Denny Hamlin charged from sixth to first on a final restart at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, earning his series-high sixth win this season and a berth in the Championship 4.
The Joe Gibbs Racing star seized the lead from teammate Chase Briscoe with three laps remaining for his 60th NASCAR Cup Series victory (tying him with Kevin Harvick for 10th on the all-time list).
Hamlin started from the pole position and led only twice for nine laps in his No. 11 Toyota, battling back from a mediocre pit stop on Lap 218 of 267 that dropped him to 10th. But he fought his way to sixth when the green waved for the last time with 15 laps remaining.
Joe Gibbs Racing star qualifies for Championship 4 with his 60th career victory.
“Definitely means a lot,” Hamlin told NBC Sports’ Marty Snider while fighting back tears. “This is the point where I usually give the fans some (grief) but not today. I appreciate all of you so much.
“Obviously want to say hi to my dad, family back at home, all the friends that came out here hoping we get 60. I didn’t think we were. Just put the pedal down those last 10 laps and made it happen. (Crew chief) Chris (Gayle) did an amazing job on that final stop getting the car just right. I just held it down. That’s all I could do is just to go for it. I felt like I had nothing to lose. Just go for it, try to punch a ticket now. Man, this one feels great.”
In a nine-lap rally from sixth to first, he passed Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe — a trio of cars that had combined to lead 186 laps.
Larson said he was caught off guard when Hamlin swept past into second place in the inside lane with four laps left.
Oct 12, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin (11) during the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
“I thought I had a big enough gap down the backstretch to go to the top, get momentum,” Larson told NBC Sports’ Dillon Welch. “His car, the Toyotas in general, were really, really, really fast on a short run, had a lot of speed. He must have nailed the bottom behind me, got inside. It was over from there. Yeah, he did an awesome job. He got up on the wheel there. I felt like I was up on the wheel.
“He did a really good job. I tried to take his line away in three and four. He got to my outside. Rarely do you see Denny do that. He did a great job. Hats off to them. Hats off to my team, too. We had an awesome day as well.”
Larson finished second, followed by Bell, Briscoe and Tyler Reddick.
Hamlin will make his first Championship 4 appearance in four years and his fifth overall. At 44 years old (the oldest Cup winner in Las Vegas history), he still is seeking his first title after championship berths in 2021, ’20, ’19 and ’14. He also came agonizingly close to the championship in 2010, leading the standings into the season finale.
“Just super proud of this team for making the adjustments they did,” Hamlin said. “Pit crew for doing a great job all day. … I don’t know what to say. It was very unexpected. The last 15 laps, I didn’t think we were going to win. I knew I was going to give it all I had.”
Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top 10.
With his 60th career victory, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver earns his fifth berth in the Championship 4.
Chase Elliott was 18th because of an uncontrolled tire penalty as six of the eight remaining playoff drivers finished in the top 20.
Two championship favorites crashed and face an uphill battle to qualify for the title race at Phoenix.
With 31 laps remaining, regular-season champion William Byron clobbered the rear of Ty Dillon while running at speed off Turn 4. Dillon seemed to be slowing for a pit stop unbeknownst to Byron, who was caught off guard by the speed disparity. The collision triggered an 11-car crash that required eight laps of caution to clean up.
“I never saw him wave,” Bryon told NBC Sports’ Marty Snider. “I didn’t see any indication he was pitting, and I thought the cycle was fully over. Nobody said anything to my spotter from what I know. I had zero idea. Everyone’s been wrapping the paint around the corner, and that’s what I was doing to have a good lap. I was watching him, thinking he missed the bottom a little bit, and then he just started slowing, and I just had no idea what was going on. I’m just devastated. I had no indication. Obviously, I wouldn’t have run full speed into the back of him. “
Byron collides with Dillon in massive crash
Ty Dillon appears to be entering pit road when William Byron collided with the back of the No. 10 in a massive crash late at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Dillon, whose No. 10 Chevrolet was off the lead lap after battling mechanical problems, admitted he failed to wave he was pitting.
“Yeah, it was a rough day for our team,” Dillon told Snider. “There was something wrong with our car, and we were hoping to get back to the shop and diagnose that. My spotter told me he let (Byron’s) spotter know we were coming to pit road. Maybe I didn’t wave him off enough, but at this level, you kind of trust your spotters to do that.
“I don’t know what we do different. We were taking our medicine on the day. Unfortunately, I hate it for Hendrick and the Chevrolet guys it happened that way. I’m not even looking out the mirror at that point. I’m just trying to hit my marks to get on pit road. He hit me hard. Unforunate way for that to happen. That was pretty much the line I had taken (to the pits) all day. I don’t think I was egregious in that. Maybe just a lack of information being transferred.”
Byron finished 36th after leading three times for 55 laps. The Hendrick Motorsports star had lost the lead five laps earlier after his No. 24 Chevrolet lost momentum with a major wiggle in Turn 2, allowing teammate Larson to pass him.
“We were right there (for the win) with (Larson),” Byron said. “I got loose and lost the lead. Just kind of pacing it. Just as good as we were and the race was going, for random (stuff) to happen like that, it just sucks. I can’t believe it. During the cycle, you’re anticipating guys pitting. It just sucks.”
Blaney done for the day after blown tire at Vegas
Disaster strikes in the opening race of the Round of 8 as Ryan Blaney blows a tire in Stage 1 and is forced behind the wall at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
In a serious blow to his bid to reach the Championship 4 for a third consecutive season, Ryan Blaney slammed the Turn 4 wall with a flat left-front tire on Lap 72 and finished last.
“I didn’t have any thoughts that it was going to blow,” Blaney said. “As soon as I lifted into (Turn 3), it blew out.”
To advance to the championship race, Blaney likely will need to win at Talladega Superspeedway (where he has three victories) or Martinsville Speedway (where he has won the past two Round of 8 finales).
“It’s unfortunate we’ve got to be in these spots, but we’ve got to bounce back,” he said. “We’ll have to come from behind like we did last year. Hopefully, we can win one of the next two weeks. We just can’t have a smooth day it seems like. You’ve got to be optimistic. I’m not very happy right now, but tomorrow morning I’ll be optimistic to go to the next race. We’ve had good success at the next two events, so hopefully we can come and bring the speed and try to overcome the hole we put ourselves in today.”
Stage 1 winner: William Byron
Stage 2 winner: Kyle Larson
Next: Sunday, Oct. 19, 2 p.m. ET at Talladega Superspeedway on NBC
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