2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race


The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on November 2, 2025, at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 319 laps, extended from 312 laps due to an overtime finish, on the one-mile oval, it was the 36th and final race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Ryan Blaney won the race. Brad Keselowski finished 2nd, and Kyle Larson finished 3rd to claim his second Cup Series championship. Joey Logano and Kyle Busch rounded out the top five, and Denny Hamlin, having led 208 laps, finished second in the championship standings, Josh Berry, Michael McDowell, Ryan Preece, and Chase Elliott rounded out the top ten.
This was the final championship race held at Phoenix as the event will move to Homestead–Miami Speedway. Phoenix will host the championship race, but will be on a "rotating" schedule. It was also the final championship race as part of the playoff system used since 2017, as it would be scrapped in favor of a return to the "Chase" format from 2026.

Report

Background

Phoenix Raceway – also known as PIR – is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. It is named after the nearby metropolitan area of Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the IndyCar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series. The raceway is currently owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.
The raceway was originally constructed with a road course that ran both inside and outside of the main tri-oval. In 1991, the track was reconfigured with the current interior layout. PIR has an estimated grandstand seating capacity of around 67,000. Lights were installed around the track in 2004 following the addition of a second annual NASCAR race weekend.
Phoenix Raceway is home to two annual NASCAR race weekends, one of 13 facilities on the NASCAR schedule to host more than one race weekend a year. The track is both the first and last stop in the western United States, as well as the fourth, and hosts the championship race on the schedule. In 2026, Homestead-Miami would host the championship race, while Phoenix would retain its second date, initially in the Round of 8. On January 12, 2026, NASCAR announced that the Playoffs system would be removed in favor of a 10-race "Chase" format similar to the one used from 2004 to 2013.

Championship drivers

Entry list

' denotes rookie driver.
  • ' denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points. denotes championship contender.

Practice

Ty Gibbs was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 27.300 seconds and a speed of.

Qualifying

Denny Hamlin scored the pole for the race with a time of 26.914 and a speed of.

Race

Race results

Stage results

Stage One
Laps: 60
Stage Two
Laps: 125

Final Stage results

Stage Three
Laps: 127

Race statistics

  • Lead changes: 16 among 6 different drivers
  • Cautions/Laps: 9 for 65
  • Red flags: 0
  • Time of race: 3 hours, 15 minutes, and 53 seconds
  • Average speed:

Media

Television

NBC covered the race on the television side. Leigh Diffey, two–time Phoenix winner Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Kim Coon, Parker Kligerman, and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane.

Radio

The race was broadcast on radio by the Motor Racing Network and simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley and Todd Gordon called the action from the broadcast booth when the field races down the front straightaway. Dave Moody called the action from turns 1 & 2 and Tim Catafalmo called the action from turns 3 & 4. MRN Radio Lead Pit Reporter Steve Post, Jacklyn Drake, PRN Radio's Brad Gillie, and Chris Wilner covered the action for MRN from pit lane.

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings
;Manufacturers' Championship standings
PosManufacturerPoints
1Chevrolet1,310
2Toyota1,281
3Ford1,210

  • Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.