Denny Hamlin overcomes penalty to win NASCAR Cup race at Las Vegas: A refocused and rejuvenated Denny Hamlin drove the dominant car to victory in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The NASCAR Cup Series victory was Hamlin’s first of the season, his third overall and second straight at the 1.5-mile track and the 61st of his career—good for 10th on the all-time list.[Read More]
#11-Denny Hamlin won the Pennzoil 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The win is his first win of the year, third at Las Vegas and 61st career win.
#9-Chase Elliott finished 2nd followed by #24-William Byron, pole sitter #20-Christopher Bell, #54-Ty Gibbs, #17-Chris Buescher, #5-Kyle Larson, #19-Chase Briscoe, #23-Bubba Wallace, and #6-Brad Keselowski.
Hamlin had the strongest car all day, leading 134 of the 267 laps but he had to overcome a pit road speeding penalty at the end of stage 1.
Stage 1 was won by #20-Christopher Bell. Stage 2 was won by #24-William Byron.
The fastest lap bonus a earned by #11-Denny Hamlin.
There were 21 lead changes among 9 drivers and 3 cautions for 20 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 148.992mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Infraction Report.
Race Fast Facts – Las Vegas:
Denny Hamlin won the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube, his 61st victory in 726 Cup Series races.
With this wins, Hamlin now hold sole possession of 10th on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list.
This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in 2026.
This is his third victory and 16th top-10 finish in 29 races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Chase Elliott (second) posted his seventh top-10 finish in 18 races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It is his third top-10 finish in 2026.
William Byron (third) posted his ninth top-10 finish in 17 races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Connor Zilisch (32nd) was the highest finishing rookie.
Tyler Reddick leads the point standings by 61 points over Bubba Wallace
Driver Points / Chase Standings after Las Vegas:
Race 5 of 26 in the regular season:
1) #45-Tyler Reddick, 255, +138
2) #23-Bubba Wallace, 194, +77
3) #12-Ryan Blaney, 188, +71
4) #11-Denny Hamlin, 177, +60
5) #9-Chase Elliott, 168, +51
6) #20-Christopher Bell, 164, +47
7) #24-William Byron, 157, +40
8) #5-Kyle Larson, 157, +40
9) #17-Chris Buescher, 146, +29
10) #54-Ty Gibbs, 140, +23
11) #22-Joey Logano, 135, +18
12) #6-Brad Keselowski, 127, +10
13) #60-Ryan Preece, 125, +8
14) #71-Michael McDowell, 122, +5
15) #77-Carson Hocevar, 118, +1
16) #7-Daniel Suarez, 117, +0
Outside the top 16:
17) #16-A.J. Allmendinger, 117, -0
18) #97- Shane van Gisbergen, 117, -0
19) #38-Zane Smith, 108, -9
20) #1-Ross Chastain, 94, -23
See the Driver Points Standings and Owner Points Standings.
Race updates:
Checkered flag for Hamlin. He wins over Elliott Byron Bell and Gibbs.
White flag for Hamlin. His lead is .46 second.
Lap 266 – Half second lead for Hamlin. Two to go.
Lap 265 – Hamlin’s lead is .7 with three to go.
Lap 263 – Five laps remaining. Hamlin over Elliott by .7 second as Elliott has cut into the lead over the last couple laps.
Lap 258 – Ten laps to go: Hamlin Elliott Byron Bell Gibbs Buescher Briscoe Larson Reddick Wallace the top 10. Hamlin’s lead is 1.6 second.
Lap 256 – Hamlin has gotten into some fresh air and extended his lead to 1.6 second over Elliott with 12 to go.
Lap 253 – Fifteen laps remaining. Hamlin’s lead over Elliott is 1.2 second. Third place Byron is 2.1 seconds back. Then Bell and Gibbs round out the top 5.
Lap 246 – Elliott has closed to one second behind Hamlin.
Lap 243 – Twenty-five to go. Hamlin still leads Elliott. Byron is now third, then Bell Buescher Gibbs Larson Briscoe Reddick and Wallace.
Lap 238 – Thirty laps remaining. Elliott is now in second, 1.5 second behind Hamlin.
Lap 233 – Hamlin’s lead over Bell is .8 second. They are followed by Elliott Byron Buescher Gibbs Larson Reddick Briscoe and Wallace. 35 to go.
Lap 220 – Hamlin back to the lead with 48 to go.
Lap 218 – Back to green flag racing. 50 laps remaining.
Lap 214 – Pit road is open. Leaders back in. Off pit road: Bell Hamlin Byron Elliott Buescher Gibbs Reddick Larson Wallace Keselowski.
Lap 212 – CAUTION is out for a spin by Zilisch off turn 4. Byron had just taken the lead from Hamlin. Briscoe, in 18th, will be the free pass.
Lap 208 – Sixty laps to go. Hamlin ahead of Byron by 1.1 seconds. At least one more set of pit stops coming before the end.
Lap 201 – With 200 laps complete and 67 remaining, Hamlin leads Byron Bell Larson Elliott Reddick Buescher Blaney Gibbs Wallace.
6:13pm/et -Two hours into the race, 198 laps have been completed.
Lap 193 – Seventy-five laps remaining. Hamlin now leads Byron by 1.3 second, Bell by 2.7 seconds and Larson by 3.3 seconds.
Lap 186 – Hamlin gets around Byron to take the lead for the first time since lap 70.
Lap 179 – Hamlin now second.
Lap 175 – Byron back to the lead. Hamlin to second then Bell Larson and Elliott.
Lap 174 – Green flag for the start of the final stage. 94 laps remaining.
Lap 169 – Pit road is open and lead lap cars are back in. Off pit road: Larson Byron Bell Hamlin Wallace Reddick Elliott Buescher Smith Preece.
Lap 166 – CAUTION out for the end of stage 2. Bryon wins it over Larson Bell Wallace Hamlin Reddick Buescher Preece Elliott Cindric. The free pass will be Chastain, in 19th.
Lap 161 – Hocevar had to pit with a flat tire. He was too fast on pit road.
Lap 160 – Byron take the lead for the first time today.
Lap 156 – Ten laps left in stage 2. Larson continues to lead with Byron now in second, .5 second back. Bell is third, then Wallace and Reddick.
Lap 151 – Larson’s lead over Bell is down to a half second. Third place Byron is 1.5 second back.
Lap 141- Twenty five laps remaining in stage 2. Larson over Bell Byron Wallace Reddick Buescher Elliott Preece Hamlin and Cindric.
Lap 130 – Larson retakes the lead at Keselowski pits. Larson’s lead is now 2.6 seconds over Bell.
Lap 129 – Keselowski still leads. Everyone else has pitted. He’s followed by Larson Bell Byron Wallace Reddick Buescher Elliott Preece and Cindric.
Lap 126 – Blaney pits from the lead. Hamlin follows him. Keselowski now out front.
Lap 125 – The top seven drivers have not pitted. Behind them it’s still Larson and Bell. Berry and Gilliland too fast on pit road.
Lap 122 – Blaney now the leader.
Lap 121 – Some green flag stops beginning, including Larson and Bell.
Lap 111 – Larson is the leader over Bell by .3 second. Hamlin has moved up to 14th.
Lap 101 – With 100 laps complete it’s Larson Bell Elliott Byron Reddick Wallace Cindric Preece Blaney and Buescher.
5:13pm/et – One hour into the race, 99 laps have been completed.
Lap 97 – Bell back to second.
Lap 95 – Elliott to second.
Lap 94 – Larson takes the lead for the first time today. Bell is second, then Elliott Byron and Reddick.
Lap 89 – Back to green flag for the start of the second stage. Hamlin and Gibbs restart 21st and 23rd.
Lap 84 – Pit road is open and lead lap cars are in. Off pit road: Bell Larson Hamlin Wallace Elliott Byron Gibbs Preece Reddick and Blaney. Hamlin and Gibbs both too fast on pit road and will restart in the rear.
Lap 81 – CAUTION out for the end of stage 1. Bell wins it. He’s followed by Larson Gibbs Hamlin Wallace Byron Preece Elliott Blaney Reddick. 22nd place Herbst will get the free pass.
Lap 77 – NASCAR checking on Reddick’s car. He may have had contact with the wall. He continues.
Lap 76 – Five laps left in stage 1. Bell leads Larson Hamlin Gibbs and Wallace.
Lap 73 – Bell out front again.
Lap 70 – Hamlin back to the lead.
Lap 69 – Bell retakes the lead from Hamlin.
Lap 62 – Bell has moved up to second, .8 second off the lead.
Lap 56 – There are now 26 drivers on the lead lap with several more in danger of going a lap down.
Lap 51 – Thirty laps remaining in stage 1. Hamlin leads Gibbs by .8 second. Then Larson Bell and Wallace.
Lap 43 – Custer and McDowell pit and stops are complete. It’s now Hamlin Gibbs Larson Wallace and Bell the top 5.
Lap 42 – Keselowski pits and Custer takes the lead.
Lap 41- Hocevar pits, Keselowski takes the lead. He has not pitted along with Custer and McDowell. Allgaier was too fast on pit road while serving his penalty.
Lap 40 – Hocevar takes the lead.
Lap 39 – The top 10 drivers have not pitted yet. Behind them its Hamlin Gibbs and Larson.
Lap 36 – Briscoe and Allgaier too fast on pit road. Logano now the leader.
Lap 35 – Bell pits from the lead
Lap 34 – Hamlin pits from the lead.
Lap 32 – Some green flag pit stops are beginning.
Lap 26 – Hamlin continues to lead. Then Bell Gibbs Reddick Larson Wallace Blaney Byron Preece and Buescher.
Lap 10 – Hamlin’s lead is .4 second over Bell. Gibbs is third, Larson up to fourth.
Lap 4 – Hamlin takes the lead from Bell. Gibbs Wallace and Larson continue to round out the top 5.
Lap 2 – Bell leads the first lap.
• 4:13pm/et – Green flag at Las Vegas.
• 4:02pm/et – Engines fired.
• 3:54pm/et – Pre-race ceremonies are underway.
• 2:30pm/et – NASCAR RaceDay is now on FS1.
• As of Saturday evening, no drivers were falling to the rear for the start of the race.
• It’s Las Vegas so now bad weather expected today: Sunshine and clouds mixed. Near record high temperatures. High 81F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph.
Race Details:
Broadcast: FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 267 laps / 400.5 miles
Stages: 80 / 165 / 267
Average time of race: 3:01:24
Pit road speed: 45 mph
Caution car speed: 55 mph
Fuel Window: 64 laps
Timing (all times local & subject to change)
Command: 1:02:00 p.m.
Green Flag: 1:13:00 p.m.
Paint Schemes
Cars to the rear: none
Pre-race inspection in the NASCAR Cup Series garage is complete. The cars of #2-Austin Cindric, #10-Ty Dillon, #16-A.J. Allmendinger and #24-William Byron failed twice (loss of pit selection; car chief of each car was ejected).
Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Pennzoil 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway have been made.
Pole winner #20-Christopher Bell chose pit stall 1.
Outside pole sitter #11-Denny Hamlin took the 6th stall, with an opening in front of it.
See all pit choices on the Las Vegas Pit Stall page.
#20-Christopher Bell won the Busch pole for the Pennzoil 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a speed of 187.156mph for his first pole of the year, fourth at Las Vegas and 15th of his career.
#11-Denny Hamlin will start second followed by #54-Ty Gibbs, #23-Bubba Wallace, #5-Kyle Larson, #12-Ryan Blaney, #45-Tyler Reddick, #60-Ryan Preece, #24-Willam Byron, and #17-Chris Buescher.
See the complete qualifying results and the Pennzoil 400 Starting Lineup.
Las Vegas – Qualifying Fast Facts:
Christopher Bell won the Pole Award for the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube with a lap of 28.853 seconds, 187.156 mph.
This is his 15th pole in 221 NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his first pole and second top-10 start in 2026.
This is his fourth pole in 13 races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Denny Hamlin (second) posted his first top-10 start of 2026 and his 12th in 29 races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Ty Gibbs (third) posted his fifth top-10 start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It is his second in five races this season.
Toyota swept the first four starting positions. It is the second consecutive Vegas race that Toyota swept the top three and seventh overall that it swept the top four.
Qualifying Order
Practice for the Pennzoil 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is over. The results:
#20-Christopher Bell 184.061
#11-Denny Hamlin 183.436
#47-Ricky Stenhouse Jr 183.299
#23-Bubba Wallace 183.175
#42-John Hunter Nemechek 183.069
Slowest: #22-Joey Logano 178.253mph.
Most laps run: #54-Ty Gibbs, 37 laps
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 30 drivers): #11-Denny Hamlin 180.552mph
Notes: #10-Ty Dillon did not practice after trouble getting through inspection.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Pennzoil 400 Practice speeds page.
Crew Rosters
The entry list for the Pennzoil 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is posted, 36 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
See the full entry list on the Pennzoil 400 Entry List page.
Goodyear Fast Facts — Las Vegas: The Goodyear Racing Eagle tire setups that await NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series teams at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend are the same left- and right-side pairings each series ran during last October’s race at the Nevada track.
Statistical Advance: Analyzing the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube: A look at some of the top statistical performers at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada, going into the Pennzoil 400.
Race rules and information:
