It’s the beginning of the 2025 NASCAR Season and the Last Word on Sports NASCAR team has our ‘way-to-early’ season predictions.
LWOS NASCAR ‘Way Too Early’ Season Predictions:
We have begun the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Season and here at Last Word on Sports have our predictions for the season that are way too early. We have six predictions about the Cup Series and picks for the 2025 Cup Champion. These predictions are plausible but we are way too early in the season to confirm or even back up with data. These are based on our assessments of teams, drivers, and manufacturers for the 2025 season.
Kyle Larson will have a 5+ win season, Win the Coke 600, but miss the Championship 4:
Kyle Larson had the most wins in 2024 with 6 wins. But I am making the prediction that he will have another five plus wins in 2025, including the Coca-Cola 600.
Like last year, Larson is doing ‘The Double’, running both the Indianapolis 500 and Coke 600 in the same day. Last year, a rain delay in Charlotte would cause the race to end on lap 249 of 400. Larson would make it to the speedway, but the red flag for rain would never lift.
I believe that Larson has learned the Next Gen car enough to truly master it. He’s got wins on short tracks, intermediates, and road courses, so I think we see him have another 5 or more win season.
READ MORE: “Unfinished Business”, Kyle Larson to attempt ‘The Double’ again in 2025
William Byron will make the Championship 4:
Kaleb Kraus’ first prediction is that William Byron will make the Champ 4 for the 3rd time in a row. Byron has made the final four in Phoenix since 2023. Hendrick has always had a car in the final four, with Elliott in ’22, Byron and Larson in ’23, and Byron in ’24.
In 2024, Byron started the season strong, a Daytona 500 win, a win at COTA, and then Martinsville. But he had a slump in the middle of the season. At Martinsville, he had to be ‘helped’ by fellow Chevy drivers to stay in points contention for the final four, and a illegal wall ride by Christopher Bell, got him into the race.
William Byron needs to be more consistent throughout the whole season. He had some runner up finishes towards the end of the regular season, and at the beginning of the playoffs, but in 2025, those need to be wins.
This one is extremely plausible, granted we have beginning of the season Byron at the end of the season.
Ryan Blaney will be the Top Penske Car:
Toyota will have the most Pole Awards:
Toyota in 2024 had the most pole awards, with 14 poles from six different, with Chevy and Ford tied with ten (two rained out qualifying sessions). Kaleb’s second prediction is that Toyota will again have the most pole awards in 2025.
Toyota dominated the intermediate and short tracks in qualifying, winning poles for both Kansas and Darlington races, and short tracks like Phoenix, Martinsville, and Richmond.
Toyota is already starting strong, earning their first ever pole award at the Daytona 500 with Chase Briscoe. 1 of 36 down.
READ MORE: Chase Briscoe Earns Toyota First Daytona 500 Pole, Duel Race Preview
Front Row Motorsports Will Win A Race:
With the youngest driver roster of any team at just an average age of 25. Front Row Motorsports has a lot of talent and my prediction is that this team will get one of its three drivers, either Noah Gragson, Todd Gilliland, or Zane Smith a win in the 2025 season.
Gragson and Smith both got top three finishes last season, Gragson at Talladega and Smith at Nashville. Gilliland has more experience than those two, and is good at a number of different tracks on the schedule. The team will just have to put together the pieces on any given race weekend.
Erik Jones will win a race, get Legacy Motor Club into the Playoffs:
Kaleb’s last prediction is that Erik Jones will break his winless streak and get Legacy Motor Club its first playoff appearance.
Jones’ last win is at the Southern 500 in 2022, one of his best tracks. He has two wins in the Southern 500, 2019 and 2022. With Darlington on the schedule early in the season, he has a good shot at getting a win in the first race and winning during the playoffs.
Legacy Motor Club has found a considerable amount of speed in the off-season. Jones crossed the line first in the second Duel at Daytona, but NASCAR had thrown a caution, calling Austin Cindric the winner. In the 500, Jimmie Johnson finished third and John Hunter Nemenchek finished fifth. Erik Jones capped it off for the team at 12th.
Champion Predictions:
Kaleb: Christopher Bell
Christopher Bell has been knocking on the door of the championship for the last several years. Kaleb has C Bell getting that first championship in 2025.
Bell scored three wins in 2024. Phoenix 1, Charlotte, and New Hampshire. In 2025, we can already assume that he will win at New Hampshire, he has 5 starts with 2 wins and three top-fives. With a playoff lock from New Hampshire, we need ’23 C Bell from the playoffs. He needs to score a win at the ROVAL and finally get that win at Las Vegas, he has finished second there the last two races.
These things get done, he is pretty good at Phoenix and a lock for the title in 2025.
Hayden: Ryan Blaney
My pick for the championship is Ryan Blaney. He is good at Superspeedways, Short Tracks, and intermediates. I’m predicting he gets his first 2025 win at Phoenix, a win at Talladega, back to back at Iowa. Once we get to the playoffs, he points his way through them, gets another walk-off win at Martinsville.
Blaney’s first championship was won on consistency in the playoffs and winning at the right times. Blaney needs to be winning in the regular season, build that bank of playoffs points, and win through the playoffs. This is my recipe for a two-time champion Ryan Blaney.
Will our predictions come true? Stay connected with Last Word on Motorsports throughout the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Season to find out!
Featured Image Credit: Meg Oliphant/Getty Images, 2/16/2025
