Denny Hamlin had what would have been his first ever NASCAR Cup Series Championship just barely slip through his fingers on Sunday, and William Byron apologized for the role he played in Hamlin coming up short.
Hamlin and his No. 11 Toyota led more than 200 laps at the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Ariz. The 44-year-old had built a substantial three-second lead over Byron with a handful of laps remaining, and it looked like the only thing that could stand between Hamlin and a championship was a caution flag.
Unfortunately for Hamlin, that caution came out. Byron hit the wall in his No. 24 Chevrolet with three laps to go.
Byron is in the wall!
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 2, 2025
This may change everything! #Championship4 pic.twitter.com/4AgbfEa8V7
Fans were furious about the caution, as it altered the outcome of the race. Hamlin’s crew chose to take four tires during the caution, while Kyle Larson only took two. The decision paid off for Larson, who came out of the restart fifth while Hamlin was 10th. Hamlin could not make up the difference in overtime, with Larson finishing third in the race and Hamlin finishing sixth. That gave the championship to Larson.
Following the race, Byron came up to Hamlin to apologize. Byron then told reporters he felt badly for costing Hamlin a championship.
“It just doesn’t seem right, you know? He had beat us and we’re running second and it’s four laps to go, and you go into the wall and cause a caution. So it sucks, right?” Byron said. “I don’t want to be that guy. Even if I’m in the championship four, it doesn’t really matter. I don’t want to change the outcome, so it sucks.”
William Byron apologizes to Denny Hamlin for bringing out the race-altering caution as he joins the post-race press conference. "You deserved it."
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) November 3, 2025
Why'd he apologize? "I don't know. It just doesn't seem right." pic.twitter.com/b4taHh28RB
Hamlin seemed more heartbroken than angry after the race. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver said he believes taking four tires was the right choice and that winning the championship just “wasn’t meant to be.” Byron obviously felt badly about the role he played in that.
Hamlin had six wins during the regular season. He led 208 laps during Sunday’s race (the most in the field) and won a stage, but it wasn’t enough.
