Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson still leads the NASCAR Cup Series standings at the halfway point of the Chase, but he does not have a dominant lead over the field.
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Sure, he remains the current favorite to take the title, but Coach Joe Gibbs is just happy that Denny Hamlin still remains within reach of the points lead.
"Actually, I think where we are, I think we're, what, 40-something back," Gibbs said on Sunday after Chase Briscoe's win. "I think it's pretty miraculous considering everything that's happening these first five races.
"Everybody can see, you win a race, you have a day like Chase (Briscoe) had today, you get 70-something points. I think that's where we are with the 11.
"We needed a win, and I think we'll be right on top of it. We have five races. I only go after the first five. It's been wild. I think the next five will be the same way."
Sunday's race at Las Vegas served as an opportunity for Hamlin to gain some ground in the standings. After all, he had won the past two races at the 1.5-mile track.
The weekend started strong for Hamlin as he won the pole and led 39 laps. Meanwhile, Larson fell one lap down with extended time on pit road to fix an ill-handling car.
However, the situation significantly changed with three laps remaining in stage 1. Hamlin spun from fourth place. He avoided the wall, but he fell far back in the pack as NASCAR allowed the race to continue running under green flag conditions.
Instead of scoring crucial points in stage 1, Hamlin damaged the No. 11 and essentially took him out of contention for the rest of the race.
OH NO!
Hamlin spins, but he keeps the No. 11 Toyota out of the wall! pic.twitter.com/YP95rMnRcn
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 4, 2026
"I guess there was marbles up there, but just trying to get back to track position that we lost, and just went up there and got in the marbles and spun out, and obviously damaged the car to where it was nothing like it was before," Hamlin said after the race.
The issues didn't end there. He regained some of his track position as the race continued, but he then fell off the pace before a restart due to a fuel pressure issue. He ultimately finished the race in 16th place and fell even further behind Larson.
Hamlin had a dominant lead in the standings after the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway. He had four wins and an 89-point advantage over Ryan Blaney in second.
Once the points reset, Hamlin's advantage dropped to only 25. Still, this was a solid advantage entering the Chase considering that Hamlin and the No. 11 team had just run consistently well throughout the regular season.
The Chase has not played out in this manner. This team has encountered setback after setback while racing at Darlington, Gateway, Bristol, Kansas, and Las Vegas.
The Chase opener at Darlington featured Hamlin falling back into the pack after issues on pit road. He then hit the wall and broke a toe link after contact from Michael McDowell. Only his 16 stage points scored kept him atop the standings.
Hamlin struggled on restarts at Gateway, and he only scored five stage points. Yet, he avoided the chaos that collected other Chase contenders, and he finished ninth in the standings. This helped him maintain a nine-point lead over race-winner Kyle Larson.
Bristol played out with Hamlin scoring eight stage points and finishing the race in eighth place. He also fell one lap down as the race continued. Larson scored 11 stage points and finished second, giving him the points lead for the first time this season.
Last weekend at Kansas, Larson scored a perfect race. He swept the stages at Kansas, won the race, and scored the Xfinity Fastest Lap, giving him 76 points on the day. Hamlin scored 19 stage points and finished third, but he still fell to 26 points behind Larson.
Hamlin is now 40 points back at the halfway point of the Chase. He's still within reach of the lead, but the team has struggled to deliver the same consistency that it showed during the regular season.
All the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team can do now is just try to snap this streak of struggles in the remaining races, which take place at Charlotte, Phoenix, Talladega, Martinsville, and Homestead.
That will be the only way to get back into contention for the championship. And if they can pull this off, it could definitely fall into the miraculous category.
"I mean, there's nothing you can do now post-race, so you've just got to go on to the next race and see if you can't find a way to win," Hamlin said. "And Charlotte will be good for us, but yeah, today certainly didn't live up to what we expected."
