2025 NASCAR Cup Series Awards

It’s time for the grand finale as we close the book on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. After a mix of competitive, heart-wrenching and tumultuous racing all at once, now we must award the final trophies before we turn the page to 2026.

In what featured the most competitive final eight drivers to date in the playoff elimination format, the final four races featured clutch performances, memorable milestones and an unexpected last dash to the finish line.

Kyle Larson, after looking all but finished with just under 100 laps remaining at Phoenix, rallied to get himself in position and took advantage of a late William Byron caution to claim his second Cup Series Championship.

Understandably, there were a lot of emotions and narratives flying after the checkered flag dropped in the valley, and the championship format we’ll have next year has yet to be determined. But hopefully, when the clock officially turns towards next season, we can all gather together once again with a new set of rules to enjoy the sport that has drew us in throughout the years.

Driver of the Year: William Byron

There are arguments for many, and I have no qualms with anyone who disagrees. You can realistically pick from a bunch that includes Larson, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell, and you’d have a solid level of justification for any of them.

Truthfully, it’s one of the deepest rosters of talent that we’ve seen at the top of NASCAR in quite some time. While no one is dominating at the level of Jimmie Johnson, there are plenty of guys on this list that have risen to the occasion when the moment called for it.

I’m rolling with William Byron. The one narrative that stands out to me from the regular season champion when it comes to storylines involving his season is missed opportunities, and not ones of his own doing. Byron isn’t exclusive to this by any means, but when you lead the series in average running position, laps led, and stage wins, it requires further examination when the Hendrick Motorsports veteran only has three checkered flags.

On the opposite end of his Daytona 500 triumph that fell into his lap, Byron had several instances where he had race winning speed but didn’t finish the job for one reason or another.

He led the first 243 laps at Darlington Raceway in April but fell out of contention by staying out too long during the final round of green flag pit stops. He had a shot to win both Michigan and the Brickyard 400 but ran out of gas in both, and he was running top five at Dover Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the fall, only to get collected in late-race crashes.

The No. 24 team brought continuous speed but more often than not, and Byron was frequently a passenger to consequences that weren’t from his own actions. When I look at who made their presence felt week in and week out, the No. 24 team was among the very best at doing so. Byron takes home the honor for me while understanding there are plenty of arguments to be made for others.

Not your typical rookie, Shane van Gisbergen more than held his own for portions of the year. After showcasing his road course acumen on debut at the Chicago Street Race in 2023, SVG took the reins for his first full time Cup season at Trackhouse Racing and more than paid off the investment from Justin Marks.

SVG won five road course races on the year, including Mexico City, where he wiped the field by over 16 seconds.

Additionally, at tracks where questions were made about his (lack of) experience like Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International, he was able to silence the doubters and continue rewriting the standard for road course racing in the Cup Series.

While his playoff run didn’t bear much, there was noticeable improvement at certain ovals. Where an oval in the spring marked a tough day at the office, SVG illustrated his maturity as he put together solid races toward the end of the year — including a top 10 at Kansas Speedway after an early pit road penalty — that showcased he’s getting the grasp of things.

Additionally, 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion Corey Heim earns a shoutout of his own for his night with 23XI Racing at Bristol Motor Speedway. Earning a top 10 in the Night Race is no easy task, and after surviving all of the tire calamity, that deserves more than just a footnote.

Finish of the Year: September Kansas

Similar to the Driver of the Year award, there are plenty of options here. If you wanted to slot summer Daytona, Michigan, Dover or Circuit of the Americas, I wouldn’t take umbrage with that.

However, we have to remember how Toyota gave that one away, don’t we? And with Chase Elliott going from 10th to the win in two laps, the wild finish to Kansas is a hard sequence to argue against.

Chaos Agent of the Year: Carson Hocevar

Love him or hate him, Carson Hocevar was everywhere in 2025. From upstart performances to races filled with spins, the driver of the Spire Motorsports No. 77 was no stranger to theatrics this year.

It’s no secret that the summer skirmish he had with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. capped off with some heated words in Mexico City.

On the other hand, Hocevar had real moments of growth in 2025. Despite having an engine expire late in the Coke 600, he drove all the way from the back and was fighting Byron and Hamlin in one of NASCAR’s crown jewels.

Moreover, in responding the next week at Nashville Superspeedway, Hocevar managed to claw his way into a runner up position (not without some Stenhouse contact beforehand) and attempted to track down Blaney for the win before running out of time.

This hardly does justice to how in the weeds Hocevar was throughout this year’s campaign, but a Mike Joy phrase stands out above all else when describing him: “That boy has a lot of talent, if only he can harness it.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte provided astute analysis, including the adoption of the fuel-saving “Burn Bar”. Danielle Trotta was in a role that suited her abilities as a host.

My MVP? How about the job from Carl Edwards. At no point whatsoever did he have to return to the sport under these circumstances but did so and gave an amicable effort in doing so.

Edwards blended the line from being personable to fans to also delivering unique perspective from his driving days in his breakdowns, eliciting answers and emotion from drivers that seems rare nowadays.

One of the main points of contention is that NASCAR has officially jumped into the streaming space. It’s important to acknowledge the shift in the fanbase in terms of having the resources/desire to access Prime Video, which was not feasible for all. It’s a return on investment that the series hopes will pay off down the line.

But if this is Prime’s first impression? An absolute home run. I’ll be ready for more in 2026.

Thomas is in his first year covering NASCAR at Frontstretch. A Bay Area NASCAR fan for over 15+ years, he found his love for the sport through Jeff Gordon.

Thomas has enjoyed several trips to Sonoma Raceway in his time and currently covers college football in the Bay Area, also writing about the California Golden Bears.