NASCAR Championship Weekend countdown unveiled in Phoenix
The NASCAR Championship countdown clock was unveiled at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Oct. 6, 2025.
- Denny Hamlin won the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, securing his spot in the championship four.
- The emotional victory was Hamlin’s 60th career win, tying him for 10th all-time with Kevin Harvick.
- Playoff contenders Ryan Blaney and William Byron both wrecked.
Denny Hamlin didn’t needle.
He didn’t mess with the fans or proclaim he just beat their favorite driver. No, not Sunday.
After Hamlin won the South Point 400 on Oct. 12 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he cried.
The win meant so much for three reasons: It clinched Hamlin’s spot in the 2025 championship four, gave him 60 career trips to Victory Lane, tying him with Kevin Harvick for 10th all-time, and allowed him to dedicate another triumph to his ill father, Dennis.
“This is the point where I usually give the fans some (junk) but not today,” Hamlin said on the USA Network broadcast before the tears returned to his eyes. “I appreciate all of you so much.
“Yeah, obviously, I want to say hi to my dad, family back at home, all the friends that came out here to Vegas hoping we’d get 60. But I didn’t think we were. I just put the pedal down those last 10 laps and made it happen.”
Here are three takeaways from a wild one in Sin City.
1. Denny Hamlin keeps NASCAR championship hopes alive
It wasn’t Hamlin’s most dominant day. He led only nine laps, a far cry from runner-up Kyle Larson’s race-high 129, or even Chase Briscoe’s 57 and William Byron’s 55.
But Hamlin proved opportunistic, assembling a nice run after the final restart and snatching the lead from Briscoe with four laps to go. Hamlin prevailed by 1.5 seconds.
It was his first win since Gateway during the opening round of the playoffs five weeks ago. He extended his Cup Series lead with six triumphs this season.
With Hamlin moving into the top 10 on the all-time list, his next target will be an active driver. Kyle Busch has the most of any full-time competitor with 63 career victories.
Famously, Hamlin has never captured the Cup Series title.
“I felt like I had nothing to lose,” he said of his approach in Sunday’s closing laps. “Just go for it and try to punch a ticket now. Man, this one feels great.”
2. Ryan Blaney, William Byron wreck out of playoff race
By the time Hamlin crossed the finish line, Ryan Blaney and William Byron were already out of the race. Both stars wrecked earlier.
Blaney blew a tire and crashed on Lap 72. He finished dead-last in 38th and now sits dead-last in the standings among the eight remaining playoff drivers, 31 points below the cutline.
Byron holds the fifth spot in the standings, one place and 15 points below the line but in front of Chase Elliott and Joey Logano. He was running second when he smashed into Ty Dillon with 31 laps left. Dillon was slowing down in order to pit, but Byron didn’t know that.
He placed 36th.
Both have work to do in the next two weeks.
3. NASCAR schedule: Talladega, Martinsville and Phoenix
Only three races remain in the Cup Series season. Trips to Talladega and Martinsville will wrap up the Round of 8 and set the stage for the title race at Phoenix on Nov. 2.
Next week is the wild card.
Talladega Superspeedway could make a winner out of pretty much anyone in the field. The YellaWood 500 will receive the green flag a few minutes after 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 19. It serves as the last plate race of the year, making it a prime candidate to shuffle the standings.
Non-playoff driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won it last fall.
