Kyle Larson rallies for second Cup Series championship; Ryan Blaney scores thrilling overtime victory at Phoenix

As Ryan Blaney capitalized on a two-tire pit strategy and a final-lap overtake on Brad Keselowski in overtime to win the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, November 2, Kyle Larson also capitalized on both strategy and in overtime to snatch his second Cup Series championship amid a late turn of events.

The 2021 Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, commenced Sunday’s finale in third place on the starting grid and recorded top-five results throughout the first two stage periods despite trailing Denny Hamlin and teammate William Byron for the title fight.

Despite enduring a slow pit service due to a dropped lug nut before the start of the final stage period and pitting under green with 97 laps remaining due to blowing a right-front tire, Larson received a break. Four laps later a caution allowed him to take the wave around and cycle back on the lead lap. Larson would then spend a majority of the closing segments of the event navigating his way back to the front and keeping his title hopes within reach.

Then, while racing in fifth place with three laps remaining, Larson gained another break when his teammate and title rival William Byron wrecked from second place. This allowed crew chief Cliff Daniels to roll the dice with a strategic two-tire pit stop that allowed Larson to gain track position and overtake Hamlin upon exiting pit road. Through an overtime shootout, Larson used his two fresh tires to remain ahead of Hamlin and snatch the championship by being the highest-finishing title contender.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, November 1, Denny Hamlin, a Championship 4 finalist, secured his fifth Cup pole position of the 2025 season. It was also the 48th of his career with a pole-winning lap at 133.759 mph in 26.914 seconds. 

William Byron and Kyle Larson, teammates at Hendrick Motorsports and Championship 4 finalists, qualified second and third, respectively. Byron’s qualifying lap was at 133.551 mph in 26.956 seconds, while Larson’s occurred at 133.437 mph in 26.979 seconds. Chase Briscoe, the fourth Championship 4 finalist and Hamlin’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, qualified in 12th place at 132.680 mph in 27.133 seconds.

Before the event, AJ Allmendinger was the lone competitor who started at the rear of the field in a backup car after he wrecked his primary car during Friday’s practice session. 

When the green flag waved and the finale commenced, the field fanned out through the frontstretch’s dogleg as Denny Hamlin and William Byron dueled for the lead. Entering the first two turns, Hamlin gained the advantage from the inside lane as he motored his No. 11 Progressive Toyota Camry XSE entry ahead of Byron’s No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet entry. With the lead in his possession through the backstretch and the final two turns (Turns 3 and 4) leading back to the start/finish line, Hamlin proceeded to lead the first lap while the field behind continued to fan out and jostle for spots.

Over the next four laps, Hamlin stretched his early advantage up to six-tenths of a second over Byron. Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson and Carson Hocevar followed suit in the top five, respectively. Behind, Chase Briscoe, the lowest-starting Championship 4 finalist, was racing in 10th place, a spot he moved up to since the second lap. With Josh Berry, Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano scored from sixth to ninth, respectively, Hamlin continued to stretch his advantage as he was leading by a second over Byron by Lap 10.

Through the first 25 scheduled laps, Hamlin stabilized his lead to eight-tenths of a second over title rival Byron while third-place Cindric trailed by two seconds. Meanwhile, title rival Larson continued to race in fourth place and he trailed the lead by nearly three seconds while Briscoe retained 10th place as he trailed the top spot by eight-and-a-half seconds. Amid the title battle, Hocevar was scored in fifth place ahead of Bowman, Blaney, Berry and Logano while Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, Christopher Bell, Noah Gragson and Ross Chastain occupied top-15 spots ahead of Zane Smith, Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., respectively.

Ten laps later, Hamlin, who was slowly approaching the tail end of the field, retained the lead by six-tenths of a second over Byron. As Hamlin reeled in the tail end of the field, Byron shaved off Hamlin’s advantage as the former trailed by four-tenths of a second, but Hamlin continued to lead. Meanwhile, Larson continued to race in fourth place and he trailed the lead by nearly two seconds while Briscoe was up to ninth place as he trailed by 10 seconds.

Nearing the Lap 50 mark and with the leaders mired in lapped traffic, Hamlin maintained his advantage to within half a second over a hard-charging Byron as the latter continued to reel in and intimidate the former through every turn and straightaway. Two laps later, Byron used the outside lane through the backstretch along with Turns 3 and 4 to lead. Amid the tight battle, Byron muscled ahead as he assumed the lead both of the finale and the championship finale for the first time.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 60, Byron, who proceeded to stretch his advantage to more than a second since he assumed the top spot on Lap 53, cruised to his ninth Cup stage victory of the 2025 season. Behind, Blaney overtook and fended off Hamlin for the runner-up spot while Cindric, Larson, Hocevar, Bowman, Logano, Buescher and Briscoe were scored in the top 10, respectively.

Under the first stage break period, the lead lap field led by Byron pitted for a first round of pit service. Following the pit stops, Blaney exited pit road first and he was followed by Byron, Hamlin, Larson, Hocevar, Briscoe, Logano, Buescher, Bowman and Bell.

The second stage period started on Lap 69 as Blaney and Byron occupied the front row in front of Hamlin, Larson, Hocevar and Briscoe. At the start, Blaney rocketed ahead of Byron from the outside lane as the field fanned out through the frontstretch’s dogleg. As Blaney led the next lap, Hamlin battled Byron for the runner-up spot while Larson followed suit and Briscoe was mired in seventh behind Hocevar and Logano.

On Lap 72, the caution flew when John Hunter Nemechek spun through the backstretch after he made contact with Todd Gilliland. During the caution period, some, including Chase Elliott, Berry, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Preece, Zane Smith, Erik Jones, Gilliland and Cole Custer, pitted their respective entries. The rest, led by Blaney and including the title finalists Hamlin, Byron, Larson and Briscoe, remained on the track.

As the finale restarted on Lap 79, Blaney and Hamlin dueled for the lead through the frontstretch’s dogleg. Amid his clutch issues, Hamlin used the outside lane to rocket ahead of Blaney entering the first two turns. While Byron and Larson pinned Blaney and overtook him to move up to second and third, Hamlin led the next lap.

Just past the Lap 85 mark, Hamlin was leading by more than a second over Larson and Byron trailed in third place by more than two seconds while Briscoe trailed by more than three seconds in seventh place. Over the next five laps, Hamlin added another second to his advantage as his lead stood to more than two-and-a-half seconds over Larson. Hamlin then increased his lead to three seconds over Larson by Lap 95. Behind, Byron retained third place as he trailed the lead by more than three seconds, while Briscoe trailed by five seconds in sixth place.

Through the Lap 100 mark, Hamlin stabilized his advantage to more than three seconds over Larson and Byron. Briscoe, who trailed the lead by five seconds, moved up to fifth place behind Blaney on the track. Behind, Hocevar, Logano, Bowman, Ross Chastain and Bell occupied the top-10 spots. Berry, Cindric, Buescher, Elliott, Reddick, Zane Smith, Gilliland, Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson and Kyle Busch trailed in the top 20, respectively. Meanwhile, Bubba Wallace, who spent the previous several laps falling off the pace due to an apparent throttle sensor issue, pitted four laps earlier before he then took his entry to the garage, was mired in 37th place.

On Lap 105, the caution flew when Shane van Gisbergen brushed the outside wall and spun through the frontstretch. At the moment of caution, Briscoe, who was racing in fifth place, fell off the pace as he had a right-rear tire puncture that exhibited smoke from his entry. This marked Briscoe’s second tire failure of the weekend after he had a left-rear tire puncture during Friday’s practice session.

Despite the tire issue, Briscoe managed to pit his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE entry under caution and continue, but he dropped all the way to the tail end of the lead lap category to 28th place.

During the caution period, the entire lead lap field led by Hamlin pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Hamlin retained the lead by exiting pit road first and he was followed by Larson, Byron, Blaney, Chastain, Hocevar, Logano, Berry, Elliott and Bell.

When the finale restarted under green on Lap 115, Hamlin and Larson raced against one another through the frontstretch’s dogleg, but Hamlin was not to be denied as he muscled ahead through the first two turns. Hamlin then proceeded to lead the next lap over Larson and Byron while Blaney, Hocevar and Ross Chastain followed suit. 

Just past the Lap 120 mark, Hamlin, who continued to hold strong with the top spot amid his clutch issues, was leading by nine-tenths of a second over Larson while Byron followed suit in third place by more than a second. Meanwhile, Briscoe, who restarted in 32nd place, continued to race in 32nd place as he started to report a vibration to his entry.

At the Lap 135 mark, Hamlin extended his advantage to two-and-a-half seconds over Larson while Byron trailed in fourth place by four seconds as Blaney moved up to third place. Meanwhile, Briscoe was mired in 27th place and trailing the lead by 15 seconds while Hocevar, Chastain, Bell, Berry, Elliott and Logano were scored in the top 10.

On Lap 148, the caution flew when AJ Allmendinger, who was mired within the top-30 mark, experienced a right-front tire failure and wrecked in Turn 3. At the moment of caution, Hamlin was leading by more than two seconds over Blaney while Larson, Byron, Hocevar, Bell, Chastain, Berry, Elliott and Logano were racing in the top 10, with Briscoe up in 21st place. 

During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Hamlin returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Hamlin exited pit road first ahead of Blaney, Larson, Byron, Bell, Chastain, Hocevar, Elliott, Berry and Logano.

The start of the next restart on Lap 155 featured Hamlin motoring ahead of Blaney, Byron and Larson through the frontstretch’s chicane, where he then led the event’s halfway mark during the following lap.

By Lap 165, Hamlin was leading by three-tenths of a second over Blaney while Byron and Larson trailed in third and fourth by one and two seconds, respectively. Meanwhile, Briscoe, who returned to the top-10 mark four laps earlier, was up to eighth following bold overtakes on Elliott and Logano as he trailed the lead by more than four seconds. As Briscoe continued to steadily march his way back to the front, Hamlin continued to lead the finale by three-tenths of a second over Blaney. He also continued to lead the championship battle by two and three seconds over Byron and Larson through the Laps 170 and 175 marks.

Then on Lap 182, the caution flew when Ty Dillon wrecked in Turn 2. The caution was enough for the second stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 185 to officially conclude under caution. As a result, Hamlin cruised to his seventh Cup stage victory of the 2025 season. Blaney, Byron, Larson and Bell followed suit while Chastain, Briscoe, Logano, Hocevar and Elliott were scored in the top 10, respectively.

During the second stage break period, the lead lap field led by Hamlin returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Blaney exited pit road first and he was followed by Byron, Chastain, Elliott, Briscoe, Bell, Logano, Berry, Bowman and Hocevar. 

Meanwhile, title contenders Hamlin and Larson endured issues on pit road. Hamlin, who reported having a tire going down during the caution period, had a slow pit service due to issues getting the jack lifted on the left side, which dropped him to 11th in the running order. For Larson, a dropped lug nut dropped him towards the top-20 mark and in 18th.

With 119 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Blaney and Byron occupied the front row. At the start, the latter two dueled through the fronstretch and the first two turns before Byron used the outside lane to storm ahead of Blaney through the backstretch.

With the clean air to his advantage, Byron led the next lap while Chastain, Blaney, Briscoe and Elliott followed suit. Behind, Hamlin was scored in 11th while Larson was racing in 15th. Over the next three laps, Hamlin and Larson moved up to 10th and 12th, Briscoe was up to third and Byron was leading by three-tenths of a second over Chastain.

Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Byron was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Briscoe as the latter fiercely outdueled Chastain for the runner-up spot six laps earlier. With Blaney, Chastain and Elliott racing in the top five, Hamlin carved his way up to sixth place and he trailed the lead by three seconds while Larson followed suit in eighth place as he trailed by nearly five seconds.

Then three laps later, Larson’s championship hopes took a hit as he fell off the pace and had a punctured right-front tire to his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet entry. Racing in ninth place at the time of the incident, Larson managed to pit without drawing a caution, but he dropped out of the lead lap category. Not long after Larson pitted, Briscoe experienced a second right-rear tire failure on the track. Like Larson, Briscoe managed to pit without drawing a caution, but he, too, dropped out of the lead lap category.

Shortly after, the caution flew with 93 laps remaining due to Hocevar blowing a right-front tire in Turn 4 and scattering tire debris across the track. At the moment of caution, Byron was leading by four-tenths of a second over Blaney and by three seconds over third-place Elliott, while Hamlin was up to fourth place and trailing the lead by four seconds. In addition, Briscoe was awarded the free pass to cycle back on the lead lap for being scored the first competitor a lap down while Larson took the wave around to cycle back on the lead lap. 

During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Byron pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Elliott, Blaney, Byron, Hamlin, Chastain, Berry, Logano, Bell, Bowman and Chastain.

As the final restarted with 86 laps remaining, Elliott, Byron and Blaney engaged in a three-wide battle for the lead through the frontstretch before Elliott, who was pinned in the middle lane, motored ahead through the backstretch. Elliott proceeded to lead the next lap over Byron while Berry, Blaney and Hamlin followed suit ahead of Chastain, Bell, Logano, Bowman and Reddick. 

With 80 laps remaining, Elliott was leading the finale by half a second while runner-up Byron maintained the lead in the championship battle by two spots over Hamlin, with Blaney occupying third place. Meanwhile, Briscoe and Larson were mired in 23rd and 25th, respectively.

Fifteen laps later, Elliott continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over Byron as the latter led Hamlin by six-tenths of a second. Meanwhile, Bowman, who pitted under green due to a tire puncture, had plummeted to 33rd place while Briscoe and Larson were mired in 15th and 23rd, respectively.

Another five laps later, Byron drew himself into a side-by-side battle for the race lead against teammate Elliott. By the time the leaders returned to the frontstretch and the start/finish line for the next lap, Byron cycled back out in front over Elliott. Then, with 56 laps remaining, Hamlin overtook Elliott for the runner-up spot on the track.

During another caution that flew with 54 laps remaining due to Austin Cindric wrecking in Turn 3, the lead lap field led by Byron pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Byron retained the lead after he exited pit road first and he was followed by Elliott, Hamlin, Blaney, Berry, Bell, Logano, Keselowski, Chastain and Briscoe. Amid the pit stops, Elliott was penalized and sent to the tail end of the field for speeding on pit road. Elliott’s penalty allowed Hamlin to move up and restart on the front row alongside title rival Byron.

The start of the next restart with 46 laps remaining featured Hamlin and Byron dueling against one another for nearly a full lap and making slight contact through the backstretch before Hamlin muscled ahead through Turns 3 and 4. With the lead back in his possession, Hamlin led the next lap over Byron and fended off Byron over the next few laps. As Hamlin proceeded to stretch his late lead to eight-tenths of a second with 40laps remaining, Byron followed suit in second, Briscoe was scored in sixth and Larson gained two spots from 15th to 13th. 

As another caution flew with 34 laps remaining due to JJ Yeley having a right-front tire incident in Turn 3, the lead lap field led by Hamlin returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, mixed pit strategies ensued as Briscoe and Larson exited first and second, respectively, as both only opted for two-tire services. Meanwhile, Hamlin and Byron followed suit on four fresh tires, which placed all four title finalists restarting first through fourth on the track.

Down to the final 28 laps, the finale restarted under green. At the start, Briscoe led Larson, Hamlin, Byron and the field through the frontstretch’s dogleg and the first two turns before Larson and Hamlin split and pinned Briscoe in the middle of a three-wide battle for the lead through the backstretch.

Amid the tight three-wide battle, Hamlin used the inside lane and his four fresh tires to gain a slight advantage while Briscoe made contact and nearly sent Larson up the track through Turns 3 and 4. Amid the battles, Byron darted his entry to the left in a near four-wide battle for the lead as he challenged Hamlin, who led the previous lap. 

Byron then used the frontstretch’s dogleg and went as low as he could to motor ahead of Hamlin, but Hamlin executed a crossover move on Byron through the first two turns. This allowed Hamlin to duel against Byron through the backstretch as Logano overtook both Larson and Briscoe. Through Turns 3 and 4, Hamlin rocketed ahead of Byron and stormed to the lead, where he led the next lap.

As the finale reached its final 20 laps, Hamlin was leading both the finale and the championship battle by a second over Byron, while Logano and Blaney followed suit in third and fourth, respectively. Meanwhile, title rivals Larson and Briscoe were mired in fifth and sixth, respectively, as they trailed Hamlin by three seconds. Amid the late battles around the track, Hamlin grew his lead to two seconds over Byron with 15 laps remaining. 

Down to the final 10 laps of the finale, Hamlin continued to lead by two-and-a-half seconds over Byron while Larson and Briscoe trailed by six seconds in fifth and sixth, respectively, on the track. With Blaney and Logano continuing to be mired between the Championship 4 finalists on the track in third and fourth, Hamlin grew his advantage to three seconds over Byron as Blaney started to challenge the latter for the runner-up spot on the track with five laps remaining.  

Then, with three laps remaining, the caution flew and the finale was sent into overtime when Byron, who was trying to fend off Blaney for the runner-up spot, blew a tire exiting the backstretch and he went dead straight into the outside wall in Turn 4. The incident all but evaporated Byron’s championship hopes as Byron, who was mistake-free throughout the finale, dropped out of the lead lap category. At the moment of caution, Hamlin was leading by more than three seconds over Blaney, while Logano, Larson and Briscoe moved up the leaderboard.

During the caution period, a majority of the lead lap field led by Hamlin and including Larson and Briscoe pitted their entries while Keselowski, Preece and Bowman remained on the track. Following the pit stops, mixed pit strategies ensued as Blaney, Larson, Logano, Berry, Kyle Busch and Elliott all exited pit road from first to sixth on only two fresh tires while Hamlin, who opted for a four-tire pit service, exited seventh. For the restart, Larson was positioned in fifth, Hamlin in 10th and Briscoe in 15th while Byron, who lost two laps amid his incident, was down in 32nd.

At the start of overtime, the field fanned out through the frontstretch’s dogleg as Keselowski dueled with his driver and teammate Ryan Preece for the lead in front of Blaney and Bowman. Meanwhile, Larson used both the outside lane and two fresh tires to storm from fifth to fourth through the first two turns while Hamlin was mired in ninth and losing ground of Larson. As Keselowski motored ahead through the backstretch, Larson was engaged in a three-wide battle with Blaney and Preece for the runner-up spot.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Keselowski remained in the lead over both Blaney and Larson as Larson was four spots ahead of title rival Hamlin and in striking position of snatching the championship. Through the first two turns and the backstretch, Larson continued to duel against Blaney for the runner-up spot. 

Then, through Turns 3 and 4, Blaney took advantage of Keselowski drifting up the track to snatch the lead and claim the checkered flag by 0.097 seconds for the race victory. Meanwhile, Larson crossed the finish line in third place and clinched the championship by finishing three spots ahead of his next closest title rival, Hamlin, as Hamlin ended up in sixth place.

With his accomplishment, Larson became the 18th competitor overall to achieve multiple NASCAR Cup Series championships and he recorded the 15th title in NASCAR’s premier series for Hendrick Motorsports. Larson also became the third competitor to achieve multiple championships while driving for Hendrick Motorsports, the first Chevrolet competitor in four years to win a Cup title and the fourth to repeat as a champion under the series’ Playoff elimination-style format.

The championship was also the second for crew chief Cliff Daniels and the third for Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 Chevrolet team, with their latest one occurring in 2021.

While celebrating with his team on the fronstretch, Larson, who was gifted bracelets from his kids, was left both elated, relieved and stunned over his comeback charge to the front and the late turn of events that netted him his second championship in a year where he scored three victories, a pole, 15 top-five results, 22 top-10 results, 1,106 laps led and an average-finishing result of 13.2.