Chase Elliott wheeled his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to victory lane in double overtime at Kansas Speedway. The win propels him to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs to contend for the championship title.
The pivotal moment came on the final lap as Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin, fighting for the lead, made contact entering Turn 3. Elliott seized the opportunity to pass them and capture the checkered flag.
It was his second Cup Series victory this season and his 21st career win.
“Everything worked out perfectly for me,” an elated Elliott said after the race. “Had a great push through (turns) one and two. That kind of all started with the No. 6 (Brad Keselowski). I had a big run off of two. The seas kind of parted and I just was able to keep my momentum up. That was really it.”
“Obviously, we still had pretty good tires compared to those guys, but what a crazy finish.” Elliott continued. Hope you all enjoyed that; I certainly did. Really proud of this No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet team. Had a really solid weekend, win or no win. Really nice to qualify really well. We’ll certainly enjoy this, man. This is pretty cool. Just never take this stuff for granted because it’s hard to come by. Learned that the hard way. Always enjoy it. Always appreciate it.”
It was a frustrating end in a race where Hamlin led a race-high 159 laps and had to settle for second place.
“Just super disappointing,” Hamlin said.“ I wanted it bad. It would have been 60 (wins) for me. The team just did an amazing job with the car, just really, really fast. Gave me everything I needed. Got the restart I needed. Just couldn’t finish it there on the last corner. Obviously got really, really tight with the 23 (Wallace), and it just got real tight, and we let the 9 win.
Yeah, just mechanical failures and different things have really hindered us in years past, and we had no power steering that last run,” Hamlin continued. “Low voltage. Just a lot of things, and just couldn’t — just disappointing because I don’t think I’ve ever had a car that good to the competition. Man, I wanted it for my dad. I wanted it for everybody. Just wanted it a little too hard.”
Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Bubba Wallace rounded out the top five. Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, William Byron and Shane van Gisbergen completed the top 10.
NASCAR heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway next weekend. It will mark the final event for the Cup and Xfinity Series in the Round of 12. At the conclusion of the races, eight drivers in each series will advance to the next round.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will also compete at Charlotte Motor Speedway as they begin the Playoffs Round of 8.
Complete Results – NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas Speedway
- Chase Elliott
- Denny Hamlin
- Christopher Bell
- Chase Elliott
- Bubba Wallace
- Kyle Larson
- Tyler Reddick
- Brad Keselowski
- William Byron
- Shane van Gisbergen
- Ross Chastain
- Todd Gilliland
- Ty Dillon
- Michael McDowell
- Chris Buescher
- Erik Jones
- Daniel Suarez
- Justin Haley
- Kyle Busch
- Cole Custer
- Joey Logano
- Riley Herbst
- Noah Gragson
- Ryan Blaney
- Ty Gibbs
- Ryan Preece
- Austin Dillon
- Alex Bowman
- Carson Hocevar
- Austin Cindric
- Zane Smith
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Josh Berry
- JJ Yeley
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr
- AJ Allmendinger
- Cody Ware
NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings after Kansas
- Ryan Blaney (locked into the Round of 8 (New Hampshire win)
- Chase Elliott (locked into the Round of 8 (Kansas win)
- Kyle Larson +54 ahead of 8th
- Denny Hamlin +48
- Christopher Bell +44
- William Byron +40
- Chase Briscoe +21
- Joey Logano +13
- Ross Chastain -13
- Bubba Wallace -26
- Tyler Reddick -29
- Austin Cindric -48
