We now know our first of 4 drivers who will make up the Championship 4, and it is Denny Hamlin. The veteran driver hadn’t made it to the finals since 2021, failing to advance past the Spherical of 8 in yearly of the Subsequent Gen period … till now.
Hendrick Motorsports dominated the race, however pit highway miscues, a wild wreck, and a late-race restart have been sufficient to disclaim them an automated ticket into the championship race. Penske can be wanting on the subsequent two races as in the event that they want a win with the intention to have a shot at a fourth consecutive Cup Sequence title.
This is a take a look at the largest winners and losers from the NASCAR Cup playoff race at Las Vegas:
WINNER: Denny Hamlin in tears after unimaginable drive to safe sixtieth win
Watch: Emotional Hamlin soaks in his sixtieth Cup win at Las Vegas
How might Hamlin not cry after Sunday’s race? He drove from exterior the highest 5 to win his approach into the Championship 4 — the primary time he has made it that far within the Subsequent Gen period. The victory can be the sixtieth of his profession, and it is a milestone he has been speaking about for a very long time. He’s now tied with Kevin Harvick because the tenth-winningest driver in Cup Sequence historical past. He additionally wins the race with a contentious lawsuit towards NASCAR raging within the background, and an ailing father at residence. It was one of the vital spectacular wins of Hamlin’s Corridor of Fame profession, and now he is one step away from the title that has eluded him for twenty years.
LOSER: William Byron & Ty Dillon as miscommunication ends in large wreck
Ty Dillon and William Byron crash
Photograph by: Getty Photos
Byron went from main the race to sitting in the course of pit highway with a destroyed race automobile in simply a few laps. A mid-turn bobble by the No. 24 dropped Byron again to second, and earlier than he might even take into consideration taking the lead again, Ty Dillon abruptly slowed in entrance of him. It isn’t totally clear what prompted the communication breakdown right here, however one factor is evident — Byron had no concept that the off-sequence Dillon was making an attempt to pit. He didn’t sign to Byron, and communication between spotters by no means made it to Byron’s ears. The consequence was an enormous accident that immediately ended Byron’s day and dropped him 15 factors beneath the cutline. “For random shit to occur like that, it simply sucks,” commented Byron.
WINNER: Logano does not win, however the No. 22 once more discovered a strategy to the entrance
Joey Logano, Staff Penske Ford
Photograph by: Chris Graythen – Getty Photos
Joey Logano and crew chief Paul Wolfe have this means to make one thing out of a median day, and Sunday was the most recent instance of that. A daring two-tire name within the closing laps left his rivals and followers nervous as some started to surprise if he was about to steal one other win out of nowhere. Whereas that did not occur, Logano nonetheless soldiered on to complete sixth, and stays inside attain of the cutline (-24pts) getting into Talladega. The Staff Penske driver stays a wildcard on this Spherical of 8 combat.
LOSER: One other potential oval T10 ends in a pileup crash for SVG
Shane van Gisbergen climbs out of automobile, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Photograph by: Chris Williams of LVMS Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Photos
Shane van Gisbergen is just getting higher on ovals, out-qualifying each of his Trackhouse teammates and operating inside the highest 15 for a majority of the race. His staff put him on a two-tire technique late, which had him on the sting of a high 5 with simply over 20 laps to go. Sadly, SVG by no means obtained to see the checkered flag as he obtained run over from behind when a hoe closed up between Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, and himself. Eleven drivers have been collected within the ensuing melee, and van Gisbergen leaves Vegas with a thirty third place end. It is much like what occurred at New Hampshire, as a robust high ten was ripped away on account of a restart pileup the place the Kiwi obtained hit from behind.
WINNER: No win, however large factors days for Briscoe, Bell and Larson
Watch: Chase Briscoe falls quick at Vegas: ‘That one will sting’
All three of those drivers have been pissed off with lacking out on the win, which isn’t shocking. Briscoe was main with simply 5 laps to go, however failed to carry again a charging Hamlin. Larson led 129 of 267 laps and was forward of Hamlin on the identical tire technique in the course of the closing restart. After which there’s Bell, who appears to ‘nearly’ win the Spherical of 8 opener yearly. However this trio all go away Vegas with high 5 finishes and double-digit stage factors scored. Larson went from +4 to +35, Bell from -4 to +20, and Briscoe from -14 to +15. These are some large positive factors and that buffer could possibly be essential for them with Talladega simply forward.
LOSER: Ryan Blaney instantly falls right into a must-win scenario
Ryan Blaney, Staff Penske Ford
Photograph by: Logan Riely / Getty Photos
Blaney did not actually have a probability. With only a few laps to go in Stage 1, a left-front tire went down and he slammed the surface wall. The No. 12 was broken past restore, and he completed final, scoring solely a single level. He’s now 31 factors beneath the cutline, and he’ll seemingly must win if he needs to go to the Phoenix finale with a shot at profitable the championship. Blaney has now completed thirty second or worse within the final three Vegas races. The one excellent news is the truth that Blaney has a number of Cup wins at each Talladega and Martinsville, which concludes the Spherical of 8.
WINNER: Some excellent news for Kyle Busch as he goes from thirty second to eighth
Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Photograph by: Chris Graythen – Getty Photos
Busch hasn’t had a lot to be enthusiastic about currently. The Richard Childress Racing driver had only one high 15 end within the eleven races that preceded his residence race. After qualifying thirty second and falling a lap down early, it regarded like issues weren’t going to get any higher on Sunday. However Busch managed to keep away from the chaos, hold his automobile clear, and grind away till he introduced residence an eighth-place end — one of the best of all drivers who did not make the 2025 playoffs. Together with Keselowski, they have been the largest movers of the race at +24 positions. It is also Busch’s greatest exhibiting at his residence observe in two years.
LOSER: Promising day for Bubba Wallace unravels
Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Toyota, Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing Toyota
Photograph by: Chris Graythen – Getty Photos
Wallace had a quick (and simply recognizable) neon yellow No. 23 automobile on Sunday. He raced all through the highest 5 and high ten for the primary 100 or so laps of the race. Sadly, he obtained a dashing penalty throughout a pit cease in the course of Stage 2. It took him a lot of the race to claw again not less than among the misplaced observe place, but it surely nonetheless wasn’t going to be an awesome consequence as he ran seventeenth with two laps to go. However that is when the automobile slid up into the wall, dropping Wallace again to twenty second within the closing operating order. Whereas eradicated from the playoffs, Wallace nonetheless has a shot to safe his greatest end but within the championship standings, presently matching his greatest in tenth.
WINNER: RFK continues to be one of the best of the remaining within the playoffs
Chris Buescher, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
Photograph by: Logan Riely / Getty Photos
One other non-playoff staff we wish to spotlight. RFK had a quiet, however stable day, they usually have been the one multi-car staff to finish the race with all of their drivers inside the highest 15. Ryan Preece led the way in which in ninth, with Brad Keselowski eleventh, and Chris Buescher twelfth. This comes after the Roval the place RFK automobiles positioned fourth and sixth, and a race at Kansas the place Keselowski completed eighth to be the top-finishing non-playoff driver. This type of consistency will serve them nicely as they try to flip issues round forward of the 2026 season.
LOSER: Pit highway error derails Chase Elliott’s day
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Elliott completed fifth in Stage 1, and was wanting robust within the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. After the factors reset, he entered this race 14 factors beneath the cutline, in order that was going to be important for him. Sadly, the staff let a wheel roll away throughout a Stage 2 pit cease, and Elliott by no means actually recovered. He finally fought his approach again on the lead lap, however an 18th-place end means he goes to Talladega even deeper within the elimination zone at -23pts.
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