Denny Hamlin won at Phoenix to claim a spot in the championship finale at Homestead. He joins Kevin Harvick and Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch.
"Kyle Larson just had too much of a lead," Truex said. "I knew I couldn't catch him, so I felt like there was really no point in extending myself trying to catch him. It was a case of 'too much cushion for the pushin.''
The 2024 Coca-Cola 600 champion from Norman, Oklahoma, erased a 33-race winless drought and commenced the 2026 Chase with his second career crown-jewel victory, the Southern 500, in Darlington, South Carolina.
Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team started their championship title-defending campaign with a strong top-five finish in the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
