Denny Hamlin survives to advance to Round of 12

BRISTOL, Tenn. — It could still be Denny Hamlin’s year after all.

Hamlin finished fourth Saturday night in the Bass Pro Shops Bristol Night Race. He finished 15 points above the cutline, overcoming a six-point deficit to advance to the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

Hamlin avoided the fate of Martin Truex Jr and Ty Gibbs, his teammates who failed to advance.

If it weren’t for the absolute dominance of Kyle Larson, the No. 11 car would have been in contention for the win. He started eighth and then finished sixth in stage one and third in stage two.

Hamlin was able to make passes early in the race, but eventually settled into third behind Larson and Chase Elliott as the 163-lap green-flag run began playing out.

But, with around 100 laps to go, Christopher Bell passed Hamlin for third. Then, 50 laps later, Hamlin passed Bell back but Bubba Wallace had the last laugh, passing Hamlin for second with two laps to go.

While Hamlin didn’t get his third-straight Bristol win in the Cup Series, he now has seven Top-10 finishes in the last nine Cup races at the track, including five in-a-row.

“My aspirations were to win it. But it looked like the 5 (Kyle Larson) there was better than all of us. Solid car. I thought we were really good towards the middle of the stages. And then at the end, got too loose and couldn’t hang onto what we had. Top-five day, good stage points – kind of in the mix, just not really as good as we’ve been here the last few times. But overall I want to thank this whole FedEx Toyota team for giving me something I can move on with,” Hamlin said.

The first round was incredibly rocky for Hamlin, finishing 24th and 23rd at Atlanta and Watkins Glen, respectively, which replaced favorites Darlington and Kansas this year.

The next round sets up slightly better for Hamlin, with Kansas next week followed by Talladega and the Charlotte Roval. While he struggles at the Roval, Hamlin has four Cup wins at Kansas and two wins at Talladega. 

The Round of 12 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begins with the Hollywood Casino 400 next Sunday at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m. ET; USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90).