see how Hamlin’s car drives in traffic.

LAP 161: Chase Briscoe to eighth with a three-wide pass. He was fifth when he had the incident 56 laps before.

Chase Briscoe is back in the top 10 on lap 160.

LAP 155 RESTART: Denny Hamlin hangs on to the lead. Ryan Blaney second, William Byron third, Kyle Larson fourth, Christopher Bell fifth. Josh Berry has a death wiggle off of turn four but hangs on as Chase Briscoe goes to the inside. Three wide.

Crew chief James Small gives Chase Briscoe and the team a pep talk: “We’re fucking experts at overcoming adversity. It’s only lap 153 of 312 so let’s go.”

• Briscoe’s team just gained him SEVEN spots on pit road. He is up to 14th.

LAP 151 Off Pit Road: 11 12 5 24 20 1 77 9 21 22. 77 down two spots.

Chase Briscoe reports his car is “shaking like crazy” in the corner but that the balance is not bad. He is up to 21st. Lap 150.

LAP 149: A.J. Allmendinger blows a right-front tire and smacks the outside turn three wall in almost the exact same spot he did in practice.

LAP 146: Ryan Blaney passes Kyle Larson for second.

• Larson: “It feels like it heats up the rears more.”

LAP 145… Chase Briscoe: “Be ready, it feels like I got another one ready to blow.”

• e blew

LAP 141: Cliff Daniels tells Kyle Larson: “You and Denny have similar pass. He diamonds 1 and 2, you look good in 3 & 4. Keep it up.”

Chase Briscoe says: “It feels like it’s about to rip in half.”

Justin Haley and A.J. Allmendinger to pit road. Lap 132. Context: They took the wavearound during the last caution.

LAP 130: Ryan Blaney to third. Not quite as fast on this run but it’s early.

LAP 129: Denny Hamlin: “A little tight at this point.” Hamlin has a 2.457-second lead over Kyle Larson.

LAP 122: Ross Chastain clears Josh Berry for sixth. Josh Berry drops back to eighth behind Christopher Bell. Chase Briscoe has caught up to the pack.

LAP 120: Chase Briscoe is running lap times comparable with the leaders but said: “Something is bent.”

Chase Briscoe: “It’s like shaking the wheel through the corner.” Briscoe is a few seconds off of the pack as the field is back green with Denny Hamlin leading, lap 118.

LAP 115: Denny Hamlin maintains the lead over Kyle Larson. Ryan Blaney has been in a four-wheel drift throughout every corner exit on the restart.

LAP 114 TOP-10 (POST CHOOSE): Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Carson Hocevar, Ross Chastain, Josh Berry, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott.

Chase Briscoe is 32nd on the tail end of the lead lap.

LAP 112: Denny Hamlin: “Golly dude the clutch. It shoots me out. It’s on the edge of gaining and disengaging… it’s not far from not engaging. We gotta make sure to keep our revs up.”

LAP 111: Everyone to pit road. Off pit road: 11 5 24 12 1 77 22 21 9 20. 1 gained 3, 9 gained 4.

LAP 109: Chase Briscoe said he had a noticeable vibration from “lap 3” of the last green flag run. He blew a tire 25 laps later.

Chase Briscoe has a tire down as Shane van Gisbergen spins! 106 laps down, caution. Michael McDowell free pass.

LAP 105: Bubba Wallace goes to the garage with the throttle issue.

LAP 99: Chase Briscoe rolls the top of turns 1 & 2. He takes fifth from Carson Hocevar in turn 3 on the inside.

LAP 96: Bubba Wallace is now crawling around the track. He comes to pit road.

LAP 91: Bubba Wallace has an electrical issue and is livid on the radio. The team is trying to diagnose the issue. Wallace reports he is wide open on the throttle but that it feels like the limiter is still on.

LAP 87: Denny Hamlin is GONE. He has a two-second lead eight laps after taking the lead on the restart. He says, “It’s a little tight now but it still turns in.”

LAP 85: Chase Elliott has made up seven spots on slightly newer tires. Now he makes up three more and is up to 11th.

LAP 78: Green flag. Ryan Blaney gets a good restart but Denny Hamlin is on the gas on the outside lane and takes the lead in turn one. William Byron and Kyle Larson split Ryan Blaney to the middle and shove him to fourth. Carson Hocevar takes the spot away from Blaney.

Off pit road (Lap 76): 9 21 23 60 38 34 41 43. Elliott (9) is 21st.

• Denny Hamlin is told to pump the clutch. It worked somewhat but “is not back up to stock.”

LAP 72: John Hunter Nemechek has crashed on the backstretch. He says “It wont fire” and will need a push.

LAP 70: Denny Hamlin is on the charge and takes second in the race and first in the championship from William Byron. Now Hamlin goes for the lead on Ryan Blaney!

LAP 68: Multiple teams are reporting some cords on the right front tire, including Blaney, Larson and Hamlin. Larson is told his right-rear tire “down to the bottom of the pinholes” but not of too much concern.

Chase Briscoe was told to run the bottom to help tire life.

LAP 63: Denny Hamlin: “Clutch pedal is long.”

Championship 4 thoughts after Stage 1:

• William Byron: “Tight entry to middle.”
• Kyle Larson: “I just don’t have anything to work with on the right rear.”
• Denny Hamlin: “Tight, no issues on either entry. Pretty good for first 10-15, I was getting tight and that’s when my late-to-exit started to struggle.”
• Chase Briscoe: “Right rear just can’t stick to drive.”

The second stage is 125 laps and ends on lap 185.

STAGE ONE Winner: William Byron

STAGE ONE TOP-10 (LAP 60): William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson, Carson Hocevar, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, Chase Briscoe.

LAP 57: Ryan Blaney gets to Denny Hamlin for second. Hamlin is having trouble on exit while Blaney can throttle up and keep the grip. That allows him to take second off of turn two a lap later.

LAP 55: Ryan Blaney takes third from Austin Cindric.

LAP 52: William Byron rolls the top and goes side-by-side with Denny Hamlin. Byron takes the lead and leads lap 53.

• Kyle Larson: “I’m trying to nurse the right rear home.”

Lap 51: Ryan Blaney to fourth. He is still a few tenths faster than the leader per lap and could win the stage.

William Byron: “Track is just slick here to start, mostly.” Lap 48. Racing behind leader Denny Hamlin, they have heavy lap traffic ahead of them. Byron is rolling the top of turn 1 and diamonding the exit of turn 2 and now is on Hamlin’s bumper.

LAP 47: Chris Buescher jumps to ninth over Chase Briscoe.

LAP 46: Ryan Blaney is freaking flying right now. He has been 2-4 tenths faster than the leader the last few laps. Still 4 seconds to make up but 14 laps to do it in the stage.

LAP 42: Blaney takes fifth from Hocevar. He was 2 tenths faster than the leader the last lap.

• Chase Briscoe: “Really struggling to keep the right rear underneath me.”

LAP 40: Kyle Larson kind of missed the center and exit of turns three and four and lost a little time on Austin Cindric for third.

LAP 38: Chris Buescher cracks the top 10 as Josh Berry is slowing on the long run. William Byron is all over Denny Hamlin for the lead.

LAP 36: Chase Briscoe is up to ninth. He started 12th.

LAP 35: William Byron is making good progress on Denny Hamlin for the lead. His line in turns three and four has moved up to the top.

• Denny Hamlin: “Still tight in the center of 1 & 2”

LAP 29: Drivers are going to the top of the track more and more. Austin Cindric and Kyle Larson in third and fourth have gone up there. Christopher Bell has also gone up there and goes for 12th on Daniel Suarez. Suarez has much better short run speed. He had jumped up to 11th before dropping to 13th now.

LAP 27: Denny Hamlin has led every lap and leads William Byron, Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson, Carson Hocevar, Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, Josh Berry, Joey Logano and Chase Briscoe.

Briscoe is dealing with a lack of rear grip. The car is out of the track visibly off the corner. Logano and Berry race wheel-to-wheel for eighth.

LAP 3: Daniel Suarez takes 12th with a nice three-wide move on Christopher Bell and Chris Buescher. He has a Mexican-designed, Dia de los Muertos paint scheme for his final ride with Trackhouse Racing. He now takes 11th from Chris Buescher a lap later.

LAP 1: Green flag at Phoenix! Denny Hamlin and William Byron lead Austin Cindric and Kyle Larson.

The first stage is 60 laps. Follow here for live updates on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway.

WHO WON STAGE ONE AND STAGE TWO?

William Byron won stage one while Denny Hamlin won stage two in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway.

STAGE ONE TOP-10 (LAP 60): William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson, Carson Hocevar, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, Chase Briscoe.

STAGE TWO TOP 10 (LAP 185):: Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano, Carson Hocevar, Chase Elliott.

NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race Start — and a surprise… Sydney Sweeney?

A.J. Allmendinger to the rear. Notably, in attendance for the race was actress Sydney Sweeney. Austin Dillon introduced William Byron to her, joking they ‘d “be better than Taylor (Swift) and Travis (Kelce).”

Broadcast: NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 312 laps / 312 miles

Stages: 60 / 185 / 312

Average time of race: 2:55:40

Pit road speed: 45 mph

Caution car speed: 50 mph

Fuel Window: 98 laps