Denny Hamlin is back in the Championship 4 with eyes on his first career NASCAR Cup Series title.
Hamlin passed teammate Chase Briscoe with four laps to go to take the lead and win the South Point 400 on Oct. 12 at Las Vegas.
The driver of the No. 11 Toyota used four fresh tires to work into the top three with 10 laps to go before passing Kyle Larson for second and working past Briscoe for the lead.
Three playoff drivers had major issues at Vegas. Ryan Blaney blew a tire early and crashed, finishing 38th. William Byron, in 2nd inside of 40 laps to go, crashed after running over a slowing Ty Dillon at the opening of pit road. Chase Elliott had a pit road penalty and never recovered back into the top 10, finishing 18th.
Here is the NASCAR Cup Series playoff picture after Las Vegas:
After 1 of 3 races in the Round of 8
1. Denny Hamlin ADVANCED (locked into Championship 4 via Las Vegas win)
2. Kyle Larson +35
3. Christopher Bell +20
4. Chase Briscoe +15
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5. William Byron -15 behind 4th
6. Chase Elliott -23
7. Joey Logano -24
8. Ryan Blaney -31
- Aug. 31: Southern 500, Darlington Raceway (Winner: Chase Briscoe) Round of 16
- Sept. 7: Enjoy Illinois 300, World Wide Technology Raceway (Winner: Denny Hamlin) Round of 16
- Sept. 13: Bass Pro Shops Night Race, Bristol Motor Speedway (Winner: Christopher Bell) Round of 16
- Sept. 21: NASCAR Cup Series Race at New Hampshire, New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Winner: Ryan Blaney) Round of 12
- Sept. 28: Hollywood Casino 400, Kansas Speedway (Winner: Chase Elliott) Round of 12
- Oct. 5: Bank of America Roval 400, Charlotte Motor Speedway road course (Winner: Shane van Gisbergen) Round of 12
- Oct. 12: South Point 400, Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Winner: Denny Hamlin) Round of 8
- Oct. 19: YellaWood 500, Talladega Superspeedway (1 p.m., NBC) Round of 8
- Oct. 26: Xfinity 500, Martinsville Speedway (1 p.m., NBC) Round of 8
- Nov. 2: NASCAR Cup Series Championship race, Phoenix Raceway (2 p.m., NBC)
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