11/02/25 06:14:00
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11/02 18:12 CST Kyle Larson wins second NASCAR championship, denying Denny
Hamlin in overtime
Kyle Larson wins second NASCAR championship, denying Denny Hamlin in overtime
By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) --- Kyle Larson denied Denny Hamlin his first career
championship when a late caution at Phoenix Raceway sent title-deciding finale
into overtime.
Hamlin was three laps from shedding the label as the greatest NASCAR driver to
never win a championship when fellow title contender William Byron got a flat
tire and hit the wall to bring out the caution.
Hamlin led the field down pit road and got four new tires on his Toyota; Larson
only took two tires on his Chevrolet. It meant Larson was fifth for the two-lap
sprint to the finish, with Hamlin back in 10th.
With so little time to run down Larson, Hamlin came up short with a sixth-place
finish as Larson was third. Ryan Blaney, who was eliminated from title
contention last week, won the race.
It is the second championship for Larson, who won his first title in 2021 when
he joined Hendrick Motorsports.
As Larson celebrated, Hamlin sat in his car motionless for several seconds,
then wiped his face with a white towel, never showing any emotion.
"Honestly, I can't believe it. We didn't lead a lap today and somehow won the
championship," Larson said. "Really, I'm just speechless. I can't believe it."
Hamlin finally got out of his car and collapsed into the arms of his Joe Gibbs
Racing crew. It is the sixth shot at a title to slip away from him. He led 208
of the 319 laps and started from the pole.
"Nothing I could do different. I mean, prepared as good as I could coming into
the weekend and my team gave me a fantastic car," Hamlin said. "Just didn't
work out. I was just praying ?no caution' and we had one there. What can you
do? It's just not meant to be."
He said crew chief Chris Gayle made the correct call with four tires, but too
many others only took two, which created too big of a gap for Hamlin to close
on Larson in so little time.
"Just numb. Feel like there's still some racing left. I can't believe it's over
but there's nothing I can do but just suck it up," Hamlin said. "I just needed
40 more seconds of green flag."
Larson was OK during the race, but hasn't won since early May, a slump that has
now extended to 24 consecutive races.
Hamlin teammate Chase Briscoe finished 18th in his debut in the championship
finale, while Larson teammate Byron was 33rd after his late issue. He felt
awful for ruining Hamlin's chance even though his Hendrick Motorsports teammate
won the championship.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
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