Toyota fumble hands Elliott the win at Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Five Toyotas came into double overtime with a chance at the win and one Chevrolet left with it.
Chase Elliott passed Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin in the final corner of Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway to lock himself into the Round of 12 of the playoffs. Elliott won by a 0.069-second margin of victory — the second closest in Cup history at Kansas — over Hamlin.
“I don’t know, man. Everything worked out perfect for me. Had a great push through one and two. That kind of all started with the 6. Big run off of two. Seas kind of parted and just was able to keep my momentum up. That was really it,” Elliott said.
Elliott ran up front, earning 15 stage points, but a four-tire call out him in eighth going into double overtime — commanded up front by four Toyotas savoring the possibility of winning to lock themselves into the Round of 8.
Leader Bubba Wallace had Tyler Reddick on his bumper on the inside lane, while Christopher Bell had teammate Chase Briscoe on his bumper as they restarted alongside Wallace and Reddick.
Desperation was high for Wallace, who was below the cutline, but he wasn’t alone. Wallace winning would make the others’ lives tougher, including Denny Hamlin who restarted just behind the quartet of quasi-teammates and actual teammates.
Bell and Wallace restarted evenly and stayed that way into turn three as Briscoe took a big run to the outside of Bell. Then, Wallace slid up the track into Bell to stall his run and drove away to the white flag.
“I tried to make it three-wide but maybe it would’ve been better to hit Bell as hard as I could,” Briscoe said.
With Briscoe and Bell out of momentum and out of the picture, Denny Hamlin came into frame. Hamlin winded up a run in turns one and two and challenged Wallace on the inside lane entering turn three.
That challenge went terribly wrong. Hamlin got tight, slid into Wallace — who hit the wall — and lost his momentum.
As Hamlin came down the track, he made contact with Chase Elliott.
Where did Chase Elliott come from!?
On the restart, Elliott had a big run in turns one and two and pushed Hamlin down the backstretch. Then, when the Wallace-Bell contact happened in turn three, Elliott kept up the momentum and followed Hamlin through. Elliott took third from Briscoe as Hamlin set up the move on Wallace. When that move went bad, Elliott scooted through to the lead (and the win).
Elliott now has two wins on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. This is his first multi-win season since 2022.
TOP 10 (LAP 273): Elliott, Hamlin, Bell, Briscoe, Wallace, Kyle Larson, Reddick, Brad Keselowski, William Byron, Shane van Gisbergen.
Comments from NASCAR Cup Series playoff drivers
“Super disappointed. Wanted it bad, it would’ve been really good for us. Team did an amazing job with the car, gave me everything I needed. Got the restart I needed. Just didn’t have the final turn I needed. We got tight under the 23. We let the 9 win,” Hamlin said. “Just wanted it a little too hard.”
“To even have a shot at winning from how we started is amazing. Two years ago, I’d say something dumb for that. He’s a dumbass for that move but he was going for the win. I thought it was meant to be but it wasn’t. We gained a point,” Wallace said.
“It was a tough day. I think our Toyota was fast but we struggled on pit road. It’s part of racing. There’s only one thing we can do at Charlotte — win,” Reddick said.
2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs at Kansas Stage Winners
STAGE ONE TOP 10 (LAP 80): Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, Zane Smith, Carson Hocevar.
STAGE TWO TOP 10 (LAP 165): Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman.
NASCAR CUP SERIES POINTS STANDINGS AFTER KANSAS
- Chase Elliott WIN
- Ryan Blaney WIN
- Kyle Larson 3124 (+54)
- Denny Hamlin 3118 (+48)
- Christopher Bell 3114 (+44)
- William Byron 3110 (+40)
- Chase Briscoe 3091 (+21)
- Joey Logano 3083 (+13)
- Ross Chastain 3070 (-13)
- Bubba Wallace 3057 (-26)
- Tyler Reddick 3054 (-29)
- Austin Cindric 3035 (-48)
FINAL STAGE
Chase Elliott wins a thrilling finish at Kansas after Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell got together in turns 3 and 4 with two to go and Wallace & Hamlin got together in turns 3 and 4 on the final lap. That was amazing racing!
ZANE SMITH UPSIDE DOWN AND FLIPPING. John Hunter Nemechek hit the left-rear quarter panel of Smith and sent him into the wall. Contact from Nemechek sent Smith riding on to the wall and flipping exiting the turn.
OVERTIME: This is the seventh time a NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway has gone into overtime.
LAP 261: Bubba Wallace is scored as the leader at the last loop before the caution for Carson Hocevar spinning. Wallace, Bell, Briscoe, Reddick, Hamlin, Elliott, Larson, SVG, Byron, Keselowski.
If Wallace wins, the points shift to (as they run): Larson +32, Bell/Hamlin +24, Byron +19, Elliott +4, Briscoe +1, Logano -1, Chastain -22, Reddick -35, Cindric -60.
TOP 10 (LAP 258): Bell, Wallace, Briscoe, Reddick, Byron, Hamlin, Elliott, Larson, Logano, Buescher, SVG in 11th. Elliott is the first on four tires. Logano has two.
Off pit road: 20 23 19 45 12 24 11 9 5. Hamlin had an awful stop and fell to sixth.
LAP 253: Kyle Busch puts down a tire carcass on the track to bring out the caution. This is going to get interesting! Todd Gilliland free pass.
TOP 10: Hamlin, Bell, Wallace, Elliott, Briscoe, Reddick, Larson, Buescher, Blaney, Z. Smith
LAP 245: Christopher bell is closing in on Denny Hamlin, who has no power steering.
LAP 239: “Relax your hand and your fingers down the straights when you can,” Hamlin is told. “I’m trying,” Hamlin said in response. He has no power steering.
LAP 238: Kyle Larson has faded to 10th. Zane Smith passed him and Ross Chastain is looking to pass him. Larson smacked the wall and fell back.
LAP 226: William Byron has recovered to 13th. Kyle Busch has also recovered to 14th as Alex Bowman has issues in turn two. He got walled by Shane van Gisbergen:
Bowman radio: “That was the 88 for the scorecard at home. He hasn’t seen the top 10 and side-drafted the sh-t out of William (Byron).”
LAP 222: Denny Hamlin hangs on to the lead despite power steering issues. Christopher Bell is all over him. Bubba Wallace and Chase Briscoe battle for third. Briscoe gets the wall and Wallace passes.
LAP 216: Playoff drivers Joey Logano and Austin Cindric have crashed! Allmendinger, Stenhouse, Hocevar, A. Dillon, Busch got in that. Looked like a stackup started that.
Denny Hamlin is reporting a possible steering issue. Earlier in the race, he reported a possible throttle issue. He said he is “f-cking paranoid about it breaking.”
- Entering pit road: 11 20 23 9 5 19 17 45 12 22
- Exiting: 11 23 9 20 5 19 17 45 77
LAP 212: J.J. Yeley spins off of turn four after a bump from Carson Hocevar.
LAP 203: Chase Elliott says he doesn’t have right-rear grip. Chase Briscoe is going after Kyle Larson for fifth. Carson Hocevar takes 10th. Bell is closing in on Hamlin for the lead.
LAP 200: Christopher Bell to second.
LAP 196: Hamlin back to the lead, Elliott to second. Bell, Wallace, Briscoe, Larson, Buescher, Reddick, Logano, Hocevar round out the top 10. Blaney briefly held 10th.
TOP 10 (LAP 184): Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, Carson Hocevar, Joey Logano. Ross Chastain has dropped to 12th.
Other playoff drivers: Austin Cindric (20th), William Byron (26th).
Chase Elliott to the lead! A win would be a big statement after Denny Hamlin has led 100 of the first 175 laps and run the fastest lap of the race. Here comes Christopher Bell for second.
Denny Hamlin is out in front to start the final stage. Behind him for the lap 173 restart is Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Chris Buescher and Alex Bowman in 10th.
The final stage ends on lap 267 — the final lap of the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Kansas Speedway.
STAGE TWO Winner: Denny Hamlin
STAGE TWO TOP 10 (LAP 165): Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman.
LAP 162: Alex Bowman cracks the top 10 in 10th.
LAP 158: Chase Briscoe takes Bubba Wallace for fifth. Wallace is struggling with handling, “The seams make it over-rotate. I think we found our limit on the free side.”
LAP 147: Kyle Larson takes third from Chase Elliott. Larson has to lift off the corner but Elliott thinks better of it. They don’t want to get Bubba Wallace back into the battle. Daniel Suarez is battling with them trying to get back on the lead lap.
LAP 143: Christopher Bell takes second from Chase Elliott.
William Byron: “I have nothing. I’m terrible.” Byron runs 22nd.
Kyle Larson: “I’m good to fire off, then I’m just too tight.”
- Before stops: 20 11 9 23 5 1 19 22 77 12
- Now: 11 9 5 20 23 1 19 22 17 77
LAP 132: Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson almost get together as Larson looked for third in turn three. Wallace pulls away. Wallace loses third now and fourth as Bell comes through.
LAP 130: Chase Elliott to second now over Wallace. Larson is there, Bell is fifth — 2.5 seconds behind them after the slow stop.
LAP 129: Denny Hamlin on Bubba Wallace as Bubba battles him for the lead: “Does he know he’s slowing us down?” Spotter tells Hamlin, “You’ll have to drag him [side draft[ and slide him. “
Hamlin finally takes the lead as Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson are there.
LAP 125: Bubba Wallace takes a spot from Denny Hamlin. He pitted a lap before Hamlin. They both passed Christopher Bell who had a rough stop. Bell’s crew had trouble on the right side.
LAP 122: Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin pit together from the top two. They were nose-to-tail coming on to pit road. Todd Gilliland almost clipped Bell coming out of his pit stall.
LAP 120: Ryan Blaney to pit road. Leaders to follow.
LAP 117: Denny Hamlin is closing for the lead about a tenth or two faster than leader Christopher Bell.
LAP 110: William Byron has dropped eight spots to 23rd since the restart. Byron is currently +24 to the cutline so elimination is not that much of a concern for him.
Denny Hamlin to second over Chase Elliott.
LAP 109: Kyle Larson loses fourth again, Bubba Wallace takes it.
LAP 107: Joey Logano is ninth. Ryan Blaney cracks the top 10 finally.
LAP 106: Kyle Larson regains his momentum and goes back to fourth. Ross Chastain looks for fifth and takes it.
LAP 103: Chase Elliott takes second from Kyle Larson. Denny Hamlin is on their bumper. Denny Hamlin takes third and now Bubba Wallace takes fourth.
LAP 101: Chase Elliott clears Kyle Larson for second but Larson takes it back and Larson hangs on.
LAP 97: Kyle Larson to the lead over Christopher Bell but here comes Bell back to the inside! Chase Elliott is on his bumper. Bell retakes the lead, Denny Hamlin is right on Elliott’s bumper. Great racing at Kansas! Bubba Wallace is back up to sixth after a slow start to the race.
CAUTION. John Hunter Nemechek and Ryan Preece spin on the frontstretch, lap 90.
LAP 88: Great restart for Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who jumped from 11th to sixth.
Off pit road: Bell, Larson, Elliott, Chastain, Briscoe, Hamlin, Buescher, Logano, Hocevar, Zane Smith. Before, it was Hamlin, Larson, Elliott, Bell, Chastain, Briscoe, Logano, Buescher, Smith and Hocevar.
Tyler Reddick dropped to 28th after Bell took two tires and exited pit road as he came in. Hamlin dropped back with an issue on the right-rear tire.
The second stage ends on lap 165.
STAGE ONE Winner: Denny Hamlin
STAGE ONE TOP 10 (LAP 80): Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, Zane Smith, Carson Hocevar.
Other playoff drivers Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Austin Cindric and Tyler Reddick finished 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th and 24th, respectively, in the stage.
LAP 77: Zane Smith to ninth over Carson Hocevar.
LAP 73: Kyle Larson to second over Chase Elliott. Christopher Bell is dogging them. Ross Chastain goes to fifth behind them as Joey Logano slips to sixth.
TOP 10 (LAP 71): Hamlin, Elliott, Larson, Bell, Logano, Chastain, Briscoe, Hocevar, Zane Smith, Buescher.
LAP 69: Zane Smith is up to ninth. He has shown great pace today after looking good in practice yesterday.
LAP 64: Chase Elliott three-wide on Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson, he takes second behind Denny Hamlin!
Joey Logano team radio reports: “Tire wear has been minimal, even on the right side.”
Off pit road (lap 58): Hamlin, Larson, Bell, Logano, Briscoe, Elliott, Gibbs, Hocevar, Buescher. Hamlin and Logano took two tires. Before this, they pitted on lap 36 and lap 34. Logano jumped from 17th to fourth with the call.
LAP 56: Cody Ware blows a right-front tire in turn four. Kyle Busch gets the free pass, holding off Brad Keselowski who lost a lap with the strategy his team tried.
TOP-10: Hamlin, Larson, Bell, Briscoe, Reddick, Elliott, Hocevar, Gibbs, Buescher, Byron.
“With the track conditions, I need to be a little tighter,” Denny Hamlin said.
LAP 54: Kyle Busch goes a lap down.
LAP 53: Denny Hamlin’s spotter is giving precise instructions to him as Kyle Larson looks for the lead: “Turn down now, there you go. No advantage that time back… 2 to the bottom, 1 to the bottom, half, one and a half. Clear.”
- Before stops: Hamlin, Larson, Briscoe, Elliott, Reddick, Bell, Hocevar, Gibbs, Chastain, Byron
- After: Larson, Hamlin, Briscoe, Elliott, Reddick, Bell, Hocevar, Gibbs, Buescher, Byron
- LAP 46: Hamlin, Larson, Briscoe, Bell, Reddick, Elliott, Hocevar, Gibbs, Buescher, Byron.
LAP 39: Kyle Larson cycles to the lead over Denny Hamlin. Berry, Blaney, Keselowski, Suarez, Gilliland and Austin Dillon are running long in front of them.
LAP 33: Bubba Wallace pits. He dropped from seventh to 19th. Austin Cindric and A.J. Allmendinger pit a lap later, lap 34. Kyle Larson and the leaders set to pit lap 36, right after Joey Logano.
Biggest movers at lap 32:
- Joey Logano +14 to 21st
- Ryan Blaney +14 to 22nd
- Tyler Reddick +7 to 5th
- Alex Bowman +6 to 11th
LAP 30: Kyle Larson to second over Chase Briscoe.
LAP 25: Austin Dillon is down 14 spots since the start to 30th. Dillon said, “I give up, man, I don’t know.” Team reassures him there is a long way to go.
LAP 20: Denny Hamlin finally takes the lead from Chase Briscoe. Briscoe is struggling with handling as the tires wear out.
LAP 16: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is up five spots to 13th. Alex Bowman sits 14th, up three spots.
LAP 14: Lap times have dropped off by about 1 second, 14 laps in.
LAP 8: John Hunter Nemechek and Zane Smith sit 18th and 19th. They’re up seven and nine spots, respectively, since the start.
LAP 6: Tyler Reddick to fifth now! On the other hand, teammate Bubba Wallace is down five spots to 13th.
LAP 3: Tyler Reddick on the move, jumps from 12th to sixth at the start. Denny Hamlin goes for the lead on teammate Chase Briscoe who led lap 1.
Engines are fired for the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin will lead the field to the green flag.
RACE START
The Team Penske cars that looked so strong at New Hampshire Motor Speedway — Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano — and their teammate, Austin Cindric, will start in the rear of the field after issues in practice and qualifying Saturday.
Michael McDowell and Shane van Gisbergen will join them back there. However, they will each be without their regular crew chief and will have to drive through pit road at the end of the first lap.
- Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN BET
- Broadcast: USA, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
- Distance: 267 laps
- Stages: 80 / 165 / 267
- Fuel Window: 66 laps
- Average time of race: 3:12:32
- Pit road speed: 45 mph
- Caution car speed: 55 mph
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com