Hamlin holds off Elliott, takes first NASCAR win in Vegas
LAS VEGAS, Sept 27, (AP): Turns out 21 was Denny Hamlin’s lucky number in Vegas.
After finally getting his first career victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on his 21st try, Hamlin is on an undeniable hot streak he just might ride all the way to his long-sought first NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Hamlin finally broke through in Vegas, holding off Chase Elliott and kicking off the second round of the playoffs with his second win in September.
Three weeks after Hamlin got his first victory of the season in the playoff opener at Darlington, he led 137 laps in Vegas in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, including the final 39.
After a season of frustrating results and a 17-year career filled with championship near-misses, Hamlin has emerged as a serious contender for the title once again. He is just 14 points behind Kyle Larson in the points standings, and he’ll have no pressure heading into the high-stakes upcoming races at Talladega and the Charlotte Roval with his ticket already punched for the third round by this Vegas victory.
The 41-year-old veteran had struggled on this 1 1/2-mile track for most of his career, with just two top-five finishes in his first 18 starts. He has put together three consecutive topfour finishes since then in Vegas, capped by this victory under the lights and fireworks.
Elliott closed in on Hamlin in the final five laps as Hamlin’s performance appeared to decline, cutting the gap to a half-second with two laps to go – but the defending Cup Series champion couldn’t close the remaining distance, finishing second in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Kyle Busch finished third on his hometown track, followed by Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney as the 12 remaining playoff drivers began the second round and the final seven races of the season. Hamlin, Busch and Truex put Joe Gibbs Racing in three of the top four spots.
Larson finished 10th on the track where he won in March. Kevin Harvick, who scrapped with Elliott over tactics last week at Bristol, finished ninth.
Larson won the first stage, but Hamlin took the second when Larson needed gas and pitted with eight laps to go. Larson got stuck in the midfield in the final stage while struggling with his tires.
Harvick wasn’t really in position for any payback on Elliott after the younger driver deliberately slowed Harvick at Bristol last week, ruining his chances of catching Larson. Harvick and Elliott had a vocal public disagreement after that race.
Meanwhile, Josh Berry moved teammate Justin Allgaier out of the way with 42 laps remaining to win the Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
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It was the opener of the seven-race Xfinity Series playoffs and Allgaier, who started the race ranked third, could have used the win to strengthen his championship chances. Instead, the victory went to his JR Motorsports teammate.
It was tough, me and Justin have raced a lot this year and most of them he’s gotten the better of me,” Berry said. “It’s cool we were able to get one.”
The victory didn’t carry the same weight for Berry, who is running a partial schedule this year for JRM. But he earned his first career win.
He thanked Annett for allowing him to drive his car the pasty earlier this year at Martinsville to spark a funding push that has earned Berry a promotion to full-time next year.
At Las Vegas, he earned his second career Xfinity Series victory while filling in for injured teammate Michael Annett. He thanked Annett for letting him drive the No. 1 Chevrolet for three races so far as Annett recovers from a leg injury.
Allgaier finished second and although disappointed to lose to a teammate, he understood.
Allgaier was followed by Noah Gragson for a 1-2-3 podium sweep by the Chevrolets owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his sister. Allgaier led a race-high 90 laps.