KYLE LARSON QUALIFYING AT PHOENIX – TEAM CHEVY PHOTO
NASCAR Wire Reports – Kyle Larson finished third in Sunday’s race at Phoenix Raceway to earn his second career NASCAR Cup Series Championship, holding off Denny Hamlin in overtime at the 1-mile Arizona oval.
Larson banks Hendrick Motorsports’ 15th series title and the organization’s first since Larson’s 2021 triumph in the desert.
Ryan Blaney won Sunday’s thriller, holding off Brad Keselowski in the two-lap shootout for his fourth victory of the campaign.
Hamlin was leading the 312-lapper until a caution with three laps to go. The Joe Gibbs Racing ace took four tires while Larson took just two, and that gap was enough for Larson to hold on by three positions as Hamlin finished sixth.
Denny Hamlin seemed destined for his first NASCAR Cup Series Championship on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway until a caution with three laps to go derailed the No. 11 team’s title hopes.
Hamlin led seven times for 208 laps and fired past his three Championship 4 counterparts on a restart with 27 laps to go and set sail. He opened a lead of over 3 seconds on William Byron before the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports driver had a tire issue and smacked the wall, bringing out a yellow.
“Nothing I can do different,” Hamlin told NBC after the race. “Prepared as good as I could coming into the weekend. My team gave me a fantastic car. Just didn’t work out. I was just praying that no caution. Had one there. What can you do? Just not meant to be.
Of the other two Championship 4 drivers, Chase Briscoe finished 18th while William Byron came home 33rd. Byron, running second, had a tire go down with three laps remaining, setting up the final restart of the evening.
Earlier in the race, Briscoe suffered a right-rear tire failure at Lap 106 as the caution was already coming out for Shane van Gisbergen, who also had a tire issue. The timely yellow allowed Briscoe to slow down from fifth place, gather up his car and avoid major damage. Briscoe pitted twice for fresh Goodyear tires and experienced a vibration, falling outside the top 25.
The Cup Series now heads into off-season mode before returning Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, for the Cook-Out Clash exhibition race at Bowman Gray Stadium. The 68th running of the Daytona 500 follows on Feb. 15 to officially open the season.