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Kyle Larson Wins NASCAR Cup Series Title In Crushing Defeat For Denny Hamlin

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
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Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson battled back from a lap down, overcoming a right-front tire failure to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway despite not leading a lap.

Ryan Blaney captured the race win, followed by Brad Keselowski, Larson, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch. Denny Hamlin finished sixth, suffering a crushing defeat after leading 208 of 319 laps from the pole.

Chase Briscoe, Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and another Championship 4 driver, finished 18th after dealing with two tire failures.

How It All Went South For Denny Hamlin At Phoenix

Denny Hamlin held a comfortable lead and appeared to be sailing toward the win and a long-awaited first championship when fellow Championship 4 contender and second-place driver William Byron wrecked hard with three laps to go after suffering a tire failure. The accident brought out a caution, erasing Hamlin’s huge advantage.

Under the yellow flag, the field headed for pit road. Hamlin and his Chris Gayle-led team took on four tires, leaving him 10th for the ensuing green-white-checkered finish. Larson and his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team led by Cliff Daniels opted for just two tires, putting them five positions ahead of Hamlin on the restart.

Hamlin made up four positions in the final two laps but finished three spots behind good friend Larson.

“Nothing I can do different,” said Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner who has missed out on several championships by narrow margins over his lengthy and illustrious career. “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.”

Ecstatic Kyle Larson In Shock After Taking Unlikely Championship

Denny Hamlin led the opening 52 laps in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. William Byron, who punched a ticket into the Championship 4 by winning last weekend at Martinsville, then took the top spot for 12 laps. He went on to spend 52 laps out front.

But, ultimately, it was Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson who prevailed. Larson, who hadn’t been to Victory Lane since May, seemingly came out of nowhere at Phoenix to secure his second championship in five seasons with the Rick Hendrick-owned organization.

“I mean, really, I’m just speechless,” said Larson, who gave Hendrick Motorsports its 15th Cup Series title overall. “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.

“We got lucky with the final caution. I was really hoping we were going to take two (tires) again. Just unbelievable. I cannot believe it. This is insane.”

Byron congratulated teammate Larson but felt personally disappointed for himself and Hamlin, who lost the race and the championship due to the late issue with the No. 24 car.

“I’m just super-bummed that it was a caution, obviously,” Byron said. “I hate that. Hate it for Denny. I hate it for the 11 team.

“I’m happy for Kyle, for Mr. Hendrick. They deserve it. Yeah, it stinks, right?”

Larson likewise expressed empathy for Hamlin, who was right on the cusp of claiming an elusive first Cup Series championship.

“It’s great to celebrate and all that,” Larson said. “But it does feel a little awkward, because he has put so much time and energy, has been so close to winning so many championships. This is as close as he’s ever been.

“Sure, he’s a competitor. But he is a friend. I was going to be happy for him to win. There’s definitely a piece of me that is sad for him.”

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
Jared Turner is a motorsports writer who has covered NASCAR for 20 years. He has interviewed over 20 NASCAR Hall of Famers and around 100 drivers, crew chiefs, and team owners, both past and present. He has also covered the sport for FOX Sports (where he was a two-time recipient of the FOX “X” Award for “Xtraordinary” job performance), NASCAR.com, Sporting News, NASCAR Pole Position Magazine, the SPEED network, and plenty of other online and print-only publications throughout his career. Notably, Jared has penned dozens of articles for NASCAR souvenir programs, including several featured prominently in Daytona 500 keepsakes. A Virginia Press Association award winner and former member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Jared has racked up accolades both for his writing and his academic work. He studied both Communication and Psychology at Virginia Tech, where he was permanently enshrined in Phi Beta Kappa — the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Jared excels at feature writing and opinion writing, much of which stems from his dedication to all levels of racing.
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