When the dust finally settled over Phoenix Raceway, the unthinkable had happened. Kyle Larson, who’d spent most of the afternoon chasing the leaders, had somehow found himself in the thick of a three-wide sprint to the finish. Under the lights and with tension at its peak, what seemed like Denny Hamlin’s long-awaited crowning moment suddenly twisted into one of the wildest endings in NASCAR history.

Larson didn’t take the win. But he came within inches of pulling off a last-lap miracle that stunned everyone, including his own pit box. And as the chaos faded into disbelief, Larson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels, revealed just how surreal those final moments felt. Especially since, as he admitted, he never even saw them unfold.

Kyle Larson’s Phoenix miracle

Despite the intense battle ahead, Larson crawled his way up and managed an incredible third-place finish. “When we took the green, my eyes were closed, really. I didn’t watch a single thing,” Daniels said, admitting he had his head down, listening to spotter Tyler Monn’s calls. Given the way the night had turned out for Larson till then, Daniels was surprised by the finish. “I had no idea who won or where we even finished. Then Tyler told me, ‘We almost won it, we finished third.’ That was quite a moment. I had no idea. It was surreal.”

To say that it was a nerve-wracking experience would be a bit of an understatement. On the final restart, Larson, who was seventh when the caution flew, started fifth on the outside of Row 3. Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski got engaged in a drag race to the start-finish line, with Blaney edging Keselowski by a razor-thin 0.097 seconds for the race win.

Thanks to that third-place finish, Larson claimed his second NASCAR Cup Series championship as he finished higher than fellow title contenders like Denny Hamlin, who ended sixth, despite dominating the race all night. The bold two-tire strategy during the late caution, advised by Larson’s engineering team, proved critical in regaining track position and securing the title.

“We took two tires and I’m like, ‘Oh God, here we go. We’re going to go the back now’, and they had a lot more grip than I anticipated. So we get lucky with that final caution, and I was really hoping we were going to take two again because I felt like I learned a lot on that restart. I felt like I could do the same thing if we got another one,” Larson shared his thoughts post-race.

Daniels’ reflection offers a rare glimpse into the pressure cooker atmosphere behind the scenes, where split-second decisions and unwavering focus often decide championships. The Phoenix finale was proof that even in chaos, trust and teamwork can make the difference between heartbreak and triumph.

The incident that turned the tide

With just three laps remaining at Phoenix Raceway in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship race, Denny Hamlin held a comfortable two-second lead over William Byron and appeared destined for his long-awaited first title. Hamlin’s dominance was clear after leading 208 of the 319 laps.

However, tragedy struck when Byron’s right-front tire suddenly went flat, sending him crashing into the wall and triggering a caution that changed everything. This late caution erased Hamlin’s sizable advantage and forced a critical pit stop decision. Hamlin’s team opted for four fresh tires. Now this move offered maximum grip but cost valuable track position.

Others, including Kyle Larson, took just two tires or stayed out altogether, and Hamlin found himself restarting from tenth place with only a few laps remaining. The choice proved decisive. On the restart, Larson surged through the pack, using his track position to finish behind Blaney and Keselowski to secure his second championship. Hamlin, despite his dominance, was unable to regain his lead and could only watch his title hopes slip away once again.

Byron, clearly remorseful, apologized to Hamlin in the aftermath, expressing regret for inadvertently impacting Hamlin’s championship chances. “It just doesn’t seem right,” Byron said. “It sucks, right? I don’t want to be that guy, even if I’m in the Championship 4. Doesn’t really matter. Don’t want to change the outcome. So it sucks.”

Even Kyle Larson couldn’t help but empathize with Hamlin. “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,” he said.

The pit strategy and restart shuffle allowed Kyle Larson, who had taken two tires during the stop, to leapfrog Hamlin and secure the championship. The incident showcased the harsh unpredictability of NASCAR’s championship format, which many are criticizing after last night’s result. Hamlin’s heartbreak was a painful reminder of how fragile championship dreams can be in one of motorsport’s highest-pressure stages.