Richard Petty says there’s “no way to predict” the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series champion

Richard Petty went over the championship contenders and their chances at Phoenix Raceway. The Hall of Famer believes there's equal opportunity between all four drivers to win the championship.

The title fight is set between Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson and William Byron. All four drivers have had their highs and lows throughout the 2025 season.

Hamlin began the season with a crew chief change and went on to win four races in the regular season alone. His teammate Chase Briscoe took a while to find his footing, but scored consistent poles and has won three races so far.

Byron had a strong start with a Daytona 500 win. He had dominant runs in many races, but couldn't capitalise on them. His Martinsville victory brought him back into the conversation, while his HMS teammate, Kyle Larson, has entered the final four with his points advantage.

Reflecting upon the four drivers, Richard Petty shared a realistic take on the situation.

"Well, you got a 25 percent chance of picking right one,okay? Because there's four of them. Right now, it's a toss up and there's no way to predict it or anything. It'll wind up being the guy that wins is one thats supposed to," he said.

In a post-race interview after Martinsville, Christopher Bell noted that the playoff format has finally delivered a deserving lot of contenders.

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Richard Petty reveals if the current playoff system would've affected his championship tally

In a recent episode of Petty's Race Recap, Richard Petty answered a fan question about the current championship format. He was asked if his Cup Series career would've been any different under the playoff system.

"It probably would have. I've never looked back and I've never talked to anybody about, you know, whether I would've won another championship or lost a couple," he said via X/therichardpetty. "I was looking the other day on the deal, and if the championships had been counted like what they were with me, then Jeff Gordon would have won seven championships and Jimmy Johnson would have won four. They would have just swapped it back. So again, that kind of, to me that kind of shows that the championship should be a year-long thing, not just one or two race deal," he added.

Richard Petty's X post the current championship format. Source: @therichardpetty

If reports are to be believed, NASCAR will move away from the current single-race title decider and transition to a three or four-race fight for the title. Denny Hamlin recently advocated for the same, while figures like Mark Martin have echoed Richard Petty's stance.

Martin believes a full-season points system is the best way to determine a champion. Other motorsports like Formula 1 deal with the same format.

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Edited by Vignesh Kanna