Denny Hamlin will take his first win of 2023 regardless of how it went down at Kansas. (Photo: Christopher Vargas | The Podium Finish)
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – It may have not been Dorothy’s three taps of her heels to return home to Kansas, but Denny Hamlin returned to Victory Lane in polarizing fashion.
In a widely acclaimed AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday afternoon, Hamlin and Kyle Larson were a part of NASCAR history with a race that had 37 lead changes among 12 different drivers.
By far, the current Gen 7 stock car showcased its potential at the 1.5-mile speedway, with drivers staying relatively close within each other’s presence and multiple grooves available for passing opportunities. Likewise, the race played out like a can’t blink too often action movie at the theatre except with 36 NASCAR Cup Series drivers duking it out at the 22-year-old track.
Prior to the 267-lap race, it appeared as if the Toyotas, mainly from Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing, would have a field day against their rival OEMs in Chevrolet and Ford. In the case of Stage 1, Toyotas occupied six of the top 10 finishing positions with Hamlin leading the fray.
Hamlin, who appeared to have the best car in long, green flag runs, kept himself in the picture all race long, even when a Lap 159 backstretch crash involving Christopher Bell jumbled up the running order and pit strategies for lead lap contenders. Placing 10th in Stage 2 due to a Lap 163 caution stemming from Kyle Busch’s backstretch crash that ended further green flag racing, it was only a matter of time before Hamlin found himself toward the front of the field.
Once Stage 3 kicked off, it was a bit of stop and go action which brought the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet duo of Larson and William Byron back into the hunt. With Larson, Byron and Chase Elliott joining the battle against Hamlin, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, it looked like a gritty but competitive superspeedway style race at Kansas.
Of the 12 lead changes occurring in Stage 2, eight of those involved the eventual top two who duked it out for the victory in Larson and Hamlin.
Hamlin’s perseverance paid off in an exciting race at Kansas Speedway. (Photo: Christopher Vargas | The Podium Finish)
For a while, it looked like Larson had the race in the bag, preserving his rather comfortable 1.5 second lead over Hamlin in the waning 30 laps. However, Larson’s car became loose in the final moments of the race, prompting the 2021 fall race winner to keep his car under control while Hamlin was able to be on the attack.
A 1.5 second lead became a matter of car lengths in the final 10 laps with Hamlin drawing even with Larson on the backstretch. Not long after, Larson adapted his line to force Hamlin into the wake of dirty air trailing from his No. 5 car.
Simply put, it was intermediate speedway magic between the two drivers as they negotiated their way around the lapped racers, particularly in the corners.
As Larson took the white flag, he tried to stave off Hamlin’s challenge, with the latter ducking toward the inside line off Turns 1 and 2.
When both drivers worked their way off Turn 2, Hamlin attempted to sidedraft off Larson’s car. Not long after, Hamlin inadvertently made contact with Larson’s car, with the latter hitting the backstretch wall before quickly regaining control of his damaged Chevrolet Camaro.
Meanwhile, Hamlin took the lead and checked out to a 1.307 second victory over Larson, a moment that may have not sat well with the fans in attendance. Nevertheless, Hamlin chalked it up to the current ways of stock car racing at the highest level.
“It’s the new NASCAR,” Hamlin said. “It’s what everyone cheers about when someone else does it. I was just trying to side draft him there and miscalculated. It was great for us to get back into position to get close to him and get him loose through (turn) one and two.
“I’ve got to thank FedEx, Toyota, TRD, Coca-Cola, Sport Clips, Interstate Batteries, Jordan Brand, Logitech and Shady Rays. I had such a fast car, just couldn’t get long enough runs for it to materialize. Finally, we had just enough time.”
Despite a second consecutive heartbreaking result in the AdventHealth 400, Larson knew he had a challenging task with staving off Hamlin’s quick Toyota Camry, particularly as grip and handling went by the wayside.
It is another bridesmaid finish for Larson and company at Kansas. (Photo: Christopher Vargas | The Podium Finish)
“I was really loose,” Larson said. “I was trying to do what I could to manage it. I was really loose at that end and, yeah, (Denny Hamlin) was just a little better than me at the end. I haven’t seen a replay either, but obviously, he was side-drafting really aggressively like he would but he was touching me, it felt like.
“It just had me out of control, so I wish we could see what we could do.”
As for Larson’s teammate, Byron, it was an incredible rally for a driver who went multiple laps down after making contact with the wall in Stage 1. Although Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet was not in mint condition toward the end of the race, he managed to contend for the win in the latter laps before settling for a podium finish.
“It was an amazing effort by our No. 24 Liberty University Chevy team,” Byron said. “We all but wrecked twice, went three laps down and came back to finish third. It’s just incredible. It’s just a testament to the strength of this race team. The tail wasn’t exactly right there at the end. It was knocked over and the car was really loose towards the end of any longer run.
“A tough situation, but really happy with that effort. Just a great job by this whole Liberty University Chevy team. They gave us a really hard fight, so good to come home third.”
For Hamlin and his No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota team, it was a relief to snap a nearly year long winless drought. Perhaps it is why Hamlin worked Larson in dogged fashion before going for the valuable piece of real estate that resulted in his first victory since last year’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
It was a long road to get from there to here for Hamlin and Victory Lane at Kansas. (Photo: Christopher Vargas | The Podium Finish)
“It is so important. It is a big win for Joe Gibbs Racing, for myself,” Hamlin said. “Every win is very, very hard to get, so you have to take everyone you can get.”
Stage 1 Top 10 Finishers
Hamlin-Truex Jr.-Gibbs-Reddick-Suárez/Bell-Wallace-Blaney-Chastain-Larson
Stage 1 Top 10 Finishers
Logano-McDowell-Gragson-E. Jones-Allmendinger/Buescher-A. Dillon-T. Dillon-Larson-Hamlin
AdventHealth 400 Top 10 Finishers at Kansas
Hamlin-Larson-Byron-Wallace-Chastain/Logano-Elliott-Truex Jr.-Reddick-A. Dillon
