The NASCAR Cup Series field breathed a huge sigh of relief when Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano both failed to make it to the Championship 4 at Martinsville last Sunday. The two Team Penske forces have won every single Cup Series championship since the introduction of the Next Gen era so far, and would have been the favorites to do so again had they made it in.
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But now, Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) and Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) finally have the chance to get their first Next Gen championship. With William Byron and Kyle Larson carrying the banner for HMS, and Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe carrying JGR’s weight on their shoulders, both heavyweights are preparing hard for the ultimate battle of the 2025 Cup Series season.
A brief comparison of their stats in the last three years is due at this crucial point. 143 races have been conducted in the Next Gen era so far. HMS has fielded 572 entries through nine drivers, and JGR has fielded 572 entries through seven drivers, during this stretch. Rick Hendrick’s team boasts an average finish rate of 14.16, which is marginally higher than JGR’s 14.72.
HMS has won 40 of the 143 races, while JGR has been victorious in 33 of them. HMS leads the fight in top-5s and top-10s as well. Coming to laps led, HMS drivers have led 10,343 laps (28.62%). JGR drivers, on the other hand, have led 10,347 laps (28.63%). HMS has 75 stage wins compared to JGR’s 77. All these numbers point to the fact that the title can go either way at Phoenix.
Either Joe Gibbs Racing or Hendrick Motorsports will win their first Next Gen Cup Series Championship this Sunday.
Here's how the two teams' stats compare in the Next Gen era: pic.twitter.com/jX2A9Qv0ee
— Daniel Céspedes (@_DanielCespedes) October 28, 2025
The stars of the hour
Hamlin is the man of the hour. The veteran has been awaiting his Cup Series championship for years and now has the opportunity to seize it. As much hate as he has received from the fandom, there isn’t a soul in the world that wouldn’t want to see him lift that coveted trophy after all these years.
Briscoe is the surprise entry into this year’s Championship 4. There were big questions asked about his worthiness to fill the seat that the iconic Martin Truex Jr. left behind in the team. 35 races later, all those questions have been answered in style. Briscoe winning the championship would be an upset spoken about for decades to come.
Byron secured his entry to the finale with a resounding win at Martinsville. Everybody knows that a championship is coming his way, be it this year or at a future date. But just like the rest, he would be willing to give it all to achieve the feat now rather than later.
That brings the puck to Larson. The No. 5 driver is considered to be one of the greatest drivers of the current generation. He is the only previous champion in the Championship 4 crowd, having won the title in 2021. This experience puts him ahead of the others with a significant advantage.
There is very little to separate the organizations based on numbers right now. But after the weekend, only one team will be a championship-winning organization in the Next Gen era. Everything rests on these four drivers.
