Hamlin achieves emotional victory 60 and advances to the NASCAR final.

Denny Hamlin Secures 60th Victory in Las Vegas and Clinches a Spot in the NASCAR Final

With tears in his eyes and visibly emotional, Denny Hamlin celebrated his sixth checkered flag of the season, the 60th of his career, an achievement dedicated to his father, who is facing health problems. The victory at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway not only marked a personal milestone, but also secured him a place in the NASCAR championship final. Hamlin, 44, and three-time Daytona 500 winner, has been recognized as one of the most outstanding drivers without having won a Cup Series title. This victory returns him to the championship race for the first time since 2021. The Virginia driver is tied for tenth place on the NASCAR wins list with Kevin Harvick.

I am very happy that you were able to see victory number 60. That was very important to me.

Denny Hamlin

Hamlin couldn’t contain his emotion after an intense fight in the last ten laps, surpassing Kyle Larson and his JGR teammate, Chase Briscoe. Hamlin had expressed his disappointment after not achieving victory number 60 at Kansas Speedway, mentioning his desire not to disappoint his father. This victory in Las Vegas became a crucial moment, dedicated to his 75-year-old father. Hamlin explained that his father was the one who introduced him to the world of motorsports and supported him financially throughout his career. After the last pit stop, Hamlin, with four new tires, rallied from fifth position, overtaking Joey Logano and then Larson, to finally take the lead from Briscoe. This victory represents the greatest achievement for Hamlin’s new team boss, Chris Gayle, and the seventh win of the season for the driver, his best mark since 2020. Joe Gibbs, moved by Hamlin’s dedication, expressed his emotion at seeing the importance of the victory for the driver and his father. In the race, Larson finished second, followed by Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe. William Byron, who was leading the race, had an incident that relegated him to the back of the grid. The last four drivers in the playoff standings are Byron, Elliott, Logano, and Blaney.

Problems for Blaney

Ryan Blaney, who started the race second in the standings, suffered a setback in his title aspirations due to a tire issue, which led to a crash and relegated him to the last position. Blaney, the 2023 Cup Series champion, is now in a critical situation, but is confident of achieving a good result in the next race at Talladega Superspeedway, where he has won three times. The next NASCAR race will take place next Sunday at the Talladega Superspeedway, where Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is the current winner.