Larson stuns, clinches 2025 Cup title in razor-thin Phoenix thriller
The 2025 NASCAR season delivered drama, dominance and breakout performances across all three national series, but it ended with a knife‑edge finish: Kyle Larson captured his second Cup championship after a season of clutch runs, three wins and a third‑place finish in the Phoenix finale that edged him past Denny Hamlin. Hamlin himself turned back the clock with six Cup victories and a title fight that went to the final laps, underscoring the veteran’s consistency and racecraft in what became one of the tightest championship battles of the year.
Beyond the Cup title tilt, the season featured runaway excellence in the Truck and Xfinity ranks. Corey Heim put together an overpowering Truck Series campaign, winning a record 12 races, leading the series in laps and frequently dominating stages en route to the championship. Rookie Connor Zilisch announced himself as a generational talent in Xfinity, piling up 10 wins and leading long stretches of races; despite that dominance he finished runner‑up in the championship after a strong but ultimately second‑place showing at Phoenix. Jesse Love’s title in Xfinity, meanwhile, was the polar opposite — a textbook season of consistency and smart points racing that rewarded fewer flashier moments with the championship crown.
Several established stars and newcomers also defined 2025. Shane Van Gisbergen made an immediate impact in his first full Cup season with five road‑course wins and frequent threats on multiple track types. Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell kept the pressure on with multiple wins and deep playoff runs — Blaney taking four victories including the Phoenix finale, and Bell reaching the Final 4 while collecting several big results and an All‑Star triumph. Chase Briscoe’s leap to the Final 4 as a Joe Gibbs Racing rookie marked his best full Cup season yet, and William Byron’s second consecutive Daytona 500 win propelled him into a championship‑contending year that culminated in the Championship 4 at Phoenix.
The season also highlighted depth across the fields. Tyler Reddick dominated portions of the year with a strong regular‑season points run, while veterans like Chase Elliott delivered steady front‑running performances. In Xfinity, Carson Kvapil and Christian Eckes showed growth and consistency — Kvapil finishing fourth in points and Eckes regularly in contention — and Nick Sanchez earned his first Xfinity win at Echopark Speedway. In trucks, Ty Majeski’s four wins kept him locked in the title fight with Heim, ultimately finishing runner‑up but solidifying his place as a perennial contender. Across NASCAR’s national series, 2025 blended dominant runs, rookie breakouts and edge‑of‑your‑seat finales that reshaped the sport’s pecking order heading into 2026.
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