Look, the desert does weird things to people. And today, the one-mile oval at Phoenix Raceway basically tore up the script and threw it out the window. If you've been following the championship race, you probably expected Denny Hamlin to finally—finally—get that monkey off his back. For most of the afternoon, it looked like a lock. But racing is cruel.
Ryan Blaney won the race today at Phoenix, crossing the line just 0.097 seconds ahead of Brad Keselowski in a green-white-checkered overtime dash.
Wait. There's a "but."
While Blaney took the checkered flag and the trophy for the season finale, he wasn't the biggest winner on the track. Because of how the NASCAR points system works, the "real" prize went to the guy who finished third. Kyle Larson is your 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Champion.
The Moment Everything Flipped
Honestly, it’s hard to overstate how much Denny Hamlin dominated this thing. He led 208 of the 312 scheduled laps. He was cruising. He had a three-second lead over William Byron with only a handful of laps to go. It was the kind of performance that makes you think destiny is real.
Then William Byron hit the wall.
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Hard.
The caution came out at Lap 310, and suddenly, the "destiny" narrative evaporated. This is where crew chief Cliff Daniels earned his paycheck. While the leaders were debating four tires versus two, Daniels made the aggressive call to take only two right-side tires for the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Larson hadn't led a single lap all day. Not one.
But that pit stop? It was lightning. Larson beat the field off pit road. He lined up for the overtime restart in the front, and even though Blaney and Keselowski eventually muscled past him for the race win, Larson only needed to finish ahead of the other three Championship 4 drivers (Hamlin, Byron, and Chase Briscoe) to take the title.
Hamlin, who took four tires, got buried in traffic. He restarted 10th. In a two-lap sprint, that’s a death sentence. He fought back to 6th, but by then, Larson was already celebrating.
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Who Won the Race Today at Phoenix? A Final Breakdown
If you're looking at the box score, the top of the leaderboard looks like a Ford sandwich with a Chevy filling.
- Ryan Blaney (Race Winner)
- Brad Keselowski 3. Kyle Larson (2025 Cup Series Champion)
- Joey Logano
- Kyle Busch
- Denny Hamlin
It’s kinda wild that Blaney won the race but missed out on the championship. He was the defending champ coming into this year, and he drove like a man possessed at the end. He actually passed Keselowski on the very last lap to steal the win. But since Blaney was eliminated in the Round of 8 at Martinsville last week, his win today was purely for pride and the record books.
Larson, on the other hand, joins an elite club. This is his second Cup title (his first was in 2021). It brings Hendrick Motorsports their 15th championship. That’s a staggering number. To put it in perspective, Rick Hendrick has won a title in nearly half of the last 31 seasons.
Why the Desert Was So Mean Today
Tires were the story of the day. It wasn't just Byron hitting the wall at the end. Larson himself had a right-front go down earlier in the race and fell a lap down. He had to use a wave-around to get back on the lead lap.
Briscoe and Gragson also had tire issues. Basically, the track was eating rubber. The heat in Avondale was hovering around 85 degrees, which made the asphalt slick and unpredictable.
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Hamlin’s heartbreak is the part people will talk about at the bars tonight. He’s now 0-for-20 in full-time seasons when it comes to championships. He had the fastest car. He executed perfect restarts all day. But a flat tire from a teammate (Byron) essentially ended his dream.
What’s Next for NASCAR Fans?
The 2025 season is officially in the books. If you’re already feeling the withdrawal, you won't have to wait as long as you might think.
The sport is heading into its brief hibernation before coming back for the 2026 Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 1st. That's a huge change—moving the exhibition race to the legendary "Madhouse."
After that, the "real" 2026 season kicks off with the Daytona 500 on February 15th.
Next Steps for You:
- Check the final 2025 points standings to see where your favorite driver ended up in the top 10.
- Look at the 2026 schedule, as NASCAR is moving the Championship race away from Phoenix next year and heading back to Homestead-Miami Speedway.
- Keep an eye on the "silly season" news—drivers like Chase Briscoe are moving to new teams (Joe Gibbs Racing) starting tomorrow morning.