Is Kyle Larson getting a raw deal when it comes to the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship?
Denny Hamlin appeared to be well on his way to victory and that elusive Cup crown. Then a caution came out with less than three laps remaining. And then there was a four-tire pit call that ended up with Hamlin losing out to Larson, who took two tires.
The storyline of the championship Sunday was more about Hamlin’s loss than Larson’s title.
If anybody can handle this and not worry too much about it, it’s Larson. He was the one who, moments after winning the title, noted that he didn’t lead a lap at Phoenix Raceway despite winning. His crew chief, Cliff Daniels, readily admits that it was ugly at times.
Hendrick Motorsports earned the $2.84 million bonus for winning the title, and if anyone might be getting a little bit of the shaft, it is the organization as a whole for persevering through the roller-coaster season.
They also had improved enough at Phoenix, where they have struggled in recent championship races, to have a car good enough to hold on for two laps on only two fresh tires.
Kyle Larson, (L) and Denny Hamlin were all smiles at a fan event at Phoenix Raceway before the Championship race.
Larson is heading to Cabo soon, where he can celebrate. He’s now a two-time Cup champion with 32 Cup wins. Hamlin? He has 60 Cup wins and no title. And his good friend Larson feels a little bad for him.
But you don’t need to be Hamlin’s friend to feel some empathy, and that’s why his story resonates.
A polarizing figure in the sport who loves to talk trash, Hamlin’s emotions and thoughts are on full display every week — thanks to his podcast and the fact he won a series-best six races this year.
He has had plenty of shots at winning it all, but Sunday clearly was the one that he had in his grasp and it slipped away in gut-punch fashion. He owns the title that everyone wants but doesn’t want: Greatest Driver to Never have Won the Championship.
Ultimately, he’s a great driver, but the championship cards never fell into place.
In NASCAR, drivers are judged in this era by the number of wins they have as much as they’re judged by the number of championships. When it comes to wins in events at Daytona, Bristol, Darlington and Charlotte, Hamlin can claim plenty of those.
Truthfully, he has enjoyed a career worthy of a championship. He just hasn’t gotten one.
Will a disappointed Denny Hamlin win a title before he rides into retirement?
The other reason the focus is on Hamlin is that there’s speculation about how he comes back after this disappointment. Or will he come back?
Carl Edwards retired, at least in part, over frustration over a championship format where he felt he could do everything right, yet the title still eluded him.
Could Hamlin, at 44 years old, do the same? Who would blame him if he decided to just say “peace out?”
It’s doubtful. He has a contract and NASCAR’s new championship format will likely favor him more than the current one. But it’s definitely not out of the question. He has to consider all the work he will need to put in and whether it’s even worth the effort.
Maybe 70 wins can turn into the new carrot to chase. Then that could add to the “but he never won a championship” conversation that he carries with him week to week, year to year.
It is a fascinating plot twist, and both Larson and Hamlin will have to accept that. Larson’s storyline will be about how many championships he can add to his tally; Hamlin’s will be about whether he’ll ever vie for one again.
In the thrill of victory and agony of defeat, the narrative centering around agony is typically the one that fans gravitate to, probably because everyone knows the hurt of trying hard to achieve something only to come up short.
That Hamlin is the focal point coming out of Phoenix isn’t so much a testament to how he lost this title. Instead, it’s a testament to the 20 years he has spent and all that he has achieved, pursuing and never having won when it matters most.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
