Elliott Cashes In, Wins Hollywood Casino 400 in Dramatic Fashion at Kansas

Riley Ogle (Motorsports Today, Kansas 2025)

KANSAS CITY, K.S. – The NASCAR Cup Series hit its halfway mark in the 2025 playoffs on Sunday, September 28, as they took on the fast, yet tricky Kansas Speedway for the Hollywood Casino 400. This race served as the second of three races in the Round of 12.

Joe Gibbs Racing continued its spectacular showing in the postseason, as it swept the front row. On Saturday, Chase Briscoe earned his 7th pole of the season, the most since Kyle Busch in 2017. To his outside was teammate Denny Hamlin, who was the all-time winner at Kansas Speedway with four total wins.

To many people's surprise, after 400 miles and two overtimes,  Chase Elliott scored the race win.

Stage One:

On the initial start, it was Briscoe who fired out to the lead, leading the first 19 laps of the race. The day before, in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race, the track was a huge challenge as it took a very long time for the outside lane to develop, and the race was bottom-line dominant. However, that was further from the truth for the big race Sunday, as on lap 10 of the race, nearly every car in the field had migrated to the fence running the outside wall.

In the early laps, nobody capitalized on the opportunity to run the fence than 23XI driver Tyler Reddick, who found himself in the 5th position up seven spots on lap three, as he immediately passed multiple cars on the first lap of the race running the fence.

On lap 20, the first lead change of the day occurred, as Denny Hamlin passed his teammate Briscoe for the lead. This began a strong showing for Hamlin, as he led 100 laps in the first two stages of the race.

Usually, when a driver puts up a number of such, it usually means things came easily to Hamlin, but that was the furthest from the case, as multiple drivers challenged Denny throughout the day.

On lap 32, the pit cycle began as 23XI’s Bubba Wallace, who was complaining of being extremely tight, opted to kick things off. Behind, Penske Racing’s Austin Cindric followed in an attempt to make up track position early.

After a disastrous Saturday for Penske, all three of its cars started the race in the back. Ryan Blaney, who crashed in practice, started 37th, as he went to a backup car. Meanwhile, Joey Logano had a flat tire in practice and did not qualify well. Both he and Cindric opted to make unapproved adjustments. Cindric also made contact with the wall during qualifying, leading to the team's decision.

On lap 36, Denny Hamlin pitted from the lead, but exited trailing Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson, who was looking for a Kansas sweep after his win in the spring. However, the lead of the pit cycle battle for Larson did not last long, as Hamlin powered by him just six laps later on lap 42. A lap later, Hamlin inherited the lead for a second time as Roush Fenway Keselowski’s Brad Keselowski pitted, being the last driver to make a stop.

As for the cars that started the cycle, it seemingly only benefited Wallace, as he jumped up six spots to 13th from the 19th-place position he pitted. As for Cindric, he did gain three positions on the strategy, but ran 19th out of the mix for stage points.

On lap 55, the stage opened up for more strategy as the race saw its first caution of the day. Kyle Laron two laps earlier, closed up to the bumper of Hamlin after having difficulty lapping Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch. But Rick Ware Racing’s Cody Ware lost his right front tire, bringing out the yellow, preventing the race for the lead.

The caution was also an unlucky break for Brad Keselowski, who, as mentioned earlier, was the last to pit of all drivers. He was trailing right behind Busch when the caution came out and was unable to obtain the lucky dog. Keselowski had to take a wave around.

On pit road, it was Hamlin's crew prevailing as he beat out Larson and JGR teammate Christopher Bell. However, for Hamlin, bad luck for his 23XI team occurred for early mover Tyler Reddick as he had come back to pit road due to a loose right rear tire.

As a result, crew chief Billy Scott decided to put on the set of Qualifying scuffs for Reddick as he restarted at the tail end of the field.

On lap 62, the green flag displayed as Hamlin elected the inside lane and jumped clear of the lead out of turn two. Behind, Joey Logano, who was on two tires, got a bit loose battling for third. This led to a lap-long three-wide battle for the second position, allowing Hamlin to briefly extend his lead on the field.

In the battle, it was Hendrick’s Chase Elliott who prevailed on the bottom over Larson and Bell. Four laps later on lap 67, Elliott got to the bumper of Hamlin with Larson also tight in tow. However, neither of the Hendrick cars had anything for the #11 car, as Hamlin earned the first stage win.

Stage Two:

During the break, it was strategy that got things going again on pit road. Hamlin, who took two tires during the caution previously, opted to take four. His teammate, Christopher Bell, however, opted to take two tires, winning the race out of the pit road.

For Bell,  it was near disaster as he was exiting his stall, Tyler Reddick nearly collided with him while trying to get into his pit. As a result, Reddick missed his box, needing to back up into it, causing him to go to the rear yet again.

As for Hamlin, his first string of bad luck saw him restart 6th, as slow service on the right rear caused him to lose five positions. This would not be the only bad luck Hamlin suffered from as more occurred as the race progressed.

On the restart on lap 87, Christopher Bell found himself door to door with Kyle Larson, but finally prevailed out of turn four. Behind, Denny Hamlin immediately capitalized as he moved to third.

The green did not stay out long, though, as the second caution for an incident occurred on lap 90 after Legacy Motorclub’s John Hunter Nemechek and RFK’s Ryan Preece tangled, sending them both for a spin.

Under the caution, Denny Hamlin’s second string of bad luck became apparent as he began having worries about his throttle sticking. Luckily for Hamlin, this issue did not hinder him much after, but was present.

Lap 94, the green came back out with Bell clearing Larson much easier this time into turn one. Larson charged back on lap 96, attempting a slide job and briefly clearing Bell. Bell crossed him back over, though, and maintained the lead.

For Kyle Larson, after not keeping the lead, he faded back as far as 5th on lap 108. In an effort of big swings in the pits, Bubba Wallace passed him for 4th in the lap 108 exchange, showing the potential strength Wallace and his group had. Larson did show strength in a rebound and eventually finished the stage in third.

As for his Hendrick teammate, though, there were huge struggles as William Byron, to many people’s surprise, faded to 22nd on lap 119. Luckily, a lap later, Ryan Blaney began the pit cycle for all the playoff cars, allowing strategy to come to play again.

On lap 121, Christopher Bell pitted from the lead with Denny Hamlin right on his tail, but another near collision with Todd Gilliland, who was exiting his stall behind, cost him time and the lead. As a result, Denny Hamlin beat him out, but again didn't initially inherit the lead of those on the pit cycle.

The leader of the group instead was Bubba Wallace, but that only lasted just seven laps, as Hamlin’s strength was undeniable as he passed Wallace into turn three on lap 128. A lap later, Hamlin inherited the lead for the third time in the race.

Behind, more gains became present for guys who started in the back, as Ryan Blaney was up 27 spots from the drop of the green flag as he climbed to 9th on lap 157. Bubba Wallace faded back to 6th to end the stage, but both drivers earned crucial stage points.

As for the stage winner, Denny Hamlin cruised to sweeping the stages, earning his 6th of the year. Hamlin was just a stage away from being the 11th driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to achieve 60 wins.

The Final Stage:

The race went back green on lap 173, with Hamlin leading the field. However, for Denny this time, he would lose the lead on the restart as Chase Elliott took control at the point.

Hamlin faded to third for a corner, but would not be denied as he eventually chased down Elliott’s lead, which lasted for 23 laps on lap 196. Hamlin did not look back again, as he maintained firm control until a caution on lap 212 for JJ Yeley spinning changed the tone of the race.

Under caution, more bad luck came for Denny Hamlin as he complained about his power steering, and kept on referring to it as “broken”. Despite the issues, Hamlin maintained the lead for the lap 217 restart, but the caution came immediately back out after a big crash that included 11 cars, including four playoff drivers.

 In the carnage was Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, who escaped with minimal damage; Ryan Blaney, who also had minimal damage; Joey Logano, who had some damage; and Austin Cindric, who got the worst end of the ordeal, knocking out his power steering from the hit. From this, Cindric finished 30th, four laps down, putting him in a practical must-win scenario at the Roval as he leaves Kansas -48 points to the cutline.

As for his teammate Joey Logano, he too never fully recovered as he finished 19th, the last car inside the cutline at +13.

As it turned out, this would not be the final big moment in the race, as more came later after this, which led to a chaotic ending.

On lap 223, the race went back green, with Hamlin again in control. As the run progressed for Hamlin, the power steering issues got worse as he complained about losing the feeling in his hands. Despite the hard feeling, on lap 242, nearly 20 laps later, Hamlin led teammate Christopher Bell by .897.

The race saw its seventh caution of the race on lap 254, as Kyle Busch cut down a tire, leading to the debris of his tire carcass being left behind on the track. This opened up hardcore strategy for yet another time.

During the stops, the majority of the field opted to take two tires, but bad luck again struck for Hamlin and his team as he was not the first car to come out of pit road. In fact, another slow stop in a crucial moment caused Hamlin to lose six spots as he came out of the pits in 7th. Christopher Bell came out first on his two-tire strategy along with Bubba Wallace.

The issues did not stop with Hamlin, though, as two more drivers also had penalties in the big moment. Hamlin’s teammate got nabbed for speeding on exit, and the most critical penalty that put the nail in the coffin to Penske’s day was suffered by Ryan Blaney, as he too sped exiting, sending him to the rear. Blaney finished 24th, the last car on the lead lap and in harm's way.

On lap 259, the race went back green with Bell at the point and Wallace to his outside. Wallace, for two laps battled hard, maintaining position outside of Bell. Behind, a wreck between Spire Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar and RFK driver Chris Buescher ensued, leading to another caution.

At the time of the caution, Bubba Wallace had just narrowly edged out Bell, as both drivers were side by side the whole way to the yellow, giving him the lead. This caution set up the first attempt at a green-white-checkered.

On lap 267, the race went back green with Wallace in control. Opposite of the restart prior, Wallace controlled the bottom lane, while Bell was on the top side. However, again, Wallace barely stayed ahead, as the loudest wreck of the day happened behind both drivers in turn three.

In the corner, John Hunter Nemechek drove into Zane Smith’s left rear, leading to him sliding on his side in the corner against the outside wall. After the contact, Nemecheck went crashing down, collecting Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry and Ty Gibbs. Only Gibbs was able to continue on.

As for Smith, the wreck was very similar to Kasey Kahne’s at Bristol in 2010 and Brad Keselowski’s crash at Auto Club in 2007. The only difference in this crash, however, is that as Smith slowed down, his car tumbled down the banking, flipping twice before landing on all four wheels. Zane thankfully exited the car okay.

This crash set up the wild ending that many will be talking about for a long time. As they restarted on lap 272, Bubba Wallace again restarted on the outside with Christopher Bell to his outside.

Out of turn two, Bell got the edge, but Wallace stayed tight to his inside. In turn three, Wallace sent it deep, but was unable to get clear as he washed up the track into Bell, ultimately putting him into the wall.

Behind Chase Briscoe tried to squeeze through, but his momentum was halted with brief contact with Chase, causing it to get three wide for all three Gibbs cars, as Hamlin forced his way to the bottom of the apron, and easily back into line in 2nd entering one.

Then, out of two, Hamlin got a huge burst of momentum running the top lane, while Wallace elected to run the bottom, leading to Hamlin getting to his bumper, and then his inside as they entered turn three.

In the final set of corners, chaos happened, as Hamlin washed up into Wallace, making contact, sending him into the wall. Wallace kept it straight, but the contact killed the momentum of both cars mightily.

Behind, Chase Briscoe brushed the wall out of two, causing him to go side by side with Chase Elliott. As Elliott entered three, he was clear of Briscoe. As both Hamlin and Wallace washed up the track, Elliott came with all cylinders charging on the bottom.

Hamlin attempted after the contact with Wallace, attempting to block low, making contact with Elliott, but the contact was not enough to deny the fan favorite. Through the tri-oval to the line, Chase Elliott cashed in his chips for the Hollywood Casino 400, a jackpot winner, as he stole the win, clinching himself into the Round of 8.

As for Hamlin, he finished 2nd, but getting the worst blow of the situation was Wallace, as he crossed the line 5th from the contact. After the race, Wallace shook hands with Hamlin, despite being deflated, and said he would race people how they race him. The loss, though, for Wallace could be a detrimental one, as had Wallace won, he would have advanced, and instead exited Kansas -16 points behind the cutline.

For Elliott, this win marked his second win of the season and also the 21st win of his career. He joins Ryan Blaney as the only two drivers locked into the next round.

UP NEXT:

The NASCAR Cup Series heads home to Charlotte next Sunday, October 5, as the series takes on the infamous Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. The race can be found on USA Network at 3:00 p.m. ET. Only six spots remain available for those trying to advance, as it serves as arguably the most important elimination race in the playoffs.