Larson: I can't believe it. To win a championship? Crazy!

“I can't believe it,” Larson said, his voice packed with emotion. “I didn't even think I'd be a racing a car a year-and-a-half ago. To win a championship? Crazy!”

He needed a flawless final pit stop from his Hendrick Motorsports crew to get the No. 5 Chevrolet back on track ahead of his three title rivals. His crew performed its second-fastest stop of the season — a span that stretches 38 races — and Larson went from last among the final four to first.

After that, Larson controlled the restart with 25 laps remaining, quickly cleared Martin Truex Jr., then held off several of Truex's challenges. There was no stopping Larson, just as he's been impossible to stop all season, and he drove off to his 10th Cup victory of the year.

“I did not think we were going to win and without that pit crew on that last stop, we would not be standing right here,” Larson declared.

Truex, the 2017 champion, finished second and was followed by Denny Hamlin, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate. Hamlin is 0 for 5 in championship finales and was the only driver among the final four contenders who did not lead a lap Sunday.

Chase Elliott, the reigning champion and NASCAR's most popular driver, led 94 laps but finished fourth.

Larson seemed to have tears in his eyes on his cooldown lap as he celebrated a career-defining moment he wasn't sure would happen last year.

He was fired four races into the season and lost nearly every sponsor for his use of a racial slur while racing online, and Larson retreated to his sprint car roots to rebuild his life.

He volunteered for multiple different grassroots organizations as Larson went on a personal journey to learn more about himself, as well as social justice issues. It was Rick Hendrick who decided to give him another chance and he hired Larson once NASCAR lifted his suspension.

Larson watched last year's championship race from the competition compound on the Hendrick Mototsports' campus in North Carolina. A year later, he gave Hendrick its 14th Cup title.

“Congratulations to the best race car driver I’ve ever seen,” tweeted Hall of Famer Tony Stewart who tried, very hard, but couldn't get permission from the Stewart-Haas Racing partners. So it was Rick Hendrick who landed Larson

“Before the race started, I got to hear Mario Andretti talk about his thoughts on me, and now Tony Stewart,” Larson said. “If I really had a true racing hero, I would say it's Tony Stewart. I've always believed him to be the best racecar driver ever. I try to model my racing and my schedule off what I feel like Tony Stewart would do, so this makes me feel really good.

“Eighteen months ago, I didn’t even think I’d be in a Cup car again. Strapping in for the Daytona 500 didn’t even seem real, let alone winning the championship,” Larson said. “It’s definitely been a journey, a rollercoaster."

Larson’s crew performed its second-fastest stop of the season — a span that stretches 38 races — and their driver went from last among the final four to first.

“We all know if the 5 car didn’t win the race off pit road, we probably don’t win the race, we probably don’t win the championship,” said Cliff Daniels, a champion in his second full season as a crew chief.

“That pit stop was the difference, but it wasn’t by accident. There was a lot of hard work, a lot of good people, a lot of good prep behind that that started a year, two years ago in building the process to where we have it today.”

Truex, the 2017 champion, finished second and was followed by Denny Hamlin. Hamlin is 0 for 5 in championship finales and was the only driver among the final four contenders who did not lead a lap Sunday.

Truex has finished second in the championship standings three times in the four seasons since his 2017 title.

“That’s three times we’ve been second, and that (stinks)," Truex said. "Second hurts, I’m not going to lie, especially with the car we had and the job the guys did.”

Hamlin has always maintained Larson deserved this year's championship.

“Any time you can win 10 races in a year, you’re absolutely a deserving champion,” said the three-time Daytona 500 winner. “They did a great job on the last pit stop and got him out there, and he just set sail after that."

Chase Elliott, the reigning champion and NASCAR’s most popular driver, led 94 laps but finished fourth. His teammate at Hendrick now reigns as champion.

“Very, very deserving champions, and glad to see Kyle have success,” Elliott said. "When you’re a good driver and a good person and you surround yourself with good people, success is warranted. It’s good to see that.”

Larson watched last year’s championship race from the competition compound on the Hendrick Motorsports campus in North Carolina. A year later, he gave Hendrick its 14th Cup title.

“I never thought I was taking a risk. I know how good he is, I’m just fortunate we were able to get him, and man, what a wheelman he is,” said Hendrick. “Ten races won, 11 with the All-Star Race. It’s unbelievable.”

Larson won five of the 10 playoff races and tied Stewart, in 2011, for most wins in a single playoff season. He also broke Gordon’s 20-year record of most laps led in a single season. The 29-year-old from Elk Grove, California, joins Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson as champions from the Golden State.

It was the 280th victory for Hendrick Motorsports, which moved past Petty Enterprises in May with Larson behind the wheel as NASCAR’s winningest team. The team has won 14 championships in 27 years.

“If you asked me did I think he could win 10 races and win the championship — I mean, I thought he’d be fast, I thought the team would be good, but I had no idea when the season started that (HMS) could win 18 races and he could win 10,” Hendrick said. “You hope that you can be competitive. You hope you can run well. We did.” (Report by Jenna Fryer)