Denny Hamlin 'numb' after losing NASCAR championship in final laps

There wouldn't have been a more storybook conclusion to the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season than Denny Hamlin winning the championship. 

Just think of all that was at stake: a man who has won 60 Cup Series races yet never a championship finally breaking through. A man who is currently suing NASCAR, forcing its executives to smile and wave alongside him on the sport's biggest stage. A man whose father has one final opportunity to see him win a championship, doing just that. 

Storybook endings in sports are a beautiful thing. But sometimes, sports can also give you the ending of a horror novel rather than a fairytale. 

Denny Hamlin comes up just short of a championship

Denny Hamlin ended up on the receiving end of the saddest story NASCAR has authored in some time, losing the championship after a late caution erased a three-second lead. Kyle Larson went on to win the title after Hamlin took four tires to Larson's two on the final pit stop and failed to pass Larson in overtime. 

"I really don’t have much for emotion right now," Hamlin said in his post-race news conference. "Just numb about it... just in shock." 

It looked like everything was finally coming together for Hamlin, who put together a six-win campaign and got back to the Championship 4 for the first time since 2021. But his championship dream crumbled as quickly as it had formed at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday afternoon. 

Hamlin led a race-high 208 laps. He drove one of the best races of his career and was roughly 40 seconds away from taking the white flag, winning the race and the championship when the final caution came out for William Byron. 

But racing is a cruel, cruel mistress that can knock you off a pedestal in a heartbeat. 

"Well, I mean, we’re 40 seconds from a championship," Hamlin said. "I don’t know. It’s just unfortunate. This sport can drive you absolutely crazy ’cause sometimes speed, talent, all that stuff, just does not matter."

Hamlin was understandably emotional after a race that saw him nearly grab the glory he's been chasing for over two decades.

"Golly, in this moment I never want to race a car ever again," Hamlin said. "I mean, my fun meter is pegged." 

Hamlin still has two shots left at a title - his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing runs through 2027 - but Sunday's defeat is one that will stick with him for a long time. 

"If you can't win that one, I don't know which one you can win," Hamlin said.

Quotes provided by NASCAR Media.