In 2021, Kyle Larson was crowned the champion after winning 10 races. His dominance and speed showed race after race throughout the year, and there was no room to question his legitimacy for the throne. On Sunday, he won the 2025 Cup Series championship and became the latest multi-time champion for Hendrick Motorsports. But this time, it wasn’t in the same fashion as in 2021.
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Larson reached victory lane just three times this season. He failed, learned, and overcame a lot over the 36 races. What he had in abundance during this tribulation-filled journey was resilience and willpower. This is why he believes that the 2025 championship means just as much as the 2021 championship to him. He underlined this clearly on NASCAR: Inside The Race.
“It’s every bit as rewarding, I would say, in a much different way,” Larson said. “I imagined it probably would be if we somehow won the championship, but I didn’t expect to win the championship like that without contending, without leading the lap, anything like that. I think that showcases our season in one race. We had our ups and downs throughout it.”
“We just kept fighting. We were never dead. Just kept staying motivated, kept throwing things at it, kept just making the right calls at the right time, executing when it mattered. And that’s all we did today. We literally just executed when it mattered. I can’t say enough about it.”
Denny Hamlin and William Byron had combined to lead 260 of 319 laps on Sunday. All the while, Larson remained in the top-5 waiting for his moment. There was no dearth of hurdles in his attempt to win the title. In one instance, a wheel fastener came loose during a pit stop and dropped him to 18th place.
Later, his front tire went flat and slowed him down into a cloud of smoke. The insanely high tire wear made crew chief Cliff Daniels opt for a pair of two-tire changes late in the race.
This decision ended up being fruitful. It gave Larson the track position he needed, and he bested Hamlin in the final restart to claim the championship. In many ways, Sunday’s race was reflective of the No. 5 team’s entire season. He only led half as many laps as he did in 2021. Nevertheless, the achievement did not taste any less sweet.
