HAMLIN GOES BACK-TO-BACK AT VEGAS
Denny Hamlin takes over 10th all-time in Cup Series wins with his 61st victory
LAS VEGAS (March 15, 2026) – Denny Hamlin recovered from an early race speeding penalty to retake the lead in the final stage and claim his first victory of the season. It is his second straight Las Vegas win and 61st of his career, which breaks the tie with Kevin Harvick for 10th all-time.
Christopher Bell finished fourth and Ty Gibbs was scored in fifth – both drivers delivered their third consecutive top-five finishes. For Gibbs, it is the first time in his Cup Series career he has earned three straight top-fives. Chase Briscoe battled back from multiple penalties to finish eighth, while Bubba Wallace continued to keep his strong start to the season going with a ninth-place finish.
Toyota drivers have now led the most laps in six consecutive races for just the second time in our Cup Series history. Hamlin led the most laps in the 2025 finale in Phoenix and today in Las Vegas. Bubba Wallace was the lap leader in the Daytona 500, while Tyler Reddick led the most laps in back-to-back races in Atlanta and COTA. Christopher Bell paced the most circuits in Phoenix.
On the season, Toyota drivers have led more laps than Ford and Chevy drivers combined, with Toyota pacing 677 of the 1145 circuits completed this year – more than 59 percent. Toyota also has four of the top six drivers in the point standings with Tyler Reddick continuing to lead. His teammate, Wallace, is second, Hamlin sits in fourth and Christopher Bell holds down sixth.
TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race 5 of 36 – 400.5 miles, 267 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, DENNY HAMLIN
2nd, Chase Elliott*
3rd, William Bryon*
4th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
5th, TY GIBBS
8th, CHASE BRISCOE
9th, BUBBA WALLACE
13th, TYLER REDDICK
20th, ERIK JONES
21st, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
23rd, RILEY HERBST
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Yahoo Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
What does win mean to you?
“It is just so satisfying – so gratifying. You just never know what can happen year over year if you still have it or not. Obviously, I wasn’t totally locked in for the first few weeks. We’ve just been hitting our stride now. This is our bread and butter. These are the tracks that we know we can go win, and we executed, average, on the driver’s part. Not very good – but to still have the speed to go through the field. This is a team win. The team did it. It makes my job really easy when I can drive Toyotas that fast.”
How did you overcome the speeding penalty early?
“I didn’t think that it was over. Any other race, or race track – I just felt like I had enough speed, regardless. We had 150 or so laps to go at that point, plenty enough time. I think we got back to the front within hundred laps. Really proud of this whole Yahoo Toyota team, and I need to thank National Debt Relief, Progressive, Bob’s Discount Furniture, Sport Clips, King’s Hawaiian, Coca-Cola, Jordan Brand, Shady Rays and Logitech. This is whole team effort. I know that the record books will say my name, but I’m really, really proud to be a part of this team.”
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
What more did you need at the end?
“I don’t know. We weren’t at our best at the right time. Whenever this Interstate Batteries Toyota team were at our best, I didn’t feel like I drove a very good race. At times, I felt like I had plenty of speed, and a great long run car in the first stage – we drove to the lead, and then I never executed the restarts very well. So, great finish, great day for JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing). Still looking for that first win though.”
TY GIBBS, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 5th
What made the difference today?
“It was good. Unfortunately, I sped, but I felt like we were really good all day. Thank you to my no. 54 Monster Energy Toyota team, and everyone that helps us out. It was a fun day.”
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 8th
How did you get back to the front with the penalties your team faced today?
“For one, we had a really good Bass Pro Shops, TRACKER Toyota. That helped. We were able to keep coming through the field. We were fortunate to catch a caution. We just had a really, really good car. I would have loved to not have sped on pit road and bury us because I felt like we could have been in the mix. Just have to clean up my part. You can’t be making those mistakes at the Cup level. It takes you out of a race. Glad we were able to recover; it could have been way worse than what it was. We will go on to Darlington, a place we are really good, and see if we have another good one.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 48,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 35 million cars and trucks at our 11 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
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