Denny Hamlin earns win No. 60 at Las Vegas, in tears after advancing to Championship 4

What a way to earn career win No. 60! Denny Hamlin, with tears in his eyes, dedicates his historic victory to his father. No sarcasm, no back-and-forth with the NASCAR fans. Just pure emotion, and so much love for his dad, who has not been doing well lately.

This has been a career-defining season for Denny Hamlin. Six wins this year, a Championship 4 berth, and a victory that he will remember for the rest of his life.

When this race came down to two late restarts, Hamlin positioned himself to have a shot. He had to outduel Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe. As those laps ticked by and there were only five to go, you could feel the momentum Hamlin had. He looked unstoppable in those final laps.

Overcome with emotion after this win for so many reasons, Denny Hamlin is now tied for 10th all-time in Cup Series wins. Is this the year he finally becomes Champion?

Welcome to the Championship, @dennyhamlin 👏 #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/zdCURik4e9

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 13, 2025

The first stage of the race played out relatively calmly. Actually, Denny Hamlin had issues from the pole position when he couldn’t shift to fifth gear. William Byron looked like he was going to really be a factor in this race. He was early on, for sure. Even when other drivers were leading this race, Hamlin was never too far away.

A lot of credit has to go to Chris Gayle. The crew chief moved from Ty Gibbs last year to Hamlin this season. That move was highly criticized. Now, six wins later, the duo are going to Phoenix. A lot of credit has to go to Gayle for getting this car going the right direction. By the time that final restart happened, it was tuned up perfectly.

Denny Hamlin only led 9 laps all day. Kyle Larson led by far the most laps with 129. Chase Briscoe led for 57 and William Byron led for 55. Then, it was Hamlin.

Before the end of the first stage, Ryan Blaney wrecked out of the race. He got into the wall and his car was killed. There wasn’t a caution for cause between Lap 77 and Lap 237. Then, everything changed.

Denny Hamlin – right place, right time, right setup

There have been multiple races this season where Denny Hamlin has more or less stolen it from the dominant driver. Perhaps more times than in previous seasons, Hamlin has a knack for closing out these races that he arguably has no business winning.

Between Darlington, Michigan, Dover, Gateway and Las Vegas, Hamlin has only led 166 laps out of 1,411 laps total in those five races. Martinsville is the only win in which the 11 has truly dominated. At Darlington, Michigan, and Vegas, Hamlin led 10 or fewer laps in each of those wins. Just remarkable how this team is pulling out clutch victories time and time again.

Kyle Larson was very complimentary of Hamlin after the race. He couldn’t believe the moves that his friend and rival made in the closing laps.

“Yeah, he must have nailed the bottom behind me, he got to my inside, and it was kind of over from there,” Larson said after the race. “But he did an awesome job. He got up on the wheel there. I mean, I felt like I was up on the wheel, and he did a really good job. I tried to take his line away in three and four, and he got to my outside. So, rarely do you see Denny do that, and he did a great job. So, hats off to them.”

An emotional win for Denny Hamlin on a very personal level. There is no doubt that the 11 team is doing all it can to win a championship for Denny and for his dad, Dennis.