NASCAR Championship Race takeaways: Kyle Larson joins elite company with second Cup Series title

It was an uncharacteristic season for Larson, who did not win a race after picking up his third victory of the season at Kansas in May. Despite that, Larson finished inside the top 10 in six of the last seven races and outlasted the rest of the title contenders with the championship on the line.

Another championship heartbreak for Denny Hamlin

Hamlin led a race-high 208 laps on Sunday and did everything in his power to win his first Cup Series championship. Crew chief Chris Gayle elected to go on offense and put four fresh tires on Hamlin's No. 11 Toyota for the two-lap finish, but he could only get up to sixth when the checkered flag waved, three spots behind Larson for the title.

Early on, Hamlin dealt with clutch issues and caught a fortunate break when his left-rear tire went down under caution. While that ultimately cost him track position, the caution for Byron forced the overtime finish and a rash of two-tire calls put Hamlin too far back to catch Larson.

It was the 44-year-old's latest championship heartbreak after several close calls before. For one reason or another, the 60-race winner and surefire Hall of Famer when he retires seems to come away empty-handed in his title pursuit each season. This time around, the current playoff format did him no favors and once again proved why some tweaks are on the way.

Ryan Blaney makes late move to win the race

Team Penske's title hopes were dashed at Martinsville, but that did not stop the 2023 champion Blaney from winning for the first time at Phoenix on Sunday. He took advantage of a two-tire call for the overtime finish and passed Brad Keselowski off Turn 4 to win at the line.

The championship fight may have overshadowed the thrilling battle for the win, but Blaney once again proved that Team Penske is not to be forgotten on layouts like Phoenix.