Chase Elliott passes Denny Hamlin on last lap of NASCAR race at Kansas

• Chase Elliott won the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway after a dramatic overtime restart.
• Elliott’s victory automatically advances him to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
• A violent crash during overtime saw Zane Smith’s car flip multiple times before he climbed out uninjured.

Chase Elliott used the word “somehow.”

Somehow, he started eighth on an overtime restart Sunday, Sept. 28, and won the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. 

Somehow, he maneuvered his way to the inside of Denny Hamlin, side-bumped him and outran the No. 11, the same car that led a race-best 159 laps, to the stripe.

No matter how, Elliott is a two-time winner this season, and he automatically advanced to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. One week remains in the Round of 12.

“Everything just worked out perfect for me,” Elliott said on the USA Network broadcast. “Had a great push through (Turns) 1 and 2. That kind of all started with the 6 (Brad Keselowski). Big run off of 2. 

“Seas kind of parted and just was able to keep my momentum up. That was really it. Obviously, we still had pretty good tires compared to those guys. What a crazy finish.”

Hamlin placed second. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Christopher Bell, followed in third.

Here are three takeaways:

1. Chase Elliott puts Hendrick Motorsports on playoff board

JGR swept the first round. Team Penske opened Round 2 with a victory last week. Hendrick Motorsports was 0-for-4 and on the verge of 0-for-5 as Bell and 23XI’s Bubba Wallace battled to begin the final restart.

Then, Elliott performed his magic trick.

He led 24 laps, good for third-most Sunday.

The driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet now owns 21 career victories. His first win of the year happened in late June at Atlanta.

As for his Hendrick teammates, Kyle Larson slotted fifth, William Byron ninth and already-eliminated Alex Bowman 28th. Larson sits third in the standings entering next weekend’s cutoff race, and Byron is sixth.

2. Zane Smith wrecks and skids and flips

It was like Zane Smith was surfing a wave.

John Hunter Nemechek elbowed Smith into the wall, and he went up on his left side, riding the barrier like that for a good five seconds. Then, he flipped twice and landed right side up coming down the track.

The crash brought out a red flag. Smith climbed out of the No. 38 under his own power.

“It was a wild ride, no doubt,” he told NBC Sports after being evaluated and released from the infield care center. “I had a decent restart going, and I just get wrecked by the 42. He just drives through me, and then I was sliding on the wall. I was just mad at that point from how our day was going, and this just pissed me off even more because that’s what really hurt was just flipping down the track. It was violent, no doubt.” 

Smith was running near 15th during overtime when the incident happened. He finished 31st of 37 cars.

3. NASCAR schedule update: Playoffs finish Round of 12 at Charlotte ROVAL

Next week brings a rarity in the playoffs.

A road course.

The Cup Series will head to the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, also known as the ROVAL, for the lone roadie of the 10-week sprint.

The Bank of America ROVAL 400 will wrap up the Round of 12. It will feature 109 laps and 248.5 miles. The green flag is set for a few minutes after 3 p.m. Oct. 5.

Besides the four upcoming driver eliminations, the biggest question will be whether Shane van Gisbergen can continue his road dominance. The 36-year-old, who was cut following the first round of the playoffs, has won the last four road-course races. His most recent triumph came at Watkins Glen in August.