Denny Hamlin seizes 60th career win and spot in NASCAR Championship 4
Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images
LAS VEGAS, Nev.—Denny Hamlin scored an emotional victory and claimed a significant career milestone with a dramatic win in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series’ South Point 400 Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Hamlin passed two cars in the final 10 laps, ultimately taking the lead from his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe with four laps remaining then holding off the day’s most dominant driver Kyle Larson by 1.533-second to claim his series’ best sixth win of the season and 60th win of his career.
The win secures the first of four positions in the Nov. 2 Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway – landing Hamlin his first title shot since 2021.
Hamlin was notably moved in the moments after climbing out of his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Instead of the typical playful banter the veteran normally delivers to the crowd after a win, the 44-year-old Virginian spoke more solemnly, mentioning his father Dennis, who has been ill.
“This win means a lot, this is the point where I kind of give the fans some $#%& [grief] but not today, I appreciate you all so much,” said Hamlin, his eyes water-filled as he looked toward the crowded grandstands.
“Obviously just want to say “hi” to my dad and family back at home,” Hamlin added, his voice cracking with emotion. “We were hoping to get 60 [wins] today, but 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 and I just held it down. That’s all I could do, just go for it. I felt like I had nothing to lose just go for it and try to punch a ticket now and it feels great.
“Just super proud of the team for making all the adjustments they did and the pit crew for doing a great job all day.”
It marked the eighth time Hamlin and fellow Playoff contender Larson have finished in some combination of first and second place. Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was the class of the field for most of the day – leading a race high 129 of the 267 laps – but just unable to hold off Hamlin’s pole-winning Toyota heading to the checkered flag.
“I thought we did everything that we could do,” said Larson, who now holds a 35-point advantage above the Playoff cutoff line. “The Toyotas were really fast for the short-run there. I saw the No. 11 (Hamlin) line up behind me and I knew he’d be difficult to hold off. If any one of the Toyotas got clear and could get rolling, I knew it would be tough.
“He did a great job, though. He still had to make the right moves, which he did. I felt like I was doing all I could to stay in front of him, while also trying to track down the No. 19 (Briscoe). We just came up a little bit short, but overall, it was a great day for the No. 5 Chevrolet team.”
Larson, like Hamlin took four tires on the final pit stop and lined up on the second row for the final restart with 14 laps remaining. Hamlin’s teammate Briscoe was out front, benefitting from a two-tire call that gave him better track position.
Hamlin re-started fifth and made his way forward, passing Larson with five laps remaining and then getting around his teammate Briscoe with four laps remaining. Larson and then Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell also got around Briscoe in the closing laps.
It marked the 15th time this year Toyota had four of a race’s top-five finishing drivers. The effort gives Bell a 20-point advantage on the cutoff line in third-place and Briscoe a 15-point edge.
“I was hanging on but I thought I was in a really good spot there for that last three or four laps on that restart,” said Briscoe, who finished fourth. “My car drove really good and as I ran, I was just absolutely sideways. Thought there for a while when they [Larson and Hamlin] were racing hard I’d be able to sneak one off, but just really really loose there at the end. At least a JGR car won but that’s going to sting for a while.”
While Briscoe didn’t win, his top-five finish certainly helped his Playoff chances too. Four of the top-six finishers – Hamlin, Larson, Bell and Briscoe – are among the current field of eight Playoff drivers competing for a Championship 4 appearance with two races remaining in this penultimate round – next week at the 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and the next week at the half-mile Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
Reigning series champion and current Playoff driver, Team Penske’s Joey Logano also gambled on a two-tire stop on that last caution period and was able to manage a sixth-place finish. Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott was 18th rallying from an early race pit miscue and penalty.
Elliott’s teammate, Regular Season Champion and Daytona 500 winner William Byron finished 36th after a bizarre late-race collision when his No. 24 Chevrolet car slammed into the back of the No. 10 Chevrolet driven by Ty Dillon, who pulled down to pit although Byron running at full speed said he had absolutely no signal of Dillon’s intention.
The incident cost Byron dearly in the standings, dropping him to 15 points below the cutoff line, followed by Elliott (-23), Logano (-24) and Ryan Blaney (-31).
As with Byron who won Stage 1 and led 55 laps Sunday, Penske’s Blaney – the 2023 series champion – also had tough outing, finishing last in the 38-car field and dropping from second in the points to eighth.
Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford had a tire problem late in the opening stage and slammed into the wall only 70 laps in.
Blaney’s disappointment after getting out his car was palpable. He’s finished 32nd or worse in the last three Las Vegas races. The upside for him, however, is that he has three wins at Talladega Superspeedway and has won the last two Martinsville Playoff races.
“I’m not very happy right now, but tomorrow morning I’ll be optimistic to go to the next race,” Blaney said. “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.”
23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick was the lone non-Playoff driver among the top-five Sunday, finishing fifth in his Toyota. Hendrick’s Alex Bowman, Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch, and Roush-Fenway-Keselowski teammates Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-10.
The NASCAR Cup Series moves to the Talladega Superspeedway high banks next Sunday for the Yellawood 500 (2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is the defending race winner.
NASCAR Cup Series Race Number 33
Race Results for the South Point 400 - Sunday, October 12, 2025
Las Vegas Motor Speedway - Las Vegas, NV - 1.5 - Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 267 Laps - 400.5 Miles
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sunday, 10/12/2025 @ 08:41 PM Eastern
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 1 11 Denny Hamlin (P) ampm Toyota 267 4 4 54 Running 3 9 5
2 6 5 Kyle Larson (P) HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 267 2 1 54 Running 4 129 1
3 3 20 Christopher Bell (P) Rheem Toyota 267 7 6 43 Running
4 2 19 Chase Briscoe (P) Bass Pro Shops Toyota 267 3 5 48 Running 3 57
5 8 45 * Tyler Reddick Jordan Brand Toyota 267 8 2 44 Running 1 1
6 9 22 Joey Logano (P) Shell Pennzoil Ford 267 10 9 34 Running 1 1
7 12 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 267 8 33 Running
8 32 8 Kyle Busch zone nicotine pouches Chevrolet 267 29 Running
9 16 60 Ryan Preece Sysco/crumbl Ford 267 28 Running
10 34 6 Brad Keselowski Nexlizet Ford 267 27 Running 1 2
11 31 2 Austin Cindric Autotrader Ford 267 26 Running
12 11 17 Chris Buescher Kroger/International Delight Ford 267 25 Running
13 28 4 * Noah Gragson Rush Truck Centers Ford 267 24 Running
14 24 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Real American Beer Chevrolet 267 23 Running
15 19 43 Erik Jones Dollar Tree Toyota 267 22 Running
16 18 71 Michael McDowell Delaware Life Chevrolet 267 21 Running
17 33 35 * Riley Herbst # Hungry Jack Toyota 267 20 Running
18 4 9 Chase Elliott (P) NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 267 5 25 Running
19 20 16 AJ Allmendinger Celsius Chevrolet 267 18 Running
20 17 99 Daniel Suarez Freeway Hispanic Heritage Chevrolet 267 17 Running
21 30 34 * Todd Gilliland Love's Travel Stops Ford 267 16 Running 1 1
22 7 23 * Bubba Wallace Robinhood Toyota 267 6 20 Running 1 5
23 15 1 Ross Chastain Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet 267 14 Running
24 23 38 * Zane Smith Long John Silver's Ford 267 13 Running
25 25 3 Austin Dillon Get Bioethanol Chevrolet 267 12 Running
26 29 21 Josh Berry Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 266 11 Running
27 27 7 Justin Haley Fly Alliance Chevrolet 266 10 Running
28 21 41 Cole Custer HaasTooling.com Ford 266 9 Running 1 1
29 26 42 John Hunter Nemechek Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota 265 8 Running
30 37 44 * JJ Yeley(i) Epoxy Depot Chevrolet 263 0 Running
31 38 78 * Katherine Legge Desnuda Chevrolet 261 6 Running
32 22 77 Carson Hocevar Classic Collision Chevrolet 252 10 6 Accident 2 6
33 13 88 Shane Van Gisbergen # Jockey New Zealand Chevrolet 245 4 Accident
34 10 54 Ty Gibbs SAIA LTL Freight Toyota 244 9 7 9 Accident
35 36 51 Cody Ware Arby's Steak Nuggets Ford 243 2 Accident
36 5 24 William Byron (P) Relay Payments Chevrolet 235 1 3 19 Accident 3 55 1
37 35 10 Ty Dillon Sugarlands x Field and Stream Chevrolet 233 1 Accident
38 14 12 Ryan Blaney (P) Menards/Cardell Cabinetry Ford 70 1 Accident
Fastest Lap Bonus: # 19 lap 2 / 29.394
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 55 Mins, 14 Secs. Average Speed: 137.131 MPH Margin of Victory: 1.533 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 24, 5, 19, 11, 9, 23, 20, 45, 54, 22
Stage 2 Top 10: 5, 45, 24, 11, 19, 20, 54, 48, 22, 77
Race Comments: Denny Hamlin has won the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his 60th victory in the NASCAR Cup Series. Prior to the start of the race, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty: Nos. 1 (Unapproved adjustments).
Failed to Qualify: None.
Caution Flags: 5 for 32 laps; Laps: 73-77 (#12 Incident Turn 4 [47]); 82-86 (Stage 1 Conclusion [44]); 167-172 (Stage 2 Conclusion [9]); 237-244 (#10, 24, 42 Incident Turn 4 [71]); 246-253 (#1, 3, 9, 16, 20, 34, 38, 51, 54, 77, 88 Incident Turn 1 [34]).
Lead Changes: 21 among 11 drivers; C. Briscoe (P) 1-35; C. Hocevar 36-39; *. Gilliland 40; W. Byron (P) 41-73; *. Reddick 74; W. Byron (P) 75-86; K. Larson (P) 87-119; *. Wallace 120-124; C. Custer 125; K. Larson (P) 126-172; D. Hamlin (P) 173; K. Larson (P) 174-213; D. Hamlin (P) 214-217; C. Hocevar 218-219; B. Keselowski 220-221; W. Byron (P) 222-231; K. Larson (P) 232-240; C. Briscoe (P) 241-243; J. Logano (P) 244; C. Briscoe (P) 245-263; D. Hamlin (P) 264-267.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: October 19, 2025 - Talladega Superspeedway
NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications @ P.O. Box 2875, Daytona Beach, FL 32120-2875
CURRENT NASCAR CUP SERIES PLAYOFF STANDINGS
OS NO. DRIVER MFR +/-
1 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 1 ROUND OF 8 PLAYOFF WIN - 2 TOTAL PLAYOFF WINS - 6 TOTAL WINS
2 5 Kyle Larson Chevrolet +35 3 TOTAL WINS
3 20 Christopher Bell Toyota +20 4 TOTAL WINS + ALL-STAR RACE WIN
4 19 Chase Briscoe Toyota +15 1 PLAYOFF WIN - 2 TOTAL WINS
CUTOFF LINE - FOUR DRIVERS TO BE ELIMINATED AFTER MARTINSVILLE (OCT. 26)
5 24 William Byron Chevrolet -15 2 TOTAL WINS
6 9 Chase Elliott Chevrolet -23 1 PLAYOFF WIN - 2 TOTAL WINS +BUSCH LITE CLASH WIN
7 22 Joey Logano Ford -24 1 TOTAL WIN
8 12 Ryan Blaney Ford -31 1 PLAYOFF WIN - 3 TOTAL WINS
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