AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) Kyle Larson denied Denny Hamlin his first career championship when a late caution at Phoenix Raceway sent title-deciding finale into overtime.
Hamlin was three laps from shedding the label as the greatest NASCAR driver to never win a championship when fellow title contender William Byron got a flat tire and hit the wall to bring out the caution.
Hamlin led the field down pit road and got four new tires on his Toyota; Larson only took two tires on his Chevrolet. It meant Larson was fifth for the two-lap sprint to the finish, with Hamlin back in 10th.
With so little time to run down Larson, Hamlin came up short with a sixth-place finish as Larson was third. Ryan Blaney, who was eliminated from title contention last week, won the race.
It is the second championship for Larson, who won his first title in 2021 when he joined Hendrick Motorsports.
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AP auto racing:
亚利桑那州埃文代尔（美联社）——凯尔·拉尔森在凤凰城赛道的一场最后时刻的警告将冠军决战拖入加时，从而阻止了丹尼·哈姆林赢得其职业生涯首个总冠军。
当冠军争夺者威廉·拜伦因爆胎撞墙引发黄旗时，哈姆林距离摆脱“NASCAR史上最伟大无冠车手”的标签仅剩三圈。
哈姆林率先驶入维修区，为他的丰田赛车更换了四条新轮胎；而拉尔森仅为其雪佛兰赛车更换了两条轮胎。这使得拉尔森在最后两圈冲刺时位列第五，而哈姆林则落至第十位。
由于追赶拉森的时间所剩无几，哈姆林最终以第六名完赛，而拉森获得第三名。上周已无缘冠军争夺的瑞安·布莱尼赢得了本站比赛。
这是拉尔森（Larson）的第二个冠军头衔，他于2021年加入亨德里克赛车运动（Hendrick Motorsports）时赢得了首个冠军。
美联社赛车新闻：
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