Photos for Headline Surfer / Seven is the magic number for NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin. Should he win his seventh race of the season on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway or finish ahead of three other drivers, he will be crowned NASCAR Cup champion. Standing in Hamlin's way are Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Chase Briscoe, any of whom could take the Cup championship by winning on Sunday.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- NASCAR's Cup Series racing returns to the 1-mile asphalt oval at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday with Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Chase Briscoe vying for the championship.
This marks the 59th running of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway, and the sixth consecutive season that Phoenix has hosted the championship round.
Storyline: Denny Hamlin, a 44-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver, enters the NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday with six wins this season, including a Las Vegas victory that clinched his spot in the Championship 4 alongside Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Chase Briscoe.
His father, Dennis Hamlin, who funded Denny's early career through financial sacrifices like multiple mortgages, now faces terminal illness, making this race potentially his last chance to see his son win a title.
Hamlin's emotional reflections and rising fan support underscore the personal stakes of the 312-lap event.
This marks Hamlin's first championship appearance since 2021, and he is seeking his first-ever Cup Series title after a career defined by near-misses. The race is the final event of the season and will conclude the 2025 NASCAR season.
Hamlin, still seeking the Cup title that has eluded him for 20 seasons, was a part of the photo finish in the spring in a battle he came up short in against Bell.
This marks Hamlin's first championship appearance since 2021, and he is seeking his first-ever Cup Series title after a career defined by near-misses. The race is the final event of the season and will conclude the 2025 NASCAR season.
Hamlin, still seeking the Cup title that has eluded him for 20 seasons, was a part of the photo finish in the spring in a battle he came up short in against Bell.
Hamlin is a two-time winner at Phoenix, but the numbers in the Next Gen car have been hit or miss with top 10s in just three of seven races since 2022. As for Briscoe, his first career Cup win came at Phoenix in the spring of 2022. However, he’s finished 29th or worse in the last two races at the track, including getting caught up in an early wreck in the spring.
William Byron is predicted to finish highest among the Championship 4 — and for good reason. He won the spring race in 2023 and has finished sixth or better in all but two of the Phoenix events since 2022. Sunday also marks the third consecutive Championship 4 appearance for the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Chevrolet.
William Byron is predicted to finish highest among the Championship 4 — and for good reason. He won the spring race in 2023 and has finished sixth or better in all but two of the Phoenix events since 2022. Sunday also marks the third consecutive Championship 4 appearance for the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Chevrolet.
Larson’s lone win at Phoenix was his championship-crowning moment in 2021, the last race in the Gen 6 car. But his presence at the desert oval hasn’t faded in the Next Gen era. The No. 5 Chevrolet driver has tallied top 10s in five of the seven races in the Next Gen era.
This will be the final year Phoenix Raceway hosts the NASCAR Championship race before it moves to Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2026.
Racing Notebook:
• Kyle Larson is the only former Cup champion in the Championship 4.
• William Byron is the only Championship 4 driver who also raced for a championship at Phoenix last year.
• Chase Briscoe is the only driver in the Championship 4 for the first time.
• Kyle Larson is the only Championship 4 driver without a playoff win.
• In 2005, Tony Stewart was the only champion who went winless in the playoffs.
• This is the second time two teams have had multiple cars in the Championship 4. In 2021, Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing each had two cars, with Hendrick Motorsports winning the championship with Kyle Larson.
• Denny Hamlin finished second at Phoenix in March, Kyle Larson third, William Byron sixth, and Chase Briscoe 35th.
• Fifteen of the 35 races this year were won by the four Championship 4 drivers; all four have at least three wins, and Hamlin has a series-best six.
• Each of the Championship 4 drivers has a Cup win at Phoenix. Denny Hamlin is the only driver with multiple wins, but he hasn’t won there since 2019.
• Denny Hamlin would become the third-oldest Cup champion at 44 years, 11 months, 15 days old, and the oldest since Bobby Allison in 1983.
• Kyle Larson’s 10 top-five finishes at Phoenix are his most at any track, and his 14 top-10 finishes are tied for his most at a track with Las Vegas.
• Kyle Busch will become the 14th driver to make 750 Cup starts this weekend.
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr will make his 400th consecutive Cup start this weekend, the third-longest active streak.
Drivers to Watch:
RYAN BLANEY: It’s the first time in the Next Gen era that Team Penske will be knocked off the top of the Cup Series throne. Blaney (2023) and teammate Joey Logano (2022, 2024) took home the last three Bill France Cups, but it shouldn’t keep the team out of the mix Sunday. Blaney’s never won at Phoenix, but before an engine expiration in the spring, he had finished top five in the seven prior races.
JOEY LOGANO: The three-time series champion has plated some interesting results at Phoenix. He won the two championship races for which he was eligible. The others? He’s finished outside the top 10, minus an eighth-place finish in the spring of 2022.
ROSS CHASTAIN: The No. 1 Trackhouse Racing driver spoiled the Championship 4 drivers by winning the season finale in 2023. He finished inside the top three in both 2022 events and owns the third-best average finish among the field in the Next Gen era (9.4).
CHRIS BUESCHER: Speaking of average finishes, Buescher is just behind Chastain during the same span at 9.6. The driver of the No. 17 RFK Racing Ford has finished ninth or better in the last four Phoenix races and is looking for some momentum to springboard into 2026.
DANIEL SUÁREZ: Sunday marks Suárez’s final race for Trackhouse Racing, as he’ll move to the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet next season. Phoenix has been pretty good to Suárez. He’s finished 11th or better in three of the seven events in the Next Gen era.
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