J.J. Yeley had a tire issue with 33 laps to go, setting up a potential run to the finish. At that stage, Briscoe and Larson took two tires, while most of the field opted for four. 

Immediately following the restart, Championship 4 driver Denny Hamlin passed both Briscoe and Larson and appeared set to win his first championship. 

However, a late disaster for another contender sent the race into overtime.

Ryan Blaney who took two tires, beating out Joey Logano, who also took two, and Brad Keselowski, who did not pit. It was Blaney’s fourth win of the season, the most in his career. Blaney was eliminated in the Round of 8, the race before the championship finale.

“It’s nice to finally get to Victory Lane here after being so close for a number of years,” Blaney said.

With just a few laps remaining, Championship 4 driver William Byron brought out the final caution from second place after a right-front tire went flat, effectively ending his championship hopes and leading to an overtime finish.

Larson took two tires, cycling him a few rows ahead of Hamlin and Briscoe. He stayed ahead of the two Toyota drivers and finished third, securing his second career NASCAR Cup Series championship.

“Never did I feel like I had it — the championship. I was honestly surprised people had stayed out,” Larson said. “When they said a few of them stayed out, I was like, ‘Oh no, this is not good.’”

Hamlin dominated the weekend, posting the fastest times in practice and qualifying and leading much of the race, but not when it mattered when he finished sixth.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver had the most wins during the season, with six. However, Hamlin did not have the consistency to be a champion under a full-season points format. The veteran driver has never won a championship, but his career is likely to end in the Hall of Fame.

“I really don’t have much emotion right now,” Hamlin said. “Just numb about it, just in shock.”

Byron led a handful of laps and was often in Hamlin’s tire tracks. He had a solid season, collecting three race wins, but failed to convert on any of his three Championship 4 appearances. The Hendrick Motorsports driver finished 33rd.

“I felt something a little funny on that lap. The right-rear tire went down and I was trying to figure out if it was a tire,” Byron said. “I was hoping it’d be a left rear so I could kind of get back to the pits.”

Briscoe had multiple issues in practice, and that carried over to the race as he suffered multiple tire failures. He finished 18th in the chaotic restart.

Briscoe had a successful first season at Joe Gibbs Racing and likely will be a championship threat for years to come. He won three races, more than he had entering the season.

“I definitely felt like I was more than capable, just to go from the back to the front that many times,” Briscoe said. “It’s a race of what could have been.”

Chase Elliott ran well and led laps until a speeding penalty on a late caution moved him to the back of the lead lap. He finished 10th.

Larson often ran around fifth in the race and had steady speed. His crew chief, Cliff Daniels, made the championship-winning call to put two tires on Larson’s car with Larson’s input.

“There was a lot that was powerful in the communication and the way that we went through that to make those calls,” Daniels said. “They were bold, but they were probably proper for the situation.”

Larson would have won the championship in the full-season points format over William Byron and Christopher Bell. The format might change in the offseason to a full-season or modified playoff format.

Larson had a much less dominant season than during his first championship run. He won seven fewer races than in 2021 and had five fewer top fives and four fewer top 10s.

“I didn’t anticipate winning the championship in the fashion that we did today. I think that takes it to another level from what I thought it might feel like,” Larson said. “The season has been a challenge, and then today was way more challenging even than that 2021 victory was.”

Larson is now a Hall of Fame-worthy driver with the potential to build on his career with more wins and championships.

This championship is the 15th for Hendrick Motorsports, and Larson’s comes 30 years after the team’s first, when Jeff Gordon won in 1995.

“Cliff kept saying we ain’t dead yet,” Larson said. “It was hard to believe him, but we weren’t dead.”