Denny Hamlin shed tears of joy, while Kyle Larson gave his rival the proverbial pat on the back… That’s how the final laps of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup playoff race in Las Vegas — the first of three races in the Round of Eight semifinals — played out. It was an emotional lovefest.
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“Yes, no doubt,” Hamlin began, while talking about the last laps of the race that ended with his 60th career Cup victory. “I mean, what you saw that was going on for the last three laps. I did say a prayer into [turn] three with two to go for no caution. I try not to ask for prayers for things that really don’t matter, like competition [he said with a smile]. I needed to see this one through all the way. So I borrowed, asked for a favor on this one.”
Not only was God a Hamlin fan, apparently, so too was runner-up Larson. “He nailed the bottom behind me,” Larson said of Hamlin just before the No. 11 passed for the win.
“He got to my inside, and it was kind of over from there. He did an awesome job there. He got up on the wheel there. I felt like I was up on the wheel and he did a real good job. I tried to take his line away in [turns] three and four, and he got to my outside. Rarely do you see Denny do that, and he did a great job. Hats off to him,” added Larson.
Hamlin basically won the race by feel, so to speak. He didn’t have to think or strategize what needed to be done. He knew where he was on the track, where Larson was, and most importantly, what needed to be done to overtake Larson and steal the win away.
For Hamlin, it all just came naturally. “I don’t remember a whole lot about it. This reminds me a ton of my 2016 Daytona 500 [his first of three wins in the Great American Race], where I didn’t do a whole lot. I had to go back and watch it to figure out what I did. This was very, very similar,” he said.
“I just knew that I needed to make speed, I needed to position myself. I thought it was going to be a monumental task getting by Larson on the same tires. I hadn’t been faster than him on the short run all day. But I just went for it. If I wrecked, I wrecked,” added Hamlin, who, of course, didn’t wreck.
The 44-year-old earned the milestone 60th win of his career, his Cup-dominating sixth win of the season. And while he may not have run a perfect race, he definitely had a perfect ending.
“You never know when these opportunities will come up again,” Hamlin said. “I found a way to make speed when I needed to. It’s super gratifying.”
Now that kind of passion for competition is certainly something one can enjoy.
