Man, what a year. If you had "Kyle Larson wins his second title without leading a single lap in the finale" on your 2025 bingo card, you’re either a liar or a genius. Honestly, the way the nascar playoff standings 2025 shook out by the time the dust settled in Phoenix was enough to make even the most seasoned crew chief lose their mind. It was chaotic. It was loud. And for one specific driver, it was arguably the most brutal "almost" in a career defined by them.
Let’s be real: the points don’t always tell the whole story, but they definitely show the scars.
The Final Four and the 5,000-Point Club
By the time the series hit Phoenix Raceway on November 2nd, the board was wiped clean for the top four guys. That’s just how the system works. You spend months clawing for every stage point, and then it basically comes down to a drag race in the desert.
Kyle Larson ended up sitting at the top of the nascar playoff standings 2025 with 5,034 points. He wasn't the fastest car on the track that day—that honor went to Ryan Blaney, who actually won the race—but Larson did exactly what he had to do. He stayed ahead of the other three title contenders.
Denny Hamlin was right there. Seriously. He finished the season with 5,031 points, a mere three markers behind Larson. Seeing Hamlin "numb" in his post-race interviews has become a sort of tragic tradition in the sport, but 2025 felt different. He had the lead with just a handful of laps to go before the final cycle of restarts and pit strategy turned the world upside down.
Chase Briscoe, in his first year taking over the No. 19 for the retiring Martin Truex Jr., proved all the doubters wrong by finishing third in the final standings with 5,019 points. Rounding out the Championship 4 was William Byron at 5,004. Byron was the Regular Season Champion, but as we’ve seen a million times, that trophy doesn't guarantee the big one in November.
How the Top 10 Shook Out
Once you get past the title contenders, the points drop significantly because the reset only applies to the finalists. Here is how the rest of the elite pack finished their 2025 campaigns:
Christopher Bell took 5th place with 2,403 points. He was the "best of the rest," and honestly, if a couple of things had gone differently at Martinsville, he’s probably the one lifting the Cup. Ryan Blaney finished 6th (2,373 points), followed by Joey Logano in 7th (2,330 points).
Chase Elliott grabbed 8th with 2,310 points, while Tyler Reddick and Ross Chastain rounded out the top ten. It’s worth noting that Reddick was a favorite early on, but his Round of 8 was a total nightmare, mostly thanks to a mess at Talladega that he just couldn’t recover from.
The Martinsville Miracle (and Mayhem)
You can't talk about the nascar playoff standings 2025 without talking about that penultimate race at Martinsville. That was the "win and you're in" moment that defined the season.
William Byron was 36 points below the cutline heading into that race. He was basically a dead man walking. But then he went out and put on a clinic, leading 304 laps. It was a walk-off win in the truest sense. By winning, he bumped Christopher Bell out of the Championship 4. Bell had entered the day 37 points above the line. Think about that. You can have a "safe" cushion, but one dominant performance from a desperate rival can evaporate it in three hours.
Larson actually pointed out after that race that when Blaney took control late, he thought his own title hopes were cooked. But Byron’s speed changed the geometry of the points, allowing Larson to slide into the final transfer spot by only seven points over Bell.
The SVG Factor and the Rookie Race
One of the coolest stories that shifted the nascar playoff standings 2025 was Shane van Gisbergen. The "Kiwi" didn't just show up; he dominated every road course he touched. He ended up 12th in the final standings, which is an incredible feat for a rookie in this era.
He officially locked up the Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors, beating out guys like Carson Hocevar and Josh Berry. Seeing a guy move from Australian Supercars to 12th in the NASCAR Cup standings in such a short window is something we might not see again for a long time.
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Beyond the Top Tier: The Mid-Pack Grind
Further down the list, you see some names that usually live higher up. Kyle Busch finished 19th. For a guy with two rings, 2025 was a year to forget. He struggled with the new aero package and just couldn't find the luck needed to bridge the gap during the summer stretch.
Bubba Wallace finished 11th, just missing the Round of 8. It was his most consistent season to date, but consistency only gets you so far when you’re fighting against the JGR and Hendrick powerhouses.
Actionable Insights for the 2026 Season
If you're looking at these standings and wondering what it means for the upcoming season, here are a few things to keep an eye on:
- Watch the JGR Engine Reliability: Both Briscoe and Hamlin had engine scares at Martinsville. If Toyota hasn't dialed that in over the winter, they might start 2026 on the back foot.
- The Hendrick Dominance is Real: Putting two cars in the final four (and nearly three) shows that Rick Hendrick's stable is still the gold standard. Larson and Byron are the safe bets for any fantasy roster.
- SVG on Ovals: Now that van Gisbergen has a full year of oval experience under his belt, don't just pigeonhole him as a road-course ringer. His growth on the 1.5-mile tracks was the "hidden" story of the 2025 playoffs.
- The Ford "New Nose" Impact: Ford struggled early in 2025 but came on strong late with Blaney and Logano. Expect them to be much more aggressive in the first ten races of 2026.
The 2025 season proved that the current playoff format is designed for drama over "fairness." Whether you love it or hate it, seeing Kyle Larson's name at the top of the list again feels right, even if the road to get there was paved with Denny Hamlin's broken dreams and a whole lot of sheet metal.
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For those planning their 2026 trips, remember that the schedule is shifting again. But no matter where they race, the math remains the same: survive the rounds, stay above the line, and hope you aren't the one "numb" at the end of the night.
Next Steps for Fans:
- Check the official NASCAR 2026 schedule for the newly added international dates.
- Review the 2026 rule changes regarding shark fins and rear diffusers, which are expected to impact short-track racing.
- Update your driver tiers for fantasy leagues, moving Chase Briscoe into the "A-Tier" based on his breakout playoff performance.