What Happened?
Denny Hamlin outran Kyle Larson in the closing laps at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 12 to win and claim his spot in this year’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4. It was a Toyota trio of Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe and Tyler Reddick to close out the top five.
The victory is Hamlin’s 60th of his Cup career and places him 10th overall in series history for most all-time, tying him with Kevin Harvick.
What Really Happened?
Maybe you still don’t like Hamlin.
Maybe you can’t forgive him because at some point in his career, he dumped your favorite driver. Maybe he said something you didn’t like on his Actions Detrimental podcast. Maybe you were in the stands when he mocked you after beating your favorite driver. Maybe you just don’t like his face.
Put all that aside because, just this once, you kind of have to feel happy for him.
When he climbed out of the car on Las Vegas’ frontstretch for his winner interview, everybody watching could see the tears welling up in his eyes as he spoke to the world.
And this time, there was no trash-talk directed at those who didn’t like him. This wasn’t the day for that.
And you can understand why.
It’s been a long road for Hamlin. For 19 straight years, the No. 11 has remained among those usually in contention for race wins week-in and week-out. Despite not winning the title and coming close to it multiple times, Hamlin has now finally amassed 60 Cup wins – a milestone he has publicly stated he wanted to reach for some time.
Additionally, 2025 has been perhaps the most stressful year of his racing career. On top of still trying to win a championship in an unpredictable playoff format and running a family as a father of three, the Virginian is running a multi-car race team that is in a legal battle with the very sanctioning body it’s competing in. As a result, said organization is not currently chartered by NASCAR, meaning it can’t gather the millions of dollars in prize money that comes with it.
To top it off, it isn’t yet determined if said race team and its hundreds of employees will even be in business in 2026.
But you already knew all of that.
What you might not have known about is what else is going on in his life. When he crossed the line to win on Sunday, Hamlin dedicated the victory to his father, who he later claimed is not doing well.
So, to reach 60 wins while his father can still see it certainly meant all the world to him, and perhaps that’s why even the stoutest of Hamlin haters should appreciate him reaching the milestone.
But if 60 wins can make him emotional, what would finally winning a title look like?
Maybe we’ll find out in three weeks.
Who Stood Out?
The No. 5 team was the odds favorite to win heading into the weekend. Nothing new there. However, seeing as how the No. 5 is experiencing its longest winless streak since its revival in 2021, it certainly could have used a victory.
So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Larson led 129 laps on Sunday. It’s the most the Californian driver has led in a Cup race since his most recent win that came at Kansas Speedway in May.
After finishing second in stage one and winning stage two, Larson was leading the event with less than 30 laps to go.
However, a late-race caution involving teammate William Byron (and we’ll get to that) threw Larson and the rest of the Cup field down pit road one last time under caution. Crew chief Cliff Daniels put four fresh Goodyear tires on the Chevrolet and sent Larson back out in fourth.
What they didn’t expect, however, was the long cleanup that happened after and subsequent big wad-up that occurred on the next restart that involved 11 cars. By the time the final green flag waved, there was only 14 laps remaining.
Larson, despite his speed, was outmatched by the No. 11 of Hamlin in the final laps of the event. He had to settle for second place for the second consecutive week and the third time since his last victory.
That said, Larson is sitting pretty among those playoff drivers not locked into the Championship 4 – the prettiest, in fact.
With 19 stage points and a runner-up result, the No. 5 team heads to Talladega Superspeedway with a 35-point cushion between he and his Hendrick Motorsport teammate that sits below the cut line.
Speaking of which.
Who Fell Flat?
What on earth happened on lap 237?
Similar to teammate Larson, Byron and the No. 24 team were having a much-needed performance on Sunday. Before Las Vegas, Byron had not led a single lap thus far in the playoffs after winning the regular season title.
But after leading 55 laps – also the most since his most recent win that took place at Iowa Speedway – and winning stage one and finishing third in stage two, Byron seemed to be almost mirroring that of Larson’s performance throughout the afternoon.
Things looked much better after the final green flag pit stop cycle for the North Carolina native when he inherited the lead from his Hendrick Motorsports teammate. With 36 laps to go, Byron was out front and in command when he suddenly had a wiggle in turn 1. The mistake allowed Larson to drive by and regain the lead.
It wasn’t the end of the world, however. The No. 24 team had decent pace and maybe could contend with Larson after a long enough green flag sprint to the end as long as there weren’t any obstacles.
Well, save for Ty Dillon nearly parking his car in the bottom of the track in turn 4 when trying to enter pit road.
It is one of the more bizarre moments of the year and perhaps could have bigger repercussions when it comes to the championship competition.
To top it off, it’s not really clear as to who is at fault.
On one hand, Byron and crew claim there was no indication from Dillon’s team that the No. 10 was pitting, not even a hand wave. On the other hand, both Dillon and his spotter claim the wave did happen and Byron’s spotter was also notified.
So, who’s to blame? It’s not really clear. What is clear is that Byron is now in a bad spot when it comes to the postseason standings. With 15 points separating he and fourth-place Briscoe in the standings, the No. 24 team will have two races to climb out of its hole.
And he isn’t alone.
Chase Elliott also had a disappointing day after running fifth in stage one and then suffering an uncontrolled tire penalty in stage two. The No. 9 went a lap down and didn’t recover. He finished 18th and sits 23 points below the cutline.
Ryan Blaney joined in the playoff struggle early as well when the No. 12 cut a tire on lap 73 and slammed into the wall hard. The impact was so great the Team Penske entry was unable to continue and finished last. The Ohio native sits a whole 31 points behind Briscoe.
Paint Scheme of the Race
There were actually a number of new paint schemes in the field to admire this weekend in Sin City.
But there is just something about black and gold that goes so well together.
It’s very rare to see a one-off design on Larson’s No. 5, and it’s even more rare to see a band featured on a Cup car as well. However, it’s now been back-to-back trips at Las Vegas that has hosted a concert show in the famous Las Vegas sphere, and Zac Brown Band gave the Hendrick Motorsports car a simple, yet appealing design.
Look closely at the black base and you see the sphere itself slightly faded behind the No. 5 door panels and the shiny golden number.
It’s unfortunate this weekend’s race wasn’t hosted later in the evening, because surely those golden highlights would’ve looked great reflecting the speedway’s lights.
What’s Next?
The last superspeedway of the season.
The Cup Series will return to the state of Alabama for the last time in 2025 when it heads to Talladega Superspeedway for the second race of the Round of 8.
The 500-mile event will be broadcasted live on NBC with coverage beginning at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 19.
Dalton Hopkins began writing for Frontstretch in April 2021. Currently, he is the lead writer for the weekly Thinkin' Out Loud column, co-host of the Frontstretch Happy Hour podcast, and one of our lead reporters. Beforehand, he wrote for IMSA shortly after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2019. Simultaneously, he also serves as a Captain in the US Army.
Follow Dalton on Twitter @PitLaneCPT