LAS VEGAS — The opening race within the NASCAR Cup Collection Playoffs Spherical of 8 Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway definitely supplied the compelling storylines anticipated on this late season push for a championship.
Curiously, the race winner, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin conceded he didn’t essentially have a trophy on the 1.5-mile Vegas excessive banks on his bingo card, nonetheless he hit the jackpot Sunday along with his series-best six win of the 12 months, and sixtieth victory of his profession incomes him the primary ticket of the season into the Championship 4 race.
Though the 44-year-old driver of the No. 11 JGR Toyota is a three-time Daytona 500 winner and perennial championship favourite this marks his first look in NASCAR’s Championship 4 since 2021 – his first time within the Subsequent Gen Period.
And the victory within the spherical’s first race means Hamlin’s workforce will get the early-start on preparation for the Nov. 2 championship race on the Phoenix Raceway one-miler.
“I imply, I believe instinctively all of us query our capability at instances,” mentioned Hamlin, who was unusually emotional after his win Sunday. “Even the best drivers will at all times have a second the place they query their capability.
“It’s days like at the moment which can be, like, enormous confidence enhance. You may nonetheless do it at a extremely, actually, actually excessive degree. It affirms that. Yeah, it’s a chest-out second that you just get. It’s hitting a recreation winner in basketball, proper? The highlight was on you, it was your race to win, and you probably did it. They gave me the ball on the finish, and I used to be capable of make it.”
His different Playoff rivals might have to duplicate that type of swagger on this weekend’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
Hendrick Motorsports skilled an enormous swing of fortune at Vegas. Kyle Larson, the 2021 season champion, led probably the most laps and completed runner-up to Hamlin which places him atop the Playoff standings this week – 35 factors above the cutoff line.
His teammates, William Byron and Chase Elliott, nonetheless, had tougher afternoons. Byron, who led 55 laps and ran among the many top-five all day was collected in a weird incident late within the race, when one other automotive moved to pit lane simply as Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet had pulled beneath it for a go.
Byron mentioned he had completely no indication that Ty Dillon was pitting and the wreck price the Common Season Champion dearly within the season championship outlook dropping him to fifth within the standings, 15 factors off the four-driver cutoff line.
Elliott needed to overcome a mid-race dashing penalty and performed catchup all afternoon. He goes to Talladega ranked sixth, 23 factors off the cutoff line.
On the converse, Hamlin’s JGR teammates – Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe moved as much as third and fourth general, respectively, each scoring top-five efforts at Las Vegas.
And that leaves the three-time defending collection championship workforce, Crew Penske in probably the most perilous of positions.
Reigning collection champ Joey Logano is seventh within the standings, 24 factors beneath the road after a irritating day made a bit higher with a two-tire gamble on the final pit cease that gave him observe place and in the end helped him to a sixth-place end.
His teammate, 2023 champion Ryan Blaney, nonetheless, undoubtedly suffered the worst Vegas luck of the day, blowing a tire in his No. 12 Crew Penske Ford that put his Mustang into the wall solely 70 laps into the 267-lap Playoff race. The last-place end drops him from second place within the standings heading into Las Vegas to now eighth place in factors – 31 factors beneath the cutoff – because the collection heads to some of the difficult tracks on the circuit.
And whereas it appears Talladega supplies a gradual dose of unpredictability, there are definitely drivers that often fare effectively there – Blaney and Logano amongst these.
Hamlin is the one one among the many present top-four (additionally Larson, Bell and Briscoe) to ever win at Talladega. Byron doesn’t have a Talladega trophy however has three on the collection’ different famend high-bank superspeedway, Daytona Worldwide Speedway.
Elliott has a pair of Talladega wins (2019 and 2022). Logano and Blaney are every three-time Talladega winners. Among the many 4 in destructive points-territory, Blaney and Byron have every hoisted a pair of trophies at Martinsville. Logano has one win too.
“I believe it’s fairly clear what we bought to do wanting on the factors,” mentioned Logano, who drives the No. 22 Crew Penske Ford Mustang. “I imply, one spot’s already taken up. I believe we’re 24 (factors) out. Yeah, it’s doable [to advance]. However you must be fairly particular the following two weeks with out successful the race.
“Right now everybody ran so effectively, proper? All of the Playoff automobiles, apart from those that wrecked, had been high 5 stage factors all day. It’s laborious to shut up on ’em.”
