For the first time in the Gen 7 era, Denny Hamlin will compete for a NASCAR Cup Series championship. The veteran driver has locked himself into the Championship 4 by scoring win No. 60.
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This was not just any win, however, which Hamlin showed as he wept while circling the track on his cooldown lap. Even as he grabbed the checkered flag and began his post-race interview, he continued shedding tears.
MORE: Las Vegas Cup Series results
"This win means a lot," an emotional Hamlin told NBC Sports' Marty Snider. "This is usually the point where I kind of give the fans s***, but not today. I appreciate all of you so much.
"Yeah, obviously want to say hi to my dad, family back at home. All the friends that came out here for Vegas, hoping we get 60. I didn't think we were. Put the pedal down the last 10 laps, made it happen."
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Hamlin won the pole for Sunday's Cup Series race, but he did not spend time at the front of the pack. He lost the lead to Chase Briscoe on the opening lap and then he raced inside of the top 10 while Kyle Larson and William Byron dominated the laps led.
Byron crashed in a bizarre incident with 31 laps remaining, but Hamlin still had to contend with Larson, Briscoe, and several other drivers on the final restart of the race.
Briscoe and Joey Logano jumped out to the front of the pack on the final restart with 14 laps remaining. They used two-tire stops to gain track position, and they began battling for the all-important win that would send one of them to Phoenix.
Larson and Alex Bowman raced just behind on four fresh tires, as did Hamlin. It didn't appear that the Joe Gibbs Racing driver would make his way through the field as competitors blocked every line he tried.
However, he methodically worked his way into third place in the closing laps before using the outside line to muscle past Larson. Once he had Briscoe in his sights, he did not waste time. Hamlin passed his teammate on the outside with four laps to go, and then he went on to win by more than 1 second.
Photo credit: Nigel Kinrade Photography
Larson crossed the line second while Christopher Bell finished third. Briscoe settled for fourth while Tyler Reddick rounded out the top five.
"I was hanging on," Briscoe said. "Yeah, I thought I was in a really good spot there, the first three or four laps after the restart, my car drove really good.
"As I ran, I was just absolutely sideways in our Bass Pro Shops Toyota. I thought there for a while when they were racing hard enough, maybe I was going to sneak one off on them. Just really loose at the end. Glad at least a JGR car won. That's going to sting for a while."
Now that Hamlin has 60 wins, he has checked off a career goal. He has put himself into a tie for the 10th spot on the all-time wins list. His next win will move him past Kevin Harvick and into ninth place.
