The best, most talented driver in NASCAR won his second title on Sunday. The dude who scored the most points all season won! He did it. The driver who has largely been considered not only the best driver of his era, but one of the best of all time, is now a two-time champ. 

See? This format WORKS! Everyone should be happy today, right? I don’t want to see ANYONE bitching about the playoffs anymore. Finally. A happy Monday!

Wrong, of course. All of it. Everything I just said, just go ahead and assume the opposite is happening right now for NASCAR fans (and the insufferable media types) who spent all summer complaining about this format. 

You all are exhausting. Mainly the talking heads in the media. My God. Just the worst. 

Kyle Larson is your 2025 NASCAR champ. Denny Hamlin lost. He choked it away. His team choked it away. His crew chief choked it away. 

And the NASCAR community is just in mourning today. It’s pathetic. Come on, folks. Be sad for Denny. I’m sad for Denny. But can we STOP acting like Kyle Larson isn’t a worthy champion of this sport? This isn’t Joey Logano from last season. This isn’t Larson “stealing” a championship because of the format. 

This is Kyle Larson being the best driver in the sport, making the right tire call for overtime, and doing what champions do: go out and win a title when the game is on the line. 

Denny did not. That’s on Team No. 11. Not NASCAR. Not the format. We’ll, of course, get into it more here in a bit. 

What else? I’ve got the youngins getting TESTY down in the Busch Series, the WAGS (Katelyn Larson) having a big Halloween weekend, and Sydney Sweeney turning on the entire garage before the green flag dropped on Sunday. Sophie Cunningham stopped by, too. They talked boobs. Who wouldn’t with Sid?

Four tires, enough fuel to get us through the shortest offseason in sports, and maybe an all-inclusive vacation for the Hamlins this week … Monday Morning Pit-Stop – the ‘Kyle Larson Is A Worthy Champ’ edition – is LIVE!

Really, William?

Seriously? THAT’s what we’re doing for Denny Hamlin now? I don’t get it. I honestly don’t understand. I know where Byron is coming from, but we’re all ‘sO DiSgUsTeD’ by this current format that we need to apologize for blowing a tire? 

For those who were watching Chiefs-Bills, here’s what essentially cost Denny Hamlin his first NASCAR championship:

Obviously, Denny would’ve won had Billy the Kid not blown a tire (which was a massive issue yesterday, but I don’t feel like talking tires today). 

Oh well. That’s life. William Byron shouldn’t be apologizing for bringing out the caution. You know who should be apologizing? Denny’s crew chief for putting four tires on when Kyle Larson took two, leapfrogged Denny for the restart, and cruised to his second title. 

The “format” didn’t make Chris Gayle take four tires. William Byron didn’t, either. Come on. 

Feel bad for Denny, but let’s stop discrediting Kyle Larson

Look, it was gut-wrenching. I like Denny Hamlin. I picked Denny Hamlin. I wanted Denny Hamlin. 

He lost. It felt very Carl Edwards-esque, for those of you who remember the 2016 title race. Cousin Carl was driven into an early retirement because of it. I’m not saying Denny’s gonna call it a career, but does THIS look or sound like a dude who’s ready for more pain?

Not great. He’s bummed, clearly. I get it. Be bummed for him. Would’ve been a great story. 

BUT, this notion that Kyle Larson wasn’t/isn’t a worthy champion is silly. What are we doing here? Takes like this, which I’ve seen all over the place this morning, are batshit crazy:

Katelyn, Kyle & Busch boys

It’s just so dumb. By the way, guess who finished with the most points this season? Anyone wanna take a guess? Come on! You know the answer. Just SAY it. I want to hear his name out loud!

There you go. He finished with the most points AND finished highest in the championship race. Kyle Larson is the 2017 Patriots, for those keeping track at home. 

He’s not as dominant as he was during the early years of his run, but he still quietly made it to another Super Bowl, and overcame a huge deficit at the end to win another title. 

He’s the best driver in the sport, on the best team, with maybe the smartest crew chief. He’s now won two NASCAR championships, and that number will undoubtedly keep going on, regardless of the format. 

Thoughts? I’m sure you’ll let me know! Zach.Dean@OutKick.com. 

Now, I can defend what happened yesterday, mainly because Kyle Larson is a Hall of Famer. While I don’t love the current format, I can defend it. 

I cannot do the same down in the Busch (Xfinity) Series, where Jesse Love ripped Connor Zlisch’s heart out after Zilisch won 14 billion races this season:

Honestly, good for Dale Jr. I’m sure he’s somewhat speaking out of his ass there, but good for him. He’s been a huge proponent of going back to the old format, and he could’ve put belt to ass on NASCAR here, but took the high road. 

I don’t want to go back to the full season format. I don’t. It’s just boring to me. I’d rather tweak the current format and make it a three-race championship round rather than a one-race title. Forget the wins during the regular season, too. 

Top-12 drivers (or 16, I really don’t care) get in on points, and then you have your playoffs, but make it a three-race final round. Happy? We eliminate the ‘win-and-in’ scenario, and give the final four drivers three races to figure their shit out. 

I just can’t do a 36-race format. Please. If you think I’m turning off NFL Sunday football at 6 p.m. to watch Christopher Bell smoke the field by 130 points in November, you are NUTS:

Yeah, ain’t happening. There’s a happy medium, and I think this is it. You’re welcome, Steve Phelps! 

Two more on the way out. First? Related to absolutely nothing, here’s how Kyle Busch reacted to a solid finish yesterday while Denny was sobbing in his car:

I laugh every time I watch it. There’s no real reason other than it just shows how far poor Kyle Busch has fallen. Denny’s weeping openly about losing another championship, and Kyle’s just excited to finish in the top 8 and get Rowdy nation some free chips and queso. 

Choose your fighter, America. We’re with Kyle!

Of course, we’re also with Katelyn Larson, too. For obvious reasons:

God. What a WOMAN. How can you not be romantic about NASCAR? What other sport are you getting WAGs like this? None. That’s the answer. That’s #MyNASCARWife. 

All right. That’s it for today – and THIS season. Whew. It’s over. Just like that. Weren’t we just in Daytona? 

The offseason is here. We ain’t going anywhere, by the way. Huge offseason for NASCAR, for reasons we just spent 30 minutes talking about. We’ll be here for it all. 

Take us home, Sydney Sweeney (and Sophie Cunningham!). And, for the first time since last February, take us home, Larry Mac!