The 2025 season carried significant structural weight. It was the first year of a new television rights agreement running through 2031, distributing races across Fox (twelve events), NBC (fourteen), Prime Video (five), and TNT (five). The season also debuted an in-season challenge tournament, won by Ty Gibbs. More historically, it was the final season of the elimination-style playoff format that had determined the champion since 2014, with a new points format set to take effect in 2026. NASCAR also staged its first points-paying race outside the United States in 67 years, the Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.
The off-season's defining development was the closure of Stewart-Haas Racing. Gene Haas retained the organization's one remaining charter and relaunched as Haas Factory Team, fielding the No. 41 car for Cole Custer. Stewart-Haas charters were absorbed by 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and Trackhouse Racing, each of which expanded to three full-time entries. JTG Daugherty Racing rebranded as Hyak Motorsports following an ownership change.
Notable new arrangements included RFK Racing leasing a third charter to run Ryan Preece in the No. 60, and Trackhouse Racing fielding Shane van Gisbergen full-time in the No. 88 under a WeatherTech sponsorship. JR Motorsports made a one-off Cup appearance at the Daytona 500 with Justin Allgaier. A new Open Exemption Provisional rule allowed world-class drivers to enter marquee events; Helio Castroneves, a four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, used the provision to start the Daytona 500, making the field the first with more than 40 cars since 2015.
Former Stewart-Haas drivers dispersed across the grid: Noah Gragson joined Front Row Motorsports, Josh Berry went to Wood Brothers Racing, Ryan Preece to RFK Racing, and Chase Briscoe to Joe Gibbs Racing. Michael McDowell moved from Front Row Motorsports to Spire Motorsports. Shane van Gisbergen graduated to full-time Cup competition after an Xfinity Series apprenticeship in 2024. Riley Herbst also moved up to Cup full-time in the 23XI No. 35 car.
Katherine Legge made her Cup Series debut in March at the Shriners Children's 500, becoming the first woman to start a Cup race since Danica Patrick in the 2018 Daytona 500. Connor Zilisch ran several Cup events for Trackhouse as an 18-year-old rookie before a broken collarbone ended his season early.
William Byron won the Daytona 500 for the second consecutive year, becoming the fifth driver in history to accomplish the feat back-to-back and giving Hendrick Motorsports a record tenth Daytona 500 victory, surpassing Petty Enterprises. Christopher Bell won the next three races in succession — at Atlanta, Phoenix, and COTA — becoming the first driver since Kyle Larson in 2021 to win three consecutive Cup events. Kyle Larson was the dominant regular-season performer, winning at Fontana, Bristol twice, Kansas, and other events while also pursuing weekend sweeps in NASCAR's support series. Denny Hamlin recorded consecutive wins at Darlington and Richmond in the spring, and later became the tenth driver to reach 60 career Cup victories, tying Kevin Harvick.
The post-season began with Chase Briscoe winning the Southern 500 at Darlington, defending his victory from the previous year and becoming the first back-to-back Southern 500 winner since Greg Biffle in 2005 and 2006. Briscoe went on to win again at Gateway, securing a Championship 4 berth alongside William Byron, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Larson. The Championship 4 convened at Phoenix, where Hamlin dominated and appeared set for a maiden title before a late caution caused by Byron's tire failure reshuffled the restart. Larson took two fresh tires while Hamlin took four; Larson gained track position and Ryan Blaney won the race outright, but Larson's finish was sufficient to claim the championship — his second title and first since 2021.
The Mexico City race restored international Cup racing for the first time since 1958. The Cook Out Clash moved from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to Bowman Gray Stadium, the first Cup event there since 1971. The new Open Exemption Provisional rule broadened the field for marquee events. It was also the first season since 2008 in which Stewart-Haas Racing operated without Tony Stewart's ownership involvement, following the organization's closure.
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