One Battle After Another: Hamlin Exits Kansas Trophyless
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer/Photographer
Denny Hamlin certainly lived the moniker “One Battle After Another” in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
In light of Paul Thomas Anderson’s generational motion picture that was released this weekend, Hamlin once again endured a series of never-ending battles in this year’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. But none bigger than a last lap duel with his 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace that saw them tangle and Chase Elliott swooping his way by both to punch his ticket into the Round of 8.
On the final restart, Wallace had taken the lead and took the white flag with Hamlin now running in second. As it has been the case all race, Wallace defended his position with his life, but Hamlin went low exiting the backstretch as the two raced hard for the win.
However, Hamlin’s car got tight and washed up onto Wallace which sent him into the wall, opening up the door for Elliott, who restarted in 10th.
The capitalization of Elliott after Toyota’s downfall crescendo was capped off with him door slamming into Hamlin and captured his second win of the season. Moreover, advancing into the next round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Devastation is far from the only word to describe Hamlin’s emotions. The runner-up finisher described losing out on capturing his 60th career win and the battle that might’ve cost his driver a shot of possibly making a deep run in the playoffs.
“Just super disappointing. I wanted it bad. It would have been 60 for me,” said Hamlin. “The team just did an amazing job with the car, just really, really fast. Gave me everything I needed. Got the restart I needed. Just couldn’t finish it there on the last corner.
“Obviously got really, really tight with the 23 (Wallace), and it just got real tight and we let the 9 (Elliott) win.”
THIS FINAL LAP WAS INSANE 🤯 pic.twitter.com/g9ctVJ1TPx
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 28, 2025
Hamlin was the class of the field throughout the race-extending 273-lap race which he not only swept both stages but set the fastest lap of the race on Lap 221.
However, as strong as Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota was, it came with its problems. The first of which unfolded after taking the opening stage victory when he reported having throttle problems but was able to power through it.
Then suddenly, Hamlin’s power steering bit the dust in the final stage and had to overcome it for the remainder of the day.
As if his battles weren’t already mounting, Hamlin endured a faulty pit stop where the right jack stand didn’t align with the car, costing him five seconds on pit road. Consequently, Hamlin went from the lead down to seventh and had to find a way to get back to the front as the race went into overtime.
Up front, Wallace was battling for dear life to punch his ticket into the Round of 8 as he aggressively battled for the lead with Christopher Bell coming to the white flag with Hamlin mired back in fifth.
Saved by the bell, a violent multi-car crash involving John Hunter Nemechek, Josh Berry and Zane Smith, with the latter sliding on his side before tumbling upside down, halted the race for over eight minutes.
A scary tumble on the restart 😳
Zane Smith exited the car after taking a scary tumble across the track on the restart. #NASCARPlayoffs. pic.twitter.com/w3nHSQQeZn
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 28, 2025
All drivers, including Smith, were okay from the carnage, but the caution allowed Hamlin one more shot of rallying back to the race winner’s picture, but came up short of winning once again at Kansas.
Similar to William Byron at the Daytona 500, which also saw Hamlin lose out on victory on the last lap, Elliott saw the seas parted and utilized his big run on the backstretch to get by the equally hungry Toyota racers.
“I had a big run off of two. The seas kind of parted and I just was able to keep my momentum up. That was really it,” said Elliott. “Obviously we still had pretty good tires compared to those guys, but what a crazy finish.”
Hamlin added that without power steering and low voltage on his Joe Gibbs Racing machine, it hindered his mindset because he felt the car was the best he’s had at the 1.5-mile oval.
“Just disappointing because I don’t think I’ve ever had a car that good to the competition,” said Hamlin. “Man, I wanted it for my dad. I wanted it for everybody. Just wanted it a little too hard.”
Wallace didn’t mince words about the man who writes the checks over the radio after going from the lead to finishing fifth.
“He’s a f—ing douche,” said Wallace.
Right after Wallace’s remarks, as any case when a racer is in the heat of the moment, Wallace hand gestures his boss before pulling away and collecting his thoughts.
Nothing ensued from either party long after, but Wallace explained that if it was two years ago when he was super confrontational with the likes of Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman, it would’ve been a much different story.
“I’d probably say something dumb. He’s a dumbass for that move. I don’t care if he’s my boss or not. But we’re going for the win. I hate that we gave it to Chevrolet there,” Wallace explained.
Denied a second win at Kansas, Wallace now heads to the Charlotte ROVAL, a track that’s spelled trouble over the years, still on the outside looking in. He trails eighth-place Joey Logano, who currently holds the final playoff spot, by 26 points which puts him in a must-win situation.
“Toyotas were super-fast, and proud to be driving one. I thought it was meant to be, and then it wasn’t. All in all, the positives, though. We were minus 27 coming in. We’re minus 26 leaving. We gained a point.”
In seven previous ROVAL starts, Wallace has finished no better than seventh back in 2022 and since collected another top-10 result last year.
Meanwhile, Hamlin enters next Sunday at Charlotte 48 points above the cutoff line as the eighth installment of the Bank of America ROVAL 400 commences Sunday, October 5 at 3 p.m. ET on USA.
