Denny Hamlin scores 60th Win at Vegas while Other Playoff Drivers Find Trouble

KELSEY CHRISTMAN - STAFF WRITER

Denny Hamlin celebrates his 60th career NASCAR Cup Series victory. (Photo Credit: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosted the first race of the Round of 8 for the NASCAR Cup Series. To start the race, the top 6 positions in qualifying were claimed by playoff drivers with Denny Hamlin leading the way. Joe Gibbs Racing claimed not just the pole with Hamlin, but also began the race with Chase Briscoe in 2nd and Christopher Bell in 3rd to top the field with all three of their playoff contenders. Hendrick Motorsports slotted their three playoff drivers into 4th through 6th as they lined up Chase Elliott, William Byron and then Kyle Larson. Team Penske didn’t qualify as well, but was still towards the front, with Joey Logano starting 9th and Ryan Blaney rolling off 14th.

Lap 70 brought devastation to the hopes of Ryan Blaney, as he cut a left front tire and nailed the turn 3 wall. The damage was terminal, giving the 2023 champion a last place finish, putting him 31 points below the cutline. Historically though, Talladega and Martinsville are two of Blaney’s best tracks, so there will be an opportunity to rebound.

Stage one featured a host of lead changes between playoff drivers before William Byron took the green checkered flag to claim his 8th stage win of the season, as every other Round of 8 contender besides Blaney scored points.

Green flag pit cycles brought penalties for two cars running within the top 10. Around lap 118, playoff driver Chase Elliott’s pit crew lost control of their tire during their pit stop, resulting in a pass through penalty for the 9 car under green This left Elliott a lap down and forced him to battle his way back throughout the day in hopes of a caution to gain his lap back. Bubba Wallace was also penalized for speeding in the pits after previously looking like one of the fastest non-playoff cars on the day.

Stage two was relatively drama free as Kyle Larson began leading the pack and took the green checkered flag first to claim the stage win. Larson led 74 laps in the stage, as his Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott returned to the lead lap at the stage break after getting the free pass.

On lap 237, another playoff driver’s promising drive would be derailed. William Byron, who had recently lost the lead to Kyle Larson but was still running 2nd, drove into the rear of Ty Dillon through turn 4 as Dillon attempted to slow for pit road. Lack of communication was cited by both teams, as Byron claimed he had no indication that Dillon was slowing to enter for his pit stop laps after the other drivers came to service, while Dillon said that the memo wasn't sent from his spotter to Byron's.

"I’m just devastated,” a dejected Byron told the media at the infield care center. “I had no indication. Obviously, I wouldn’t have just driven full-speed into the back of him like that.” After battling for the lead and leading 55 laps, Byron finished 36th and is 15 points below the cutline.

Following the Dillon-Byron caution, the race went back green for less than a full lap before contact between Shane van Gisbergen, Christopher Bell, and Ty Gibbs resulted in a caution. SVG and Gibbs went for a spin as Bell was able to stay high and avoid the wreck with minimal damage to keep his day alive. Carson Hocevar, Cody Ware, Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, Austin Dillon, AJ Allmendinger, Todd Gilliland, and Zane Smith all reported being involved. This wreck ended the day of SVG, Hocevar, and Gibbs who all showed speed and consistent top 10 pace on the oval.

The late caution presented an opportunity for an exciting battle for the win as the race resumed with just 15 laps to go. Chase Briscoe and Joey Logano elected to take 2 tires on their final pit stop to bring them to the front row for the restart. Briscoe took the green flag with a great run to begin the final stretch without competition. This run did not last long though, as Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin quickly approached to battle for the lead. With 4 laps remaining, Hamlin made the pass on his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, taking the lead and setting sail to find victory by more than a second over Kyle Larson.

As Hamlin crossed the finish line, he not only celebrated his spot in the Final Four, but also had secured his 60th career win, tying Kevin Harvick for the tenth most victories in NASCAR Cup Series history. This was an achievement highly discussed throughout this season as the 44 year-old nears retirement, but Hamlin continues to prove that he has plenty left in the tank, and will now fight for his first championship in Phoenix next month.

Other notable top ten finishes for the playoff drivers were Larson in 2nd, Bell in 3rd, Briscoe in 4th, and Logano in 6th. Elliott battled his way back up to 18th after the pit penalty and contact during the final caution.

The Round of 8 continues this weekend as the series travels to Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. The 2.66 mile track is known to be a wild card with extreme speed and big crashes. Will we see another playoff driver punch their ticket to the Final Four in victory lane or could the win be secured by a driver outside of the postseason picture?