Denny Hamlin scores 60th Cup victory at Las Vegas; clinches Championship 4 berth

Denny Hamlin earned a one-way ticket to the 2025 Championship 4 round with a clutch NASCAR Cup Series victory in the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 12.

The three-time Daytona 500 champion from Chesterfield, Virginia, led four times for nine of 267-scheduled laps in an event where he lost the lead at the event’s start from pole position and dealt with early handling issues despite racing upfront and recording stage points during the event’s first two stages.

Hamlin’s race-winning move then occurred within the final 30 laps after he pitted for four fresh tires during a caution and amid a harrowing accident that knocked Playoff contender William Byron out of race-winning contention. Then through a brief restart with 23 laps remaining before the final one that occurred with 14 laps remaining, Hamlin, who restarted sixth, methodically bolted his way to the front. Following a late duel with Playoff contender Kyle Larson and teammate Chase Briscoe, the latter of whom was strategically on two fresh tires, Hamlin navigated his way to the lead with four laps remaining. From there, Hamlin captured a victory that enabled him to cross off 60 victories from his bucket list and place him in prime position to achieve his first elusive championship.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, October 11, Denny Hamlin notched his fourth Cup pole position of the 2025 season and the 47th of his career with a pole-winning lap at 184.849 mph in 29.213 seconds. Joining Hamlin on the front row was teammate Chase Briscoe, the latter of whom clocked in his best qualifying lap at 184.622 mph in 29.249 seconds.

Prior to the event, Ross Chastain dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments that were made to his entry.

When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Denny Hamlin, who started on the inside lane, launched ahead of the field with the lead through the frontstretch and the first two turns. As the field fanned out through the backstretch, Hamlin retained the lead until teammate Chase Briscoe overtook Hamlin through Turns 3 and 4, which allowed Briscoe to lead the first lap.

Over the next four laps, Briscoe maintained a steady advantage over Hamlin as both were pursued by Playoff contenders Chase Elliott, William Byron and Christopher Bell, respectively, in the top five. With Tyler Reddick, Playoff contender Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Playoff contender Joey Logano and Alex Bowman racing in the top 10, Briscoe proceeded to lead by three-tenths of a second over Hamlin on the 10th lap.

Though the first 25-scheduled laps, Briscoe extended his lead to three seconds over Hamlin while Byron, Elliott and Bell trailed by as far back as four seconds in the top five, respectively. Meanwhile, Reddick, Larson, Logano, Bowman and Wallace continued to race in the top 10 ahead of Ty Gibbs while Ryan Blaney, the lone Playoff contender racing outside the top 10 on the track, was mired back in 12th place ahead of Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece and Shane van Gisbergen.

Then on Lap 33, a first round of green-flag pit stops occurred as select names led by Larson, Logano, Ross Chastain and Reddick pitted their respective entries. More names that included Wallace, Zane Smith, Austin Cindric, Byron, Hamlin, Elliott, Bell, Blaney, Ty Gibbs, Preece, van Gisbergen, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. pitted throughout the next two laps before the leader Briscoe pitted on Lap 36. Briscoe, though, endured a slow pit service after his pit crew had issues getting the left-rear wheel adjusted and secured on the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE entry. 

By the time Briscoe exited pit road, he had been overtaken by Byron, Reddick and Larson on the track. Once the first round of green flag pit stops cycled through as Todd Gilliland pitted, Byron cycled to the lead on Lap 41. As Byron led, Reddick trailed the latter by within seven-tenths of a second while Larson, Briscoe and Hamlin were scored in the top five over Elliott, Bell, Wallace, Bowman and Logano, respectively. Meanwhile, Blaney, who cracked the top 10 prior to the pit stops, was mired back in 12th place behind Ty Gibbs.

At the Lap 50 mark, Byron was leading by more than a second over Reddick while Larson, Briscoe and Hamlin trailed in the top five, respectively, by as far back as four seconds. Byron proceeded to add another second to his advantage over Reddick by Lap 65. By then, Elliott navigated his way up to fourth place behind teammate Larson and in front of Briscoe, Hamlin and Bell while Logano was back in 10th place. 

On Lap 71, the event’s first caution flew when Blaney, who was racing in 12th place, cut a right-front tire and went dead straight into the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4. The damage to Blaney’s No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry was enough to terminate Blaney’s start to the Round of 8 and his hopes for a second Cup Series championship.

“No warning. The left-front tire blew into [Turn] 3 and yeah, [it’s] unfortunate [to] going home early,” Blaney said in the infield care center. “Obviously, we have to look forward to [Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway]. [It’s] Not the spot you want to be in. I actually thought we got our car fairly decent and was looking forward to keep going and never got it. Pretty simple: [I] Got to go win one of the next two weeks and hopefully, we can rebound and do it.”

During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Byron pitted for service and Byron retained the lead by exiting pit road first ahead of Larson, Briscoe, Elliott and Reddick.

With three laps remaining in the first stage period, the event restarted under green. At the start, Byron fended off Briscoe, Larson and the field through the first two turns to retain the lead. As the field fanned out through the backstretch, Larson, Briscoe, Hamlin and Elliott all fiercely battled for the runner-up spot, with Hamlin and Elliott making contact through the frontstretch, while Byron retained the lead. In the process of the runner-up battle, Wallace, Bell and Reddick joined the battle while Logano was trying to maintain a top-10 spot for a stage point.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 80, Byron captured his eighth Cup stage victory of the 2025 season. Teammate Larson settled in second ahead of Briscoe, Hamlin and Elliott while Wallace, Bell, Reddick, Ty Gibbs and Logano were scored in the top 10, respectively.

Under the first stage break period, the front runners led by Byron remained on the track while some racing within the midfield region, including Noah Gragson, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Brad Keselowski, Josh Berry, Michael McDowell, Justin Haley, Cody Ware, Ross Chastain, Zane Smith, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric, Cole Custer, Riley Herbst, Todd Gilliland and Ty Dillon pitted.

The second stage period started on Lap 86 as Byron and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Byron was nearly turned by Briscoe as the latter was pushing the former through the frontstretch. Amid Briscoe’s contact, Byron kept his No. 24 Relay Chevrolet entry racing straight and he dueled with Larson through the first two turns and the backstretch. Then as Briscoe tried to make a three-wide move beneath both Byron and Larson for the lead entering Turn 3, Larson rocketed his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet entry ahead and he led the next lap (Lap 87) while Byron was mired in a battle with Briscoe and Hamlin for the runner-up spot. As the field fanned out and battled fiercely for spots, Larson retained the lead by a tenth of a second over Briscoe at the Lap 90 mark while Byron, Hamlin and Wallace trailed in the top five. 

At the Lap 100 mark, Larson was leading by seven-tenths of a second over teammate Byron while Briscoe, Hamlin and Elliott trailed in the top five, respectively. Behind, 23XI Racing’s Reddick and Wallace were racing in sixth and seventh ahead of Ty Gibbs, Logano and van Gisbergen while Bell was mired in 11th place ahead of Carson Hocevar, Chris Buescher, Preece, Noah Gragson, Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., John Hunter Nemechek and Daniel Suarez.

By Lap 115, another round of green flag pit stops slowly commenced as some including Bell and Buescher pitted their entries. On Lap 119 and as more competitors, including a bevy of Playoff contenders pitted, Larson pitted from the lead. During the pit stops, Elliott was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation. Once the second round of green flag pit stops concluded as Wallace and Cole Custer pitted from the lead, Larson cycled back to the lead on Lap 126.

At the halfway mark between Laps 133 and 134, Larson was leading by a tenth of a second over a hard-charging Reddick while Byron, Hamlin, Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, Bell, van Gisbergen, Logano and Buescher followed suit in the top 10, respectively. Meanwhile, Elliott, who served a drive-through penalty from his uncontrolled tire violation penalty, was scored the first competitor a lap down in 29th place while Wallace, who was penalized for speeding on pit road during his latest pit service, was strapped back in 34th place. 

Through the Lap 145 mark, Larson stretched his lead to a second over Reddick while third-place Byron trailed by one-and-a-half seconds. Behind, teammates Hamlin and Briscoe were scored in the top five and both Bell and Logano were racing in seventh and eighth while Elliott was ranked the second competitor scored a lap down in 28th. Larson proceeded to stabilize his lead to a second over Reddick by the lap 155 mark. By then, Elliott was ranked the third competitor mired a lap down in 27th as he had both Todd Gilliland and Austin Cindric to overtake before the second stage’s conclusion and to have any opportunity to receive the free pass.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 165, Larson cruised to his eighth Cup stage victory of the 2025 season. Reddick followed suit in second place while Byron, Hamlin, Briscoe, Bell, Ty Gibbs, Alex Bowman, Logano and Hocevar were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, Elliott was awarded the free pass as he was the first competitor scored a lap down in 25th place.

During the second stage break period, the lead lap field led by Larson pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Larson exited pit road first and he was followed by Reddick, Hamlin, Briscoe and Byron. Amid the pit stops, Daniel Suarez was penalized for equipment interference.

With 95 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Larson and Reddick occupied the front row. At the start, Larson retained the lead over Reddick, Hamlin and the field through the frontstretch, the first two turns and the backstretch. As the field fanned out, Hamlin challenged Larson for the lead and he led the next lap from the outside lane by a hair before Larson reassumed the top spot. Hamlin then went from second to fifth over the next two laps as Reddick, Bell and Byron overtook him. With Briscoe mired in sixth place behind Hamlin, Larson retained the lead by a tenth of a second over a hard-charging Reddick with 90 laps remaining. 

As the event reached its final 75 laps, Larson continued to lead by four-tenths of a second over teammate Byron while Reddick, Hamlin and Bell followed suit in the top five, respectively. Behind, Briscoe, who reported a potential toe link issue to his entry after he scrubbed the wall during the latest restart, retained sixth place ahead of Gibbs, Bowman, Hocevar and Buescher while Logano and Elliott were mired in 16th and 21st, respectively.

With approximately 57 laps remaining, a late cycle of green flag pit stops commenced as Playoff contenders Briscoe and Logano pitted their respective entries. More names that included Bowman, Gibbs, Stenhouse, Cindric, Gilliland, Chastain, Wallace, Reddick, Byron and Bell pitted over the next three laps before Larson pitted from the lead with 53 laps remaining. By the time Larson returned to the track, teammate Byron overtook him on the track.

With 50 laps remaining, Hamlin, who was among a handful of competitors who have not yet pitted, pitted under green. Elliott also pitted with Hamlin while Hocevar and Keselowski, both of whom have yet to pit, cycled to first and second on the track. As Hocevar pitted with 48 laps remaining before Keselowski pitted a lap later, Byron cycled to the lead with 46 laps remaining. 

Down to the final 40 laps of the event, Byron was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Larson while third-place Bell trailed by more than a second. Bowman and Reddick followed suit in the top five ahead of Gibbs, Briscoe, Hamlin, Buescher and Austin Dillon while Logano and Elliott were mired in 14th and 18th, respectively.

Six laps later, Larson assumed the lead from teammate Byron after Byron got loose entering Turn 2. Another five laps later, the caution flew for a harrowing accident when Byron, who was racing in the runner-up spot, T-boned into the rear of Ty Dillon in Turn 4. The incident occurred as Dillon, who did not give any indication through the radio that he was pitting, was reducing pace and preparing to pit, which was unbeknownst to Byron as the latter was approaching the former at full speed. Amid Dillon and Byron’s collision, John Hunter Nemechek spun through pit road to avoid the carnage. 

Despite emerging uninjured, Byron was left visibly frustrated on receiving no radio communication nor any hand signals from Ty Dillon prior to the collision.

“I never saw [Dillon] wave,” Byron said in the infield care center. “I didn’t see any indication he was pitting. I thought the [pit] cycle was fully over. Nobody said anything to my spotter from what I know. I had zero idea. 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.”

During the caution period, the leaders peeled off the track and onto pit road for service. Following the pit stops and with mixed strategies occurring, Briscoe, who opted for only a two-tire pit service, exited pit road first with the lead. Briscoe was followed by Logano and Keselowski, the latter two of whom also opted for two fresh tires, while Larson followed suit on four fresh tires. Van Gisbergen and Bowman while Bell, Gibbs, Reddick and Hamlin followed suit in the top 10.

The start of the next restart with 23 laps remaining did not last long as Bell, Gibbs and van Gisbergen, all of whom were restarted in the top-10 mark, made contact against one another amid a tight squeeze. The contact sent Gibbs spinning and hitting the outside wall through the first two turns backwards while van Gisbergen spun from the top to the bottom of the track, which ignited a multi-car wreck that involved Chastain, Austin Dillon, Elliott, AJ Allmendinger, Gilliland, Zane Smith, Cody Ware and Hocevar. At the moment of caution, Briscoe retained the lead over Logano while Bowman, Larson, Keselowski, Bell and Hamlin followed suit.

As the event restarted with 14 laps remaining, Briscoe and Logano battled for the lead in front of Larson, Bowman, Keselowski and Hamlin while the field fanned out and dueled amongst one another for late spots. With the field returning to the frontstretch, Briscoe received the upper hand from the inside lane that enabled him to lead the next lap over Logano. As Briscoe then led the next two laps, Larson, Hamlin and Reddick navigated their way past Logano, which dropped the latter to fifth place as Logano was beginning to fade on only two fresh tires.

Down to the final eight laps of the event, Hamlin reeled in Larson for the runner-up spot through the backstretch. As Larson tried to force Hamlin up the track to stall Hamlin’s momentum, the latter instead drag-raced with Larson through the frontstretch before Larson used the inside lane to muscle back ahead and slide in front of Hamlin through the first two turns. Hamlin would then continue to reel Larson back in before he executed his overtake on the latter from the inside lane entering Turn 1 with five laps remaining. Amid the battle, Briscoe retained a steady advantage.

Then with four laps remaining, Hamlin, who reeled in and gained lots of ground on Briscoe from Turns 3 and 4, made his move to Briscoe’s outside through the frontstretch. With four fresh tires working to his advantage compared to Briscoe’s two tires, Hamlin used the outside lane through the first two turns to rocket his No. 11 ampm Toyota Camry XSE entry ahead entering the backstretch. From there, Hamlin proceeded to slowly stretch his advantage as Larson started to reel in Briscoe for the runner-up spot.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hamlin remained in the lead by a second over both Larson and Briscoe. With the latter two unable to reel in Hamlin as Hamlin had clean air all to himself, Hamlin was able to cycle his way around Las Vegas Motor Speedway smoothly for a final time before he returned to the frontstretch and claimed the checkered flag by one-and-a-half seconds over Larson with Briscoe trailing by nearly two seconds.

With the victory, Hamlin notched his 60th NASCAR Cup Series career victory. In doing so, he became the 11th competitor overall to achieve the feat and he moved into a tie with Kevin Harvick for 10th place on the all-time wins list. Hamlin also notched his second victory at Las Vegas, his sixth of the 2025 season and his first since he won at World Wide Technology Raceway in early September.

By winning the Playoff’s Round of of 8 opener at Las Vegas, Hamlin, who is in his 20th consecutive season of Cup Series competition, earned an automatic berth to the Championship 4 round. In doing so, he will race for his first elusive Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway on November 2.