Chase Elliott powered to a Round of 8 berth with a daring final-lap charge in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Starting the last lap in fourth, Elliott threaded between rivals and door-slammed Denny Hamlin to secure a 0.069-second win. The Georgia native collected his 21st career NASCAR Cup Series victory and second at Kansas, seizing momentum in the NASCAR Playoffs. His bold move capped a double-overtime finish that left fans buzzing and shifted the playoff landscape heading into the Charlotte Roval cutoff race.
Key Highlights
- Chase Elliott captures his 21st career Cup win and advances to the Round of 8.
- Denny Hamlin finishes second after late-race contact with Elliott.
- Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Bubba Wallace complete the top five.
- Elliott’s crew chief credits a four-tire call for the winning edge.
- Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, and Austin Cindric fall below the playoff cutline.
Chase Elliott’s Bold Kansas Victory
Elliott’s aggressive style paid off in double overtime. Running fourth as the white flag waved, he darted through a narrowing gap, door-slamming Hamlin at the exit of Turn 4 to steal the win. The move secured his second victory of the season and guaranteed advancement in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
“Everything worked out perfect for me. I wasn’t going to lift, so I didn’t know what was going to happen.” – Chase Elliott
Crew chief Alan Gustafson’s call for four fresh tires during the seventh caution gave Elliott the speed to outlast two-tire competitors.
“We needed to have an advantage over them to beat them. I wanted to give Chase an opportunity to have a distinct advantage.” – Alan Gustafson
Chaotic Final Laps
The finish unfolded with multiple storylines. Bubba Wallace surged to the lead on the first lap of the green-white-checker after pushing Christopher Bell high in Turn 3. Hamlin, wrestling a car without power steering, dove inside Wallace entering Turn 3 of the final lap, forcing both toward the wall. Elliott seized the opening between Chase Briscoe and Bell, shooting to the inside and breaking Hamlin’s momentum with a forceful door tap coming to the stripe.
“Had a great push through (turns) one and two. That kind of all started with the 6 (Brad Keselowski). Big run off of two. Seas kind of parted and just was able to keep my momentum up.” – Chase Elliott
Full Race Results
| Pos | Driver | Diff |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chase Elliott (P) | — |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin (P) | 0.069 |
| 3 | Christopher Bell (P) | 0.200 |
| 4 | Chase Briscoe (P) | 0.235 |
| 5 | Bubba Wallace (P) | 0.255 |
| 6 | Kyle Larson (P) | 0.649 |
| 7 | Tyler Reddick (P) | 0.779 |
| 8 | Brad Keselowski | 1.022 |
| 9 | William Byron (P) | 1.030 |
| 10 | Shane Van Gisbergen | 1.288 |
| 11 | Ross Chastain (P) | 1.420 |
| 12 | Todd Gilliland | 1.453 |
| 13 | Ty Dillon | 1.668 |
| 14 | Michael McDowell | 1.713 |
| 15 | Chris Buescher | 1.866 |
| 16 | Erik Jones | 1.882 |
| 17 | Daniel Suarez | 2.091 |
| 18 | Justin Haley | 2.144 |
| 19 | Kyle Busch | 2.290 |
| 20 | Cole Custer | 2.551 |
| 21 | Joey Logano (P) | 2.573 |
| 22 | Riley Herbst | 2.657 |
| 23 | Noah Gragson | 3.034 |
| 24 | Ryan Blaney (P) | 3.102 |
| 25 | Ty Gibbs | 1 lap |
| 26 | Ryan Preece | 2 laps |
| 27 | Austin Dillon | 2 laps |
| 28 | Alex Bowman | 2 laps |
| 29 | Carson Hocevar | 4 laps |
| 30 | Austin Cindric (P) | 4 laps |
| 31 | Zane Smith | 7 laps |
| 32 | John Hunter Nemechek | 7 laps |
| 33 | Josh Berry | 7 laps |
| 34 | J.J. Yeley | 12 laps |
| 35 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 37 laps |
| 36 | AJ Allmendinger | 57 laps |
| 37 | Cody Ware | 221 laps |
Playoff Implications
The victory locked Elliott into the Round of 8, while Hamlin’s runner-up kept him above the cutline despite the bruising contact. Bell’s third-place run strengthened his position, and Briscoe impressed with a fourth-place finish. Wallace, despite leading in overtime, sits 26 points below the cutoff after finishing fifth. Ross Chastain is 13 points behind, Reddick trails by 29, and Cindric faces a steep 48-point deficit heading into the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. The field’s tension will only rise as the final Round of 12 race looms.
News in Brief: Chase Elliott’s Kansas Heroics Highlighted in Full Race Results
Chase Elliott captured the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, advancing to the Round of 8 with a daring final-lap door-slam on Denny Hamlin. Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Bubba Wallace followed in the top five as chaos erupted in double overtime. Crew chief Alan Gustafson’s four-tire strategy proved decisive, helping Elliott secure his second win of 2025 and 21st career Cup victory. Ross Chastain, Wallace, Tyler Reddick, and Austin Cindric remain below the playoff cutline entering the Charlotte Roval.
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