Not even a pit road speeding penalty could keep Denny Hamlin out of victory lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday.
Hamlin led the final 49 laps of the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at the 1.5-mile oval and finished 0.502 seconds ahead of Chase Elliott to earn his third career NASCAR Cup Series win in Las Vegas.
Hamlin – who won the speedway’s fall race last year and in 2021 – led 134 of the 267 laps and passed Kevin Harvick for 10th on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list with 61 career victories.
“The last two races here, we’ve had a dominant car, and it makes me look good when I can drive cars like this,” said Hamlin, who started the race from the outside of Row 1. “I’ve got to thank all the team. They’re the ones who made this happen.”
An emotional Hamlin became just the fifth NASCAR Cup Series driver to win a race in 20 different seasons and earned his first checkered flag since the passing of his father, Dennis, in late December.
“I know it took a few weeks to feel like driving (again), and over the last few weeks, I’ve definitely regained my love of it and got refocused,” said Hamlin, who shared the victory with his mother (Mary Lou), wife (Jordan) and three children. “This is a family sport, and my family obviously had so much sacrifice to get here.
“I’m glad mom got to see this, and I know dad’s still saying, ‘That’s’ my boy.’”
Hamlin was penalized for speeding on pit road following a third-place finish in Stage 1, but quickly fought his way through the field to challenge for the lead. He took the lead on Lap 219 and never looked back.
“I just felt like I had enough speed,” Hamlin said. “Being part of Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota definitely helps the situation. It’s just a fantastic run from this Yahoo! Toyota team.”
Elliott was hoping for more than a runner-up finish, but could not chase Hamlin down.
“It’s definitely disappointing, for sure,” said Elliott, who started from the No. 15 position. “I felt like our car was a little better on the long runs and he (Hamlin) was falling off. I was just trying to be as tidy as I could and give myself an opportunity and just came up a little short.”
Despite the disappointment, Elliott realized what a second-place result means for the No. 9 Chevy team.
“Honestly, from where we’ve been to where we ran today, it’s not even comparable,” said Elliott, who now has seven top 10s in 18 career Las Vegas starts. “As bummed as I am, I check myself back to reality and understand how big of an improvement that was. It was a lot of fun to be there in the mix with those guys who’ve won all these races out here, so I’m excited about that.”
Pole sitter Christopher Bell wheeled his way to a Stage 1 victory after retaking the lead on Lap 71. He ran near the front most of the day before settling for a fourth-place finish. Byron won Stage 2 ahead of Kyle Larson and Bell on his way to the third-place finish, 3.414 seconds behind Hamlin.
Ty Gibbs overcame a speeding penalty of his own after Stage 1 to wheel his way to fifth place, and Josh Berry, last year’s Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube champion, drove to a 31st-place finish after starting 32nd.