NASCAR Cup Series

Denny Hamlin wins Kansas after last-lap contact

4 Mins read
Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty Images

As Denny Hamlin celebrated his first win of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season after last-lap contact with Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain‘s right fist was making contact with Noah Gragson‘s left cheek.

Hamlin battled Larson for much of the closing laps in Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway, and an opportunity opened up after Larson got loose on the backstretch after taking the white flag. Larson attempted to recover but was clipped by Hamlin, causing him to hit the wall again.

“It really started with about three laps to go or so,” began Hamlin’s breakdown of the duel. “I was able to get beside him a few times, but there was one where we caught a couple lapped cars and I got to the inside of him and the lap car chose my lane on the bottom, and that really hurt us. I thought that was our best opportunity to pass him.

“So we were two to go, I knew the only way I was going to have an attempt to get near him was to get a huge run off of turn four, so I ran way up high in turn three, really kind of a Kyle Larson line, way up by the fence, and I just pulled it down and got a huge run, and that run down the front straightaway allowed me to pack air on him getting into the corner and get him up the race track so I could get beside him.

“We were both pedalling the throttle on the exit. I was sideways and he was sideways – I knew it was going to be close whether he was going to clear me, and I’m just trying to grind on his left side, trying to keep the side draft as tight as I could, and it’s just a super sensitive part of the car if you get to the left rear, and obviously it hooked him to the right, and we won. The end.”

Larson still managed to finish second despite the clash. After the race, he explained he “was really loose. I was trying to do what I could to manage it, just was really loose at that end, and yeah, just he was a little bit better than me there at the end. I haven’t seen a replay either, but obviously he was side drafting really aggressively like you would, but he was like touching me it felt like, and it just had me kind of out of control.”

The incident wrapped up a chaotic day almost akin to a superspeedway race, which recent Kansas dates have seemingly resembled. Excluding the first stage break, ten cautions were flown for accidents including Kyle Busch‘s wreck as Stage #2 came to an end. A whopping thirty-seven lead changes between twelve drivers took place, more than the two Kansas races in 2022 combined and the most outside of a superspeedway since the 2011 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte—which had a longer race length than Kansas by 200 more miles—saw thirty-eight.

While their run-in did not produce a caution, Chastain and Gragson collided while racing each other late when the latter bounced off the wall. Gragson confronted Chastain on pit road after the race, the two holding each other before Chastain threw a right hook that landed. Before Gragson could retaliate, the two were separated by NASCAR officials.

“He just fenced us off of (turn) four sixty laps to go in the race,” Gragson charged. “Completely used us up and fenced the shit out of us. I’m not going to tear the Trackhouse guys’ stuff up, I respect their hard work. But nobody confronts the guy. I went down there and grabbed him and showed my displeasure. I’m sick and tired of it, and the guy just runs into everyone. When you got guys like Chase Elliott and other guys telling you to go beat his ass, everyone’s just sick and tired of him but nobody has the balls to go up and get him. I’m tired of it.”

Chastain conceded he “got tight off of (turn) four for sure,” but added that “Noah and I have a very similar attitude on the racetrack, and we train together, we prepare together, we know each other’s every little bit about each other. Definitely crowded him up off of four, and he took a swipe at us in three, and then he came down and grabbed a hold of me, and a very big man once told me we have a no-push policy here at Trackhouse.”

Race results

FinishStartNumberDriverTeamManufacturerLapsStatus
1811Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota267Running
225Kyle LarsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet267Running
3124William ByronHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet267Running
41723Bubba Wallace23XI RacingToyota267Running
531Ross ChastainTrackhouse Racing TeamChevrolet267Running
6622Joey LoganoTeam PenskeFord267Running
7219Chase ElliottHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet267Running
8419Martin Truex Jr.Joe Gibbs RacingToyota267Running
9545Tyler Reddick23XI RacingToyota267Running
10113Austin DillonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet267Running
11134Kevin HarvickStewart-Haas RacingFord267Running
123347Ricky Stenhouse Jr.JTG Daugherty RacingChevrolet267Running
131810Aric AlmirolaStewart-Haas RacingFord267Running
142716A.J. AllmendingerKaulig RacingChevrolet267Running
15999Daniel SuárezTrackhouse Racing TeamChevrolet267Running
161012Ryan BlaneyTeam PenskeFord267Running
171417Chris BuescherRFK RacingFord267Running
183031Justin HaleyKaulig RacingChevrolet267Running
19206Brad KeselowskiRFK RacingFord267Running
20247Corey LaJoieSpire MotorsportsChevrolet267Running
211943Erik JonesLegacy Motor ClubChevrolet267Running
222677Ty DillonSpire MotorsportsChevrolet267Running
233551J.J. Yeley*Rick Ware RacingFord266Running
243238Todd GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord266Running
252948Josh Berry*Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet266Running
262334Michael McDowellFront Row MotorsportsFord266Running
272841Ryan PreeceStewart-Haas RacingFord266Running
283415Brennan Poole*Rick Ware RacingFord264Running
292242Noah GragsonLegacy Motor ClubChevrolet262Running
302521Harrison BurtonWood Brothers RacingFord261Running
31152Austin CindricTeam PenskeFord260Running
323114Chase BriscoeStewart-Haas RacingFord260Running
333678Josh BilickiLive Fast MotorsportsChevrolet260Running
34754Ty GibbsJoe Gibbs RacingToyota176Accident
35168Kyle BuschRichard Childress RacingChevrolet162Accident
361220Christopher BellJoe Gibbs RacingToyota157Accident
Italics – Competing for Rookie of the Year
* – Ineligible for points
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