AVONDALE, Ariz. \u2014 Denny Hamlin, the best NASCAR driver to never win a championship, has driven more than 198,000 laps in his career.<\/p>\n
And on a near-perfect Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, a day when Hamlin did everything right, he was a mere three more laps away from finally shedding the title that haunted him and earning another: NASCAR Cup Series champion.<\/p>\n
Instead, it all suddenly unraveled and left Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Racing team devastated as Kyle Larson won the 2025 Cup title<\/a> instead.<\/p>\n It was one of the most agonizing outcomes possible for Hamlin, who appeared to be in shock and wore a blank stare for a long time after parking his car on pit road. As some JGR team members teared up and even openly wept, along with Hamlin\u2019s young daughters, Hamlin looked numb.<\/p>\n With a sixth-place finish, @dennyhamlin<\/a> comes home second in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship. pic.twitter.com\/lVSee3qgOC<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 3, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n The 44-year-old drove one of the best races of his life, executing on nearly every aspect of the weekend. He won the pole position and led a race-high 208 laps while no one else led more than 52. Hamlin clearly had the fastest car, and he found himself less than three miles away from the long-awaited trophy that even many of his longtime detractors in the NASCAR fan base had declared they now wanted to see.<\/p>\n They were drawn in by a change in how they see the oft-booed Hamlin. His weekly \u201cActions Detrimental\u201d podcast has revealed a different side of his personality, and his quest to win a championship while his ailing father was still alive to see it was relatable on the deepest of human levels.<\/p>\n It didn\u2019t hurt that Hamlin has been viewed as \u201cstanding up to the man\u201d by joining with 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan to sue NASCAR in federal court<\/a>, alleging antitrust violations.<\/p>\n Even Larson, the eventual champion, said Saturday he wanted to see Hamlin win if Larson couldn\u2019t and understood why fans felt that way, too.<\/p>\n But Hamlin lost control of his own fate when championship contender William Byron hit the wall with a flat tire and brought out a yellow flag with three laps remaining.<\/p>\n Byron is in the wall! <\/p>\n This may change everything! #Championship4<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/4AgbfEa8V7<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 2, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n That forced teams to come down pit road, and Hamlin crew chief Chris Gayle opted for four fresh tires. While Hamlin\u2019s pit crew delivered with a timely pit stop, six other cars ahead of him took only two tires while three other cars stayed on track.<\/p>\n Then, in a two-lap overtime shootout, Hamlin simply didn\u2019t have enough time to go catch Larson, who finished third and won the championship. Hamlin finished sixth in the race and was second among the four eligible drivers (Byron and Chase Briscoe were the others).<\/p>\n And so there was Hamlin on pit road, again with another broken heart. Fiancee Jordan Fish tearfully embraced him, as did Gayle. Hamlin walked over and hugged his pit crew members; it wasn\u2019t their fault either, after all.<\/p>\n Gayle didn\u2019t expect so many cars would gamble with two tires instead of four, and the chaotic restart bogged down Hamlin\u2019s chance at a clean run to the finish. He said Hamlin drove like a champion, even if he didn\u2019t leave with the trophy.<\/p>\n \u201cI hate that it came down to some chaotic late-race restart where we were the dominant car and didn\u2019t get the win,\u201d Gayle said.<\/p>\n But no one hated it worse than Hamlin, who has been the biggest critic of NASCAR\u2019s wonky one-race championship format in which anything can happen \u2014 a system that is poised to be scrapped for a yet-to-be-announced replacement<\/a> next season.<\/p>\n For awhile Sunday, it appeared Hamlin might win the final edition of the format he disliked so much in a dose of irony; instead, exactly what he has preached about for years ended up giving him the biggest NASCAR heartbreak since Carl Edwards in 2016.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this moment, I never want to race a car again,\u201d Hamlin said. \u201cMy fun meter is pegged.\u201d<\/p>\n Larson still has not won a race since May and did not lead a lap on Sunday. But he and his team were able to stay in contention just in case they could take advantage of something fluky happening at the end of the race.<\/p>\n As Hamlin\u2019s luck would have it, it did.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did our job. We did the best we could,\u201d Hamlin said. \u201cThey\u2019re a championship team and a championship driver. They\u2019re going to win a hell of a lot more than just these two.<\/p>\n \u201cBut when everyone had to bring their best, I think it was evident who was the best today.\u201d<\/p>\n The problem is, 20 years into a Hall of Fame career, Hamlin still has no championship to show for it.<\/p>\n