Chase Elliott went for broke on the final restart of the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, sensing an opportunity to steal a victory and secure an automatic berth in the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
And when it was over – following one leader being pushed up into the wall and the other being door-slammed – it was Elliott who celebrated with the checkered flag in the early evening of Sunday, Sept. 28, prevailing in double overtime over Denny Hamlin, who had dominated most of the race.
Elliott restarted eighth as Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell led the field to green, before the two made contact, opening the door for Hamlin. Elliott, meanwhile put the pedal to the floor and surged into the top five, though it appeared the race would come down to a battle between Wallace, who drives for 23XI Racing, and Hamlin, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing but co-owns 23XI with Michael Jordan.
NASCAR’s most popular driver had other plans, though. After Hamlin drove Wallace up the racetrack, squeezing him toward the outside wall, Elliott darted to the bottom and moved into position to battle the two leaders. With Wallace being forced to lift to avoid hard contact with the wall, Elliott drove alongside Hamlin and eventually door-slammed him heading into Turn 4 before edging him at the line by 0.069 seconds.
“Everything worked out perfect for me. The seas kind of parted and just was able to keep my momentum up. That was really it,’ Elliott said in a post-race interview with NBC Sports.
“What a crazy finish. Hope you all enjoyed that. I certainly did. We’ll certainly enjoy this, man. This is pretty cool. Just never take this stuff for granted because they’re hard to come by.’
Bell finished third and Chase Briscoe fourth as JGR drivers took three of the top four spots. Wallace finished fifth.
Elliott joins Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney, who won a week ago at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, in the the third round of the playoffs. Six berths remain up for grabs, and four drivers will be eliminated at Charlotte Motor Speedway next weekend.
Hamlin won the first two stages of Sunday’s race and led a race-high 159 laps despite battling a power steering problem in his No. 11 Toyota.
“Just super disappointing,” Hamlin said in a post-race interview. “I wanted it bad. It would have been 60 (wins) for me. … 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.”
The race went to double overtime following a scary crash involving Zane Smith, who’s No. 38 Ford flipped upside down on the race track multiple times after being forced into the wall by John Hunter Nemechek. Smith’s car actually rode the Turn 4 wall vertically with the driver side face down on the race track before it began flipping. Smith was able to exit the car under his own power before being checked and released from the infield care center.
‘It was a wild ride, no doubt,’ Smith told reporters following the incident. ‘I had a decent restart going, and I just get wrecked by the 42 (Nemecheck). He just drives through me and then I was sliding on the wall. I was just mad at that point from how our day was going and this just pissed me off even more because that’s what really hurt was just flipping down the track.
‘It was violent, no doubt, but we had such a fast Speedy Cash Ford today. It’s just a bummer.’
NASCAR playoff standings through Kansas race
Here are the updated playoff standings following the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Four drivers will be eliminated following next weekend’s race on the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.
Ryan Blaney (New Hampshire winner) ….. Clinched berth in Round of 8
Chase Elliott (Kansas winner) ….. Clinched berth in Round of 8
Kyle Larson ….. 54 points above cut line
Denny Hamlin ….. +48 points
Christopher Bell ….. +44
William Byron ….. +40
Chase Briscoe ….. +21
Joey Logano ….. +13
Ross Chastain ….. 13 points below cut line
Bubba Wallace ….. -26 points
Tyler Reddick ….. -29
Austin Cindric ….. -48
Chase Elliott wins Kansas playoff race in double overtime
Chase Elliott won an eventul NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Kansas Speedway, stealing the Hollywood Casino 400 in double overtime after edging past Denny Hamlin to take the checkered flag.
Zane Smith involved in scary crash as car flips upside down
Zane Smith walked away from a scary crash following the first overtime restart of the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
John Hunter Nemecheck got into the driver side of Smith in Turns 3 and 4, sending Smith’s No. 38 into to the wall where it turned onto its side. Smith’s Front Row Motor sports Ford vertically rode the wall with the driver side face down on the track for the entirety of Turn 4 before it rolled back onto the middle on the track and flipped upside down multiple times before finally coming to a stop.
The safety crew immediately attended to Smith, who was able to exit the car under his own power. NASCAR officials then threw a red flag to stop the race for cleanup before preceding to the second overtime.
Denny Hamlin sweeps first two stages of Kansas playoff race
Denny Hamlin continued his domination of the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway through two stages. Hamlin won Stage 2 over Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell after winning the opening stage of the Round of 12 playoff race. Hamlin has led 93 of 165 laps, with the race scheduled for 267 laps.
Bell finished second in Stage 2, followed by Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, respectively, with JGR’s Chase Briscoe rounding out the top five full of playoff drivers. Nine of the top 10 finishers in Stage 2 were playoff drivers with Bubba Wallace sixth, Joey Logano seventh, Ross Chastain eighth, Ryan Blaney ninth and non-playoff driver Alex Bowman 10th.
Among the remaining playoff drivers, Tyler Reddick was 14th, Austin Cindric 17th and William Byron 23rd.
Denny Hamlin wins Stage 1 of Kansas playoff race
Denny Hamlin led 55 laps in the opening stage of the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway and held off Kyle Larson at the line to win Stage 1 of the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race. Hamlin started second, alongside pole winner and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe, who led 19 laps in the 80-lap opening stage.
Larson and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott finished second and third, respectively, followed by JGR’s Christopher Bell and Ross Chastain of Trackhouse Racing. Briscoe took sixth in Stage 1, with reigning series champion Joey Logano in seventh, Chris Buescher eighth, Zane Smith ninth and Carson Hocevar 10th.
Among the other playoff drivers remaining in the Round of 12, Bubba Wallace was 13th, Ryan Blaney 14th, William Byron 15th, Austin Cindric 19th and Tyler Reddick 24th.
What time does the NASCAR Cup race at Kansas start?
The Hollywood Casino 400 is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 28 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas.
What TV channel is the NASCAR Cup race at Kansas on?
The Hollywood Casino 400 will be broadcast on USA Network, the channel for most of the Cup Series playoffs. Pre-race coverage will start at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Will there be a live stream of the NASCAR Cup race at Kansas?
Yes, the Hollywood Casino 400 will be streamed on Peacock, HBO Max, Sling TV and Fubo, which is offering a free trial to new subscribers.
Stream the NASCAR race at Kansas on Fubo
How many laps is the NASCAR Cup race at Kansas?
The Hollywood Casino 400 is 267 laps around the 1.5-mile track for a total of 400.5 miles. The race will have three segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: 80 laps; Stage 2: 85 laps; Stage 3: 102 laps.
NASCAR playoff standings
Here’s how the field stacks up with the gap to leader in parentheses. Four drivers were eliminated after Bristol: Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon, Shane van Gisbergen and Josh Berry.
Ryan Blaney
William Byron (-2)
Kyle Larson (-8)
Christopher Bell (-20)
Denny Hamlin (-22)
Joey Logano (-25)
Chase Elliott (-35)
Chase Briscoe (-37)
Ross Chastain (-49)
Austin Cindric (-56)
Tyler Reddick (-60)
Bubba Wallace (-64)
Who won the NASCAR Cup playoff race at Kansas last year?
Ross Chastain didn’t make the playoffs but ensured he wouldn’t go winless in the 2024 Cup Series season by taking the checkered flag at Kansas Speedway last September. He overtook Martin Truex Jr. for the lead on a restart with less than 20 laps to go and kept William Byron far enough behind to get the win. Byron, Truex, Ryan Blaney and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top five.
What is the lineup for the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas?
Here is the lineup for the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Kansas Speedway (car number in parentheses; P=playoff driver):
Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (P)
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (P)
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (P)
Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (P)
Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (P)
Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota (P)
Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet (P)
Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (P)
Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota (P)
Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Chris Buescher, No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 HYAK Motorsports Chevrolet
Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford (P)
Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford
Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota
Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford (P)
JJ Yeley, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford (P)
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