NASCAR
2025 Drivers Who Earned Their Best Championship Result
New faces in new places, breakout runs, and championship-caliber performances all defined 2025’s NASCAR season. This Cup Series campaign saw 14 different drivers find victory lane. Not including rookies, seven contenders saw or tied their best championship result this past season. Here are those drivers and their chances at seeing an even greater year-long effort in 2026.
Kyle Larson – Champion (tied)
“I don’t think any of us foresaw us getting a second championship in the fashion that we did,” Kyle Larson said at Phoenix Raceway earlier this month. “That probably makes it seem even different. Nonetheless, we’re on the list two times. That’s something to be proud of.”
Now a two-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion, Kyle Larson’s paths to winning the Bill France Cup could not be more divergent. 2021 saw the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet be the dominant team for most of the season. That year’s Phoenix Raceway finale was their 10th win. 2025, meanwhile, saw only three wins and zero laps led in Phoenix, taking the title by finishing third. Larson did not see victory lane past Kansas Speedway in May. Ultra Playoff consistency did deliver him back to the Championship 4. After playing runner-up in 2023’s finale, the 5 was number one in 2025.
Larson is widely regarded as the most talented, diverse, and adaptable driver in Cup today. Combined with a prime spot at NASCAR’s winningest team, Hendrick Motorsports’ 15th championship is likely not Larson’s last time on the big stage.
Kyle Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.Com Chevrolet on the grid from Phoenix Raceway before the Cup Series Championship Race on Sunday, November 2, 2025. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Denny Hamlin – Second (tied)
Putting up a career-making year amidst his 20th NASCAR season, Denny Hamlin seemingly found the Fountain of Youth. The 44-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver set Next Gen era personal records across many categories. This included doubling his single-season win total (six). This series-leading record propelled Hamlin to his fifth Championship 4 appearance. The Progressive Insurance No. 11 Toyota was likewise best in class for a majority of the day at Phoenix Raceway. Hamlin ultimately did lose out to Kyle Larson in overtime.
“Did the best I could,” Hamlin said after Phoenix. “Everything I really prepared for happened. I felt like we responded. Even losing track position at one point, just battling back. Did really well on restarts. Hadn’t been good on restarts for the bulk of the year. Yeah, the team brought a great championship car. I felt like I drove it just right up until two laps to go. Yeah, this is the part that stinks.”
“I mean, we’re 40 seconds from a championship. I don’t know. It’s just unfortunate. The only difference before is the cautions came maybe a little sooner than that. I don’t know. Gosh, you work so hard. This sport can drive you absolutely crazy ’cause sometimes speed, talent, all that stuff, just does not matter.”
Despite Hamlin’s many career accolades, 2025 is only his second time as championship runner-up (2010). In distinction to this, though, Hamlin’s been top-five in points all but one year since 2019. How he rebounds in 2026 remains to be seen, but the crafty and experienced veteran may continue to set a new standard in his mid-40s. Recently hitting his 45th birthday, Hamlin hopes to become the third man at this age to hoist the Cup Series trophy.
Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Progressive Toyota Camry on the grid from Phoenix Raceway before the Cup Series Championship Race on Sunday, November 2, 2025. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Chase Briscoe – Third
The last Championship 4 contender on this list, Chase Briscoe certainly has a case for most improved driver in 2025. Moving from Stewart-Haas Racing to Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 Toyota, pressure was on Briscoe from the outset. Team 19 delivered in one of their first outings together, winning the Daytona 500 pole. This would only be the start of a mammoth and series-leading qualifying effort, putting up seven poles across the year.
Briscoe was far from just fast on Saturdays, however. After an admitted adjustment period to find a groove with his new team, Briscoe put up a stout second-half campaign. Pocono in June was the 19’s breakout first win, beating teammate Denny Hamlin in a fuel mileage sprint. Three runner-ups over the next six weeks showed that Briscoe had definitely found his stride. The Playoff-opening Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway saw Briscoe elevate to a new level. The 19 led 309 of 367 laps in the Labor Day weekend classic, further cementing his place as a title contender. Skating through the Round of 12, inexperience pinned Briscoe as the elite eight’s black sheep driver.
A week after losing the lead late at Las Vegas, Briscoe came in clutch with a last-lap pass for a season-defining win from Talladega. The 19 wrapped out a Joe Gibbs Racing duo in the Championship 4, and had an outside chance at the Cup as a past Phoenix winner. Blown tires ultimately derailed Briscoe’s championship aspirations, leaving him third of the four in 18th-place at the checkers.
“Obviously thankful for the opportunity,” Briscoe said after Phoenix. “So excited to be at Joe Gibbs Racing, be able to compete for wins and compete for championships. Hate that one of us didn’t get it. I thought we were both certainly capable. This wasn’t our day. Go into next year and see if we can do a little bit better.”
“[2025] was big. Just in the sense of you always think you can do it. You never really know if you can. This year to prove to myself and certainly a lot of other people, too, that I feel like I belong here, right? So yeah, looking forward to obviously building on that. Really this year I felt like we gave the field half a season head start because we were learning so much throughout the process. We’ll start on an even playing field next year, see if we can be better.”
“Certainly we think we can get back here. James [Small, crew chief] and I were talking, we don’t even feel like we’re at our full potential yet. I definitely feel confident we can get back.”
“Yeah, definitely [Phoenix was] a race of what could have been. But yeah, I don’t know, I feel like hopefully people felt like we were here and in contention. We weren’t average running position-wise up there a whole lot. Certainly I felt like, I don’t know, we had one of the strongest cars for sure. If we could have started up front, not even started up front, but not had issue after issue, we would have been in the mix. I thought we did everything right as far as pit stops, obviously car speed, and balance. The tires just didn’t go our way.”
“The highlight was just winning multiple races. That was something that, you know, I’ve never been able to do in the Cup Series. And just to be able to win multiple races, that’s a big deal, at least to me it was. Personally, that meant a lot to me.”
First-year expectations for Briscoe at JGR were far surpassed by a Championship 4-caliber run and multiple wins. Year two of this team running it back may only see even greater success, and perhaps another deep title run. The Indiana native will turn 31 years old between now and the 2026 season. At this age, upward stats should continue for Briscoe as he heads towards peak performance seasons.
Chase Briscoe’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry on the grid from Phoenix Raceway before the Cup Series Championship Race on Sunday, November 2, 2025. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Josh Berry – 16th
The final member of this list to make 2025’s Playoffs, Josh Berry’s season was made after winning Las Vegas in March. An upset winner coming only in week five, the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 broke into the Playoffs for a second-straight year. Past this accomplishment, the 21 saw three more regular season top-10s, including the final two weeks. Even with this bit of momentum, however, Berry’s postseason would soon be remembered for the wrong reasons.
Three-straight crashes or mechanical issues led the 21 to three last-place results and a Round of 16 exit. This punctuated maybe the worst NASCAR Playoff appearance on record. The very next week, however, Berry was a very impressive runner-up in a Penske 1-2-4 day from New Hampshire. The last two races of the season also saw Berry earn another two top-10s, ending Phoenix in seventh-place.
16th in final points is not fully reflective of Wood Brothers Racing’s postseason efforts. This was a big improvement for the sophomore Cup driver, though. The lone new Cup winner in 2025, Berry may be a contender across many different tracks in 2026.
Josh Berry’s No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang on the grid from Phoenix Raceway before the Cup Series Championship Race on Sunday, November 2, 2025. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Ryan Preece – 18th
RFK Racing’s 2025 growth back to three full-time cars saw Ryan Preece take over the No. 60 Ford. The expansion team saw great success, highlighted by 14 top-10s. Narrowly missing the 16-man Playoff cut, Preece ended 2025 at 18th in the standings and with some momentum. Four of the last five races saw Preece earn a top-10, including Martinsville and Phoenix. Preece did briefly earn a career-best result in 2025, but a Talladega disqualification erased that runner-up result. The Derrick Finley-led team now looks to surpass their first year successes in season two together.
“Honestly, I’m excited on how we’re finishing the season,” Preece said. “When we didn’t make the Playoffs and a lot of people usually talk about trying different things and kind of throwing away the final 10 races to find a direction for 2026. But I’m proud and happy that we kept trying to build on momentum. I feel like the past four races we’ve just continued to build that. Martinsville was really strong and I’ve just really enjoyed my time here at RFK and the opportunity between having Kroger and Celsius on the car this weekend, it’s been a lot of fun. We’re definitely looking forward to 2026 and all of the things we can accomplish.”
“I feel like every week is a process in learning those things. For us, I felt like we had some pretty good moments early on in the season and certainly were really consistent. But, for our group, the 60 team, it was trying to find how can we go from being consistently finishing in the top 10 and being a part of the conversation to being faster and running top five and doing those things. Las Vegas about three or four weeks ago was one that I started to find what I’m looking for and Derrick and the guys are doing a great job on giving it to me, so I feel confident. We’re heading down a path and one that I’m excited about, so it’s all really good stuff. For me, I’ve been grinding at this for six years. Sometimes you’ve got to keep fighting and swinging and I’m glad that this has been the opportunity that I’ve been really looking for. I have a great group of guys. We talk about it. This team really didn’t come together until mid-January. For how it’s developed and the teamwork and all those things, it’s been truly amazing to be a part of.”
“In the past what I had to be as a racecar driver was essentially, not a crew chief, but I had to micromanage everything outside of driving the racecar. I feel like in the final 10-12 races last year, I came to terms that as much as I was trying to help, I was doing more harm. So, coming into the 2025 season I said, ‘OK, I’m gonna focus on the things I need to focus on as a racecar driver and trust that the people around me are gonna make great decisions and give me great racecars. I’ll be able to go show what I’m capable of.’ So, a change in mindset was probably a big piece of that. As well as coming over to RFK and seeing what Brad’s been able to help build and continue to build back up of what we can be. We’re all frustrated we didn’t make the Playoffs. But there’s a ton of potential between all three of us and I’m excited for that. For me, it was probably a change in mindset as well as a great group of people that came together and are working on accomplishing the goal. That’s probably the biggest thing I can give you.”
Ultimately knocked out of the Playoffs on points by Shane van Gisbergen’s wins, team 60 proved there was no quit within RFK Racing. The Ford powerhouse hopes to come out of the gates swinging in 2026, and contend for another Daytona 500 triumph. Preece has seen career highlights and lowlights alike in The Great American Race. The 60 famously ended last year’s season-opener flipping. Across superspeedways, short tracks, and even the occasional intermediate, Preece should have ample winning chances in 2026.
Ryan Preece’s No. 60 Celsius/Fry’s Ford Mustang on the grid from Phoenix Raceway before the Cup Series Championship Race on Sunday, November 2, 2025. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
John Hunter Nemechek – 25th
Amidst Cup season number two with Legacy Motor Club and Toyota, John Hunter Nemechek took big strides forward. 25th in points on the heels of eight top-10s and a 20.3 average finish were all career-best marks for the second generation star. Nemechek’s No. 42 was also leading late in the regular season finale at Daytona, holding a Playoff berth within sight. Nemechek fell short of backing up his Daytona 500 top-five run, but he did one spot better in the Southern 500, finishing fourth. Darlington marked JHN’s best career result yet in Cup, and further proved just how much hard work within LMC has paid off.
“I think we’re getting to a point where we’ve built quite a bit over the last six or eight months,” Nemechek said. “Personnel-wise, team-wise, car-wise, [and] culture-wise. There’s a lot of things that have changed. But I feel really good about the spot that we’re in with the amount of time that Legacy Motor Club has been alive, let’s say. I feel that Jimmie [Johnson, team owner] definitely has the vision and we’re all trying to execute that. We’re all trying to build our legacy here at Legacy Motor Club and he’s trying to build his legacy 2.0 as team owner, right? So I’m looking forward to continuing this process with everyone involved. All the men and women and all the hard work that goes in at the shop. And who knows where it takes us? I feel good about our equipment right now. I’m confident in our equipment. At a lot of places that we’re showing up to, we still need some work in certain areas that we know, but it’s not for a lack of effort, that is for sure.”
Year three with the Legacy No. 42 Toyota should only continue John Hunter Nemechek’s upward progression. 25th in points showed this team’s versatility across multiple track types and greater adapting to their home within Toyota. Both Legacy cars working in tandem to control the Daytona summer race was a standout 2025 moment from this team. Nemechek is far from just a superspeedway specialist, however. Top-10 runs at many different tracks proved that JHN can find performance anywhere. Between the six drafting races and other dates next season, it would not be a shocker to see the 42 find victory lane for Legacy’s maiden Cup triumph.
John Hunter Nemechek’s No. 42 Mobil1 Toyota Camry on the grid from Phoenix Raceway before the Cup Series Championship Race on Sunday, November 2, 2025. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Zane Smith – 28th
The last man to set a career high-water mark in 2025 was second-year driver Zane Smith. Returning to Front Row Motorsports and taking over the N0. 38 Ford Mustang, Smith put forth a few bright spots in a largely down year. Five top-10s and a strong third-place run at the Bristol Night Race were both on par with Smith’s rookie season high points. 28th in the championship was one point behind veteran teammate Todd Gilliland, showing consistency across FRM.
“Runs like what we had [at Bristol] are I feel what we deserve,” Smith said. “And it was great to finally have one of those. I’m just a big believer in hard times build tougher people. I think through racing and doing this for a living, not only as a driver, but at any role in racing you’re going to experience so many ups and downs. But regardless I mean even at the high I feel just keeping a level head goes a long way. You just don’t let your lows get too low. And so yeah, with that I feel like that’s how we’ve been able to rebound.”
“We’re clearly a smaller team and yeah, we’re going up against guys that have a ton of resources. Now I’m not saying that FRM won’t be there one day. It just it takes time to get there. But runs like that that we had definitely speeds up the process.”
“I don’t think our final points standing shows the potential this team has and the speed we were showing up to the track with most weeks. A lot of high points this season but a lot of bad luck and tough breaks that would take away from those. I’m excited to have everything already in place for 2026 so we can build on this season and take a big step forward.”
Past his breakout Bristol run in September, Zane Smith’s 2025 close can be summed up with a highlight and a viral lowlight. At Kansas two weeks after Bristol, the No. 38 was wrecked in overtime while running in the top-15. Smith was turned just perfectly to be pinched sideways against the outside wall and rim-ride the barrier. This odd moment ended violently with the No. 38 flipping back onto its wheels. Three weeks later saw Smith record another top-10 run at Talladega. This flexed Smith’s superspeedway muscles, rounding out a Front Row double top-10. This same track in April also saw Smith earn his first career pole, further proving FRM’s drafting track contention.
An offseason reset may be exactly what FRM needs to regroup and find even more consistency in 2026. Their trio of drivers averaging 26 years old remains one of the sport’s youngest teams. Any of them are ripe for taking the next leap forward and becoming a regular top-20 threat. Zane Smith being one of FRM’s older guys may have him pinned for a big 2026 on the horizon.
Zane Smith’s No. 38 Aaron’s Ford Mustang on the grid from Phoenix Raceway before the Cup Series Championship Race on Sunday, November 2, 2025. Photo Credit: Peter Stratta/TSJSports
Drivers who record a career high point and final points tally is an always fun stat to follow yearly. 2026’s racing season and every driver trying to put themselves on this exclusive list draw ever nearer. Until that point, these seven men have earned this recognition for each having 2025 be their best seasons yet.
Written by Peter Stratta
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