Coming into the playoffs, Denny Hamlin had zero wins to his name this season and had just lost the regular season championship to Kyle Larson.
Now, one race into the Round of 12, the driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 has two wins in the postseason.
“I’m just so happy for our FedEx team. Joe Gibbs Racing just gives us great race cars. It feels so good to win at Vegas. It was great to hold those guys off.”
The big car in his rear-view mirror was that of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9.
Chase Elliott gave it his all to race back through the field. The Hendrick Motorsports brigade was the talk of the track until a caution came out 10 laps into Stage 2.
Eight cars stayed out during the yellow, while the rest of the field came in knowing that they could make it to the end of Stage 2 if it was needed. Four of those cars came from the Hendrick camp.
So, rather than keeping position out front, the HMS drivers had to race their way through the pack from anywhere around 20th. The only driver to not have an issue was Elliott.
Alex Bowman and William Byron had to come down pit road twice during their final pit stops, taking each of them out of contention. Kyle Larson fried his tires trying to chase back into the field.
Elliott’s P2 was the saving grace to the entire teams day, after what can only be described as a questionable strategy call.
Christopher Bell saw similar issues. After a tire failure helped put him a lap down, Bell was trying all afternoon to get back on the lead lap. Unfortunately, the only natural caution flew right after the start of Stage 2.
So, Hamlin – who has 46 career wins with the series, will chase his first championship that has eluded him throughout his career.
For the other 11 drivers, its a nerve-filled week. The tour goes to Talladega for the second race of the Round of 12.
That race begins on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. CT next week on NBC, and its sure to be a big one.
NASCAR Playoff Grid
1. Denny Hamlin 1 win (ADV)
2. Kyle Larson (+57)
3. Kyle Busch (+35)
4. Martin Truex Jr. (+31)
5. Ryan Blaney (+24)
6. Chase Elliott (+22)
7. Joey Logano (+6)
8. Brad Keselowski (+4)
Playoff Cut Line
9. William Byron (-4)
10. Kevin Harvick (-7)
11. Alex Bowman (-13)
12. Christopher Bell (-25)
NASCAR Cup Series Results
Race 1 of the Round of 12
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
1. Denny Hamlin (P)
2. Chase Elliott (P)
3. Kyle Busch (P)
4. Martin Truex Jr. (P)
5. Ryan Blaney (P)
6. Tyler Reddick
7. Brad Keselowski (P)
8. Kurt Busch
9. Kevin Harvick (P)
10. Kyle Larson (P)
11. Joey Logano (P)
12. Matt Dibenedetto
13. Austin Dillon
14. Chase Briscoe
15. Daniel Suarez
16. Bubba Wallace
17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
18. William Byron (P)
19. Aric Almirola
20. Ryan Newman
21. Michael McDowell
22. Alex Bowman (P)
23. Ross Chastain
24. Christopher Bell (P)
25. Chris Buescher
26. Erik Jones
27. Anthony Alfredo
28. Ryan Preece
29. Cole Custer
30. Corey LaJoie
31. Cody Ware
32. Justin Haley
33. BJ McLeod
34. Quin Houff
35. Garrett Smithley
36. Josh Bilicki
37. Joey Gase
38. JJ Yeley
