Denny Hamlin falls one spot short in Kansas bid for victory
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Despite a last-lap charge in overtime Sunday at Kansas Speedway, Denny Hamlin fell one position short of claiming his 60th NASCAR Cup Series victory.
Hamlin, who started the Hollywood Casino 400 second, led 159 of the 273 laps, sweeping the opening two stages, running the fastest lap and earning 56 points — the most of the competition.
“It’s super disappointing,” Hamlin said. “Obviously I wanted it bad. It would have been 60 (wins) for me.
“The team just did an amazing job with the car. It was really, really fast. They gave me everything I needed.”
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was leading with 14 laps to go before debris from Kyle Busch’s blown tire brought out the caution and set the stage for pit stops under caution.
A botched two-tire stop set Hamlin back to sixth but he moved back towards the front after the race resumed.
After the final restart in overtime, Hamlin found himself side-by-side with Bubba Wallace on the final lap for the win.
“Got the restart I needed, I just couldn’t finish there on the last corner,” Hamlin said. “I got really, really, tight with the 23 (Bubba Wallace) and let the 9 (Chase Elliott) win.”
Entering next weekend at the Charlotte ROVAL, the cutoff race for the Round of 12, Hamlin is ranked fourth in points with a 48-point advantage over the playoff cutline.
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Dominic Aragon View All
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book "All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story" with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.