In an overtime finish, Kyle Larson’s third-place result propelled the 33-year-old Elk Grove, California, native to his second career NASCAR Cup Series Championship – becoming just the third active driver to become a multi-time champion in the division. The title marks Chevrolet’s record-extending 34th Driver Championship in NASCAR’s premier series.

· Also clinching its 44th, and fifth consecutive, NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championship, the feat marks the 29th time in series’ history that Chevrolet has swept the championship titles in the division.

· In a quest for his first career NASCAR Cup Series championship, Williams Byron earned a front-row starting position to help lead the field to the green flag in the season finale race at Phoenix Raceway. Settling into the runner-position at the start, the 27-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, native kept then-race leader, Denny Hamlin, in his sights as the race opened with a long-run. Nearing the midway point of the opening stage, Byron’s long-run pace began to shine – closing the gap to the lead to just a half-second margin. Working through lap traffic, Byron was able to close to the bumper of the No. 11 before making the pass for the lead with six laps to go in the stage. Byron quickly pulled away to an one-second lead en route to the Stage One win.

· A relatively quiet driver behind the wheel of Stage One, Byron reported that he was overall happy with the handling of his No. 24 Chevrolet – just fighting loose conditions early in the run. With a call for a small air pressure adjustment and four tires for the first stop of the race, Byron exited pit road first among the Championship Four drivers to start Stage Two. With one position gained in the race off pit road for the No. 5 team, the pair of title contenders took the top-two positions of the top lane to take the green-lap for the next 125-lap run. With the first natural caution of the race falling on the opening lap of Stage Two, a strong restart for the 2021 champion propelled him from fourth to the second position. With another long run for the first-half of the second stage, the pair of Team Chevy title contenders stayed steady in the top-four until a caution came out on Lap 149. Entering and exiting pit road in their last running positions, Byron and Larson were sitting in the third- and fourth-positions when a caution flew with three laps to go – ultimately bringing Stage Two to a close.

· Picking up another spot in the race off pit road, Byron lined up his No. 24 Chevrolet on the outside lane of the pit road to take the green flag for the race towards the Bill France Cup. A clutch restart saw Byron takeover the top position on the opening lap of the final stage. As the race hit 100 laps to go, a handful of tire issues erupted, including Larson – forcing the No. 5 team to pit road under the green flag. With a caution coming out shortly thereafter, the No. 9 pit crew put Chase Elliott to the top of the leaderboard. A three-wide battle at the restart, Elliott and Byron held onto the top-two spots as lead pack settled into position. With Elliott fading during the long-run, Byron was able to close in on his teammate and make the pass for the lead with 60 laps remaining. With yet another caution for a tire issue, a 9.8-second stop by the No. 24 pit crew delivered Byron the win in the race off pit road to lineup next to title contender, Denny Hamlin, for the restart. A caution on Lap 278 saw a mix of strategy among the Championship Four drivers. With a two-tire call by crew chief, Cliff Daniels, Larson jumped 11 positions to find himself on the front-row for the restart with 28 laps to go in the title-deciding race. Byron fell victim to a flat tire with just three laps to go – ultimately taking the No. 24 team out of title contention. With another two-tire call for the No. 5 team, the Cliff Daniels-led team was positioned in the top position among the Championship Four drivers for the overtime attempt. A powerhouse restart saw Larson take the checkered flag in the third position and his second career NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 Results

Pos. Driver

3rd – Kyle Larson

5th – Kyle Busch

8th – Michael McDowell

10th – Chase Elliott

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 36 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:

Wins: 15

Poles: 13

Top-Fives: 67

Top 10s: 144

Stage Wins: 28

Post-Race Driver Quotes:

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 13th

“We had a pretty strong Busch Light Chevy today at Phoenix. Phil made a couple of adjustments early in the race to get the handling better and we were able to maintain a top-10 spot for most of the race, especially with good pit stops. We were a little further back on the last restart than we had been all day because of all the varying pit strategies but it was a solid day. We had speed and we wrapped up a good season for the No. 1 Busch Light Chevy team. The win at Charlotte, the playoffs and Chevrolet wrapping up the championship today. I’m going to take a little break and then get right back to work on next season.”

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 20th

“Today was a learning day for our No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Waterfowl team. We wanted to end the season on a good note but once we had a tire go down under green, we shifted our focus to learning for 2026. Boswell and the guys made a ton of adjustments throughout the race to see how our car would react and hopefully put ourselves in a better position here at Phoenix next spring. Overall, I’m proud of the effort that everyone at RCR, ECR, and CT Springs put into this entire season. We are all looking forward to spending time with our families and we’ll be ready to start again in a couple of months.”

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 3rd

“I’m just speechless… I can’t believe it. We had an average car, at best. We had the right-front go down and lost a lap. We got saved by the caution and did the wave-around. We really struggled that run. We took two tires and I was like – oh, here we go… we’re going to go to the back now. But I had a lot more grip than I anticipated. We got lucky with the final caution. I was really hoping we were going to take two again. I felt like I learned a lot on that restart, bombing one and two really hard. Thought I could do the same thing if we got another one.

It’s just unbelievable. What a year by Hendrick Motorsports. Cliff Daniels’ (crew chief) leadership just showed that whole race. He kept us all motivated and always had a plan. That’s just the story of our season. Again, just unbelievable. I cannot believe it. This is insane.”

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 5th

“We struggled with a loose-handling Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet to start the race today at Phoenix Raceway, but Crew chief Andy Street and the guys went back the other way on adjustments and our Chevy came to life. It really became good, and we were able to tie corners together better and make some good moves on restarts to get track position. That was a positive note to end the season with a top-five finish and get some momentum for our team and everyone at RCR to get ready for the Daytona 500.”

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 33rd

“It just stings. It was three laps to go and I was just thinking – okay, let me get to the end. I felt something funny off of (turn) two and thought it might be a flat. I thought at the time, if it’s the left-rear, you could maybe get back. But it just went straight into turn three. It laid down on the right-rear and went straight. I just felt like a passenger at that point. But all-in-all, I’m proud of this No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet team. We had a good day going. We had a shot to win it. We just didn’t quite have enough.

We brought our best towards the end of the playoffs, for sure. The win last weekend (at Martinsville Speedway) was great. Today was really good, too. Thank you to Axalta, Chevrolet, all of our partners. It’s been an awesome year. I wish we could have finished it off better, but we’ll get going for next year and take some much needed time off.”

Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 8th

“It was a long day in the No. 71 Tide Chevrolet, but a great finish. Really proud of the rally we made there at the end. We had improvements all day long. Really excited for the Spire Motorsports cars. Carson (Hocevar) ran in the top-10 all day long before that tire went down. We were able to capitalize and get a top-10 there at the end. Proud of the speed and proud of the effort. We’re making gains and it’s a great way to head into the off-season.

I’m so happy for everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, the Hendrick Engine Shop and Chevrolet with the No. 5 team (Kyle Larson) getting the championship.”

Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 24th

“Not the way we wanted to finish our season, my WeatherTech Chevy lacked overall grip today. Just something to work on and learn from as we prepare to come back here (Phoenix Raceway) next season. It’s been an epic year with my 88 team! Everyone put so much hard work into making it an unforgettable rookie season in the Cup Series. Already looking forward to getting next season started.”

GM PR