The NASCAR Cup Series finale weekend at Phoenix Raceway was framed as Denny Hamlin’s most deeply personal shot at the championship. It was driven by a profound need to deliver a win less for himself and more for his family. Having openly shared that his ailing 75-year-old father, Dennis Hamlin, was battling a serious illness and unable to travel, the veteran driver declared the race was likely his father’s last chance to see him claim the trophy. “I know for a fact this is my last chance for my dad to see it. I don’t want him going and never getting to see the moment,” Hamlin said before the race.

Leading a race-high 208 laps from the pole position, Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota team dominated the race, clearly looking like the race winners. But a late-race caution for William Byron’s cut tire forced an overtime restart, effectively snatching the title from his grasp in the race’s final moments. The sudden, brutal nature of the loss left Hamlin utterly devastated, sitting motionless in his car for over a minute as Kyle Larson celebrated his championship. But Larson, who won the title without leading a single lap in the race, noticed everything, saying, “It feels awkward to celebrate.”

Kyle Larson’s conflicted Championship joy

In the surreal aftermath, as Hamlin consoled his weeping daughters on pit road, the newly crowned champion was surprisingly reflective, admitting he was thinking about the defeated driver he had just beaten. “I definitely have a lot of empathy for him, and I said it, I think, in the interview I did on the stage that it’s great to celebrate and all that, but it does feel a little awkward because he has put so much time and energy and has been so close to winning so many championships, and this is as close as he’s ever been,” Larson said.

Larson’s empathy stemmed from his genuine respect for Hamlin, not just as a competitor but as a friend. Hamlin, a veteran of 20 full-time seasons and now a five-time loser in the modern Playoff format, was widely expected to finally break his championship drought, especially after dominating the race from pole position. Larson confessed that his thoughts were focused on congratulating his rival before William Byron‘s late-race flat tire scrambled the running order.

The champion revealed, “He’s a competitor, but he is a friend, and I was going to be happy for him to win. That’s kind of what I was thinking about, like, ‘man, I can’t wait to go tell him good job,’ and then the caution came out, and it all kind of, the script flipped right there.” This inversion of fortune, where Hamlin‘s choice to take 4 tires dropped him from the lead to 11th for the final restart, was the difference between a championship party and an embrace of devastation on pit road.

Larson brought up Hamlin’s heartbreak unprompted during his post-race television interview, an unusual admission for a driver who had just clinched the Bill France Cup following a 24-race winless streak. He explained that the thought of Hamlin’s pain simply overtook the elation of his own victory, saying, “It was all so wild and crazy, and I had all this elation, obviously, because we had just accomplished something that was not on our radar for a lot of it.”

“So I was so happy and thrilled, and celebrated my team on the back stretch, and then went to the front stretch to do my celebrating there and interviews and whatnot,” he continued. “And I got done, and I could see his car and team and him doing interviews, and it just kind of hit me like, oh man, I can’t imagine what he’s feeling right now.” Larson struggled to articulate the unique degree of pain Hamlin and JGR felt, acknowledging that while every driver knows defeat, this one was different.

Before the race, too, Larson had stated how he would have been very happy if Hamlin had won the title, as he completely deserved it, as per him.

The finality of the loss, after being 3 laps away from the win, struck a chord with Larson, saying, “We’ve all gone through our own defeats, but I just really can’t imagine what he’s feeling. It’s got to be something completely different than I’ve ever felt before through any of my defeats.” But ultimately, Larson’s reflections point to the inherent complexity and occasional cruelty of the NASCAR Playoff format.

His second title was won without leading a single lap in the race, stealing the victory from the driver who was statistically the best on the day. Larson concluded his thoughts by conceding that the format creates a strange emotional conflict for everyone, even for Hamlin’s detractors. “In 20 years of trying and getting so close, there’s definitely a large piece of me that feels really bad and sad. But at the same point, I’m happy.

“So it’s just such a weird feeling when you don’t win the race, you don’t win the lap, you win the championship, you steal it from a guy who’s tried for so long and had it in his fingertips. It’s a really weird feeling,” he said. On the other hand, his own win was a team effort, including the unsung heroes of HMS.

How HMS’ bold crew change fueled Kyle Larson’s 2025 title triumph

Kyle Larson entered the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season facing a major shake-up, a new pit crew lineup, and a lot of uncertainty. But what began as an experiment soon turned into Hendrick Motorsports’ biggest advantage. The organization didn’t make the change out of panic; it was a deliberate bid to get faster and sharper where it mattered most: on pit road. Crew chief Cliff Daniels called it a “calculated move,” and it proved just that, propelling Larson to his second Cup Series title.

Earlier this season, Hendrick’s analytics team identified the Spire Motorsports Chevrolet crew as a group that thrived under pressure and nailed perfect stops where the stakes were highest. Integrating that group into Larson’s No. 5 team added a layer of confidence and composure that would define their season. Their consistency under fire turned crucial seconds into victories, sealing Larson’s championship fate at Phoenix Raceway.

Behind the wheel, Larson may be the star, but behind the wall, every second belongs to his crew: Jafar Hall (front tire changer), Mike Moss (rear tire changer), Allen Stallings (tire carrier), Eric Ludwig (jackman), and Brandon Harder (fueler). Alongside spotter Tyler Monn and Cliff Daniels’ leadership, they function like clockwork, executing rapid-fire pit stops that rarely falter. Hours of drills and meticulous preparation ensured that when the green flag dropped, this crew delivered.