Kyle Larson is a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion. On Sunday afternoon, Larson won the 2025 Cup Series championship after a late-race caution by William Byron put him upfront at Phoenix Raceway. The driver of the No. 5 car had two fresh tires while a hard-charging Denny Hamlin took four tires for NASCAR overtime.
While Hamlin had the tire advantage, Larson was able to hold on and win his second Cup Series title. Following the event, Larson climbed from his No. 5 car in disbelief over what he accomplished at Phoenix.
"Honestly, I can’t believe it," Larson said. "Like, we didn’t lead a lap today. Somehow won the championship. I mean, really, I’m just speechless. I can’t believe it. We had an average car at best. We had the right front go down, lost a lap. Got saved by the caution. Did the wave-around. Was really bad that run. We took two tires. I was like, Oh, God, here we go. We’re going to go to the back now. It 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."
"Just unbelievable. What a year by this Hendrick Motorsports team. Cliff Daniels, everybody, his leadership, his complete leadership just showed that whole race. Keeping us all motivated. Always having a plan. All of that. That’s just the story of our season. Again, just unbelievable. I cannot believe it. This is insane."
Larson earned the most points over the full season and 10-race playoff despite not winning a Cup Series race since Kansas Speedway in May. Now, Larson is a two-time Cup Series champion and becomes the third driver in Hendrick Motorsports history to have multiple championships.
This article originally appeared on Motorsports Wire: Kyle Larson discusses winning his second NASCAR Cup Series championship
Reporting by Austin Konenski, Motorsports Wire / Motorsports Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

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