Denny Hamlin Returns to Victory Lane at Las Vegas

Denny Hamlin won the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for career win No. 61 in the NASCAR Cup Series. (Photo: Justin Sheldon | The Podium Finish)

LAS VEGAS — Denny Hamlin picked up where he left off last fall at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, turning in a dominant performance to win the Pennzoil 400.

Hamlin led a race-high 134 laps en route to his first victory of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.

“Over the last few races here (Las Vegas Motor Speedway), I’ve just had a dominant car,” Hamlin said. “It makes me look good when I can drive cars like this. I got to thank the whole team; they’re the ones who made this happen.”

Despite having the dominant car, it wasn’t a completely smooth day for Hamlin, who was forced to drive through the field to begin Stage 2 after being assessed a speeding penalty on pit road following the first stage. However, it was not much of a hiccup for Hamlin, as he was able to finish the stage in fifth place after restarting in 31st.

Denny Hamlin celebrating in Victory Lane after scoring the victory in the Shell Pennzoil 400. (Photo: Justin Sheldon | The Podium Finish)

The victory is Hamlin’s 61st career NASCAR Cup Series victory, breaking a tie with Kevin Harvick and moving into sole possession of 10th place on the all-time wins leaderboard.

It was also an emotional return to Victory Lane for Hamlin, who, after a tragic offseason, shared an emotional moment with his family on the front stretch.

“I mean, this is a family sport, and my family obviously had so much sacrifice to help me get here,” he said. “Not that we have generations of Hamlin’s following me, and it’s great that mom gets to see this. I know dad is still saying, ‘That’s my boy.'”

The win also moved Hamlin up into fourth place in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings after earning a race-high 70 points.

It was a good result for Chase Elliott, who scored a runner-up finish and earned five stage points during the race. In the closing laps, it appeared that Elliott had finally begun to run down Hamlin for the race lead and eventually win, but he just ran out of laps.

Chase Elliott en route to a runner-up finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo: Justin Sheldon | The Podium Finish)

“It was definitely better there towards the end than it had started the run,” said Elliott. “I thought there might be an opportunity. I knew that he (Hamlin) started to get tight at the end of runs.”

Overall, it was a strong day for Hendrick Motorsports, as along with Elliott’s runner-up finish, Kyle Larson led the second-most laps of the race with 62, and William Byron placed in the third position.

The other drivers finishing inside the top five were Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs.

Rounding out the top 10 were Chris Buescher, Larson, Chase Briscoe, Wallace and Brad Keselowski.

There was only one caution for an incident during the 267-lap race, which was for Connor Zilisch, who spun out in Turn 4 after making contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who was trying to make a pit stop on Lap 212. Zilisch went on to finish in 32nd place.

Tyler Reddick retained the lead in the point standings once again, now holding a 61-point lead over 23XI Racing teammate Wallace.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns next weekend on Sunday, March 22, at Darlington Raceway for the Goodyear 400 at 3 p.m. EST on FS1, HBO Max, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Christopher Bell
2. Kyle Larson
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Ty Gibbs
5. Bubba Wallace
6. William Byron
7. Ryan Preece
8. Chase Elliott
9. Ryan Blaney
10. Tyler Reddick

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. William Byron
2. Kyle Larson
3. Christopher Bell
4. Bubba Wallace
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Tyler Reddick
7. Chris Buescher
8. Ryan Preece
9. Chase Elliott
10. Austin Cindric

Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Finishing Results