KYLE LARSON, THE NASCAR CUP SERIES 2025 CHAMPION
· In an overtime finish, Kyle Larson’s third-place result
propelled the 33-year-old Elk Grove, California, native to his second
career NASCAR Cup Series Championship – becoming just the third active
driver to become a multi-time champion in the division. The title marks
Chevrolet’s record-extending 34th Driver Championship in NASCAR’s
premier series.
Post-Race Driver Quotes:
KYLE LARSON – TEAM CHEVY PHOTOKyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Finished: 3rd
“I’m just speechless… I can’t believe it. We had an average car, at
best. We had the right-front go down and lost a lap. We got saved by the
caution and did the wave-around. We really struggled that run. We took
two tires and I was like – oh, here we go… we’re going to go to the
back now. But I had a lot more grip than I anticipated. We got lucky
with the final caution. I was really hoping we were going to take two
again. I felt like I learned a lot on that restart, bombing one and two
really hard. Thought I could do the same thing if we got another one.
It’s just unbelievable. What a year by Hendrick Motorsports. Cliff
Daniels’ (crew chief) leadership just showed that whole race. He kept
us all motivated and always had a plan. That’s just the story of our
season. Again, just unbelievable. I cannot believe it. This is
insane.”
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Finished: 8th
“It was a long day in the No. 71 Tide Chevrolet, but a great finish.
Really proud of the rally we made there at the end. We had improvements
all day long. Really excited for the Spire Motorsports cars. Carson
(Hocevar) ran in the top-10 all day long before that tire went down. We
were able to capitalize and get a top-10 there at the end. Proud of the
speed and proud of the effort. We’re making gains and it’s a great
way to head into the off-season.
I’m so happy for everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, the Hendrick
Engine Shop and Chevrolet with the No. 5 team (Kyle Larson) getting the
championship.”
Post-Race Driver Quotes:
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 13th
“We had a pretty strong Busch Light Chevy today at Phoenix. Phil made
a couple of adjustments early in the race to get the handling better and
we were able to maintain a top-10 spot for most of the race, especially
with good pit stops. We were a little further back on the last restart
than we had been all day because of all the varying pit strategies but
it was a solid day. We had speed and we wrapped up a good season for the
No. 1 Busch Light Chevy team. The win at Charlotte, the playoffs and
Chevrolet wrapping up the championship today. I’m going to take a
little break and then get right back to work on next season.”
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Finished: 33rd
“It just stings. It was three laps to go and I was just thinking –
okay, let me get to the end. I felt something funny off of (turn) two
and thought it might be a flat. I thought at the time, if it’s the
left-rear, you could maybe get back. But it just went straight into turn
three. It laid down on the right-rear and went straight. I just felt
like a passenger at that point. But all-in-all, I’m proud of this No.
24 Axalta Chevrolet team. We had a good day going. We had a shot to win
it. We just didn’t quite have enough.
We brought our best towards the end of the playoffs, for sure. The win
last weekend (at Martinsville Speedway) was great. Today was really
good, too. Thank you to Axalta, Chevrolet, all of our partners. It’s
been an awesome year. I wish we could have finished it off better, but
we’ll get going for next year and take some much-needed time off.”