Larson Leaps Hamlin as Blaney Beats Brad

Kyle Larson celebrates his second NASCAR Cup Series title. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Ryan Blaney poses in victory lane after his win in the Season Finale 500 at Phoenix Raceway. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Cup Series Championship Race:

Ryan Blaney took the checkered flag in last Sunday's Season Finale 500 at Phoenix Raceway. It was Blaney's fourth win of the 2025 campaign, and first at Phoenix. He narrowly beat out Brad Keselowski to the line to take the checkered flag. At the same time, Kyle Larson scooted away from Denny Hamlin and snagged his second career NASCAR Cup Series championship!

Objectively speaking, the final race of the 2025 Cup Series season was a good race. Denny Hamlin dominated the race, leading 208 of 319 laps. Even with that, there were great battles from green flag to checkered flag. We had pit strategy throughout the day, tires that provided the chance for good racing, and cautions that bunched the field up several times and provided those iconic Phoenix restarts. And every time (except the last), Denny Hamlin would find himself back at the front of the field. The vibes were immaculate: Denny Hamlin was going to finally secure that elusive championship, and we were having a good race. Picture-perfect day for NASCAR, for JGR, and for Denny Hamlin and his family. I was worried it would be fumbled away when the race had its second-to-last caution with 32 laps to go. However, Hamlin and the 11 team rose to the occasion, ripped off a perfect pit-stop, and Denny drove back to the lead. He was on a mission, and it was going to have to be pried from his hands for him to lose the title and race. And, sadly, it was. William Byron blew a tire with only a handful of laps left. That changed everything. Larson took two tires (as did others) while a few drivers stayed out to get to the front. Hamlin and crew took four tires, and they were now mired back in 10th. The OT restart was not enough for Hamlin to overcome a deficit this late in the race. He was bogged down; Larson, not so much. Larson got away from Hamlin and captured his second career title, while Hamlin (and much of NASCAR Nation) felt like the winds were let out of our sails. Now, Kyle Larson won it fair and square. He's a deserving champion, but I think I can speak for a plethora of NASCAR fans when I say we all felt bad for Denny Hamlin.

I could sit here and pout about the format and how it's unfair, and I likely would have had I written this earlier this week. But I won't. I haven't loved this format since its inception. Sure, it was nice to try something new and have some excitement guaranteed in the final race. However, it's mostly felt to be manufactured, with an air of skepticism among most of the champions. All have been deserving, but were they all truly the best from beginning to end? No. Either way, we are moving away from the format. Denny, at least publicly thus far, has handled it with grace, and we all should, too. For now, I'll be thankful we had another solid season from start to finish, NASCAR is (hopefully) making some changes for the better in 2026, and my three favorite drivers all visited victory lane in 2025.

Next up, we head into the off-season, and while we will miss our NASCAR, we will cherish time with family and friends. We look ahead to a few things this winter: 1) the outcome of the 23XI/FRM v. NASCAR lawsuit; 2) Chevy's new body (and car?) for NASCAR; 3) the next episode of Actions Detrimental; and 4) the new playoff/points format for 2026. Our next NASCAR race is the CookOut Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on Sunday, February 1. That will be followed by the first points races of the year at Daytona International Speedway on the weekend of February 15, 2026. As of this writing, we are 98 days away from the 2026 Daytona 500.