Posted on by Nate Ryan

The long and rich history of NASCAR video games contains myriad platforms (starting with “Richard Petty’s Talladega” for the Commodore 64 in 1984), playing styles and pixelated race tracks.

But there is a general consensus of the golden age in a timeline stretching over four decades.

The early 2000s produced a trio of games — “NASCAR 2003,” “Dirt to Daytona” and “NASCAR Thunder 2004” — that set a standard for gaming excellence in racing.

“If you ask anybody what their favorite NASCAR game in history was, you’re going to get one of those three,” said Matt Lewis, the director of production for iRacing. “And now we have the teams that worked on all of those games building NASCAR ’25.”

“NASCAR ’25,” which is being released widely today, is the first NASCAR-licensed video game for consoles (such as PlayStation 5 and Xbox X/S) in more than four years.

LEARN MORE: NASCAR 25 website

It’s also the first NASCAR console title produced by iRacing, which has been built around online racing simulation since 2003 but was known in a previous incarnation as Papyrus — the creators of “NASCAR 2003.”

“Dirt to Daytona” was created by Monster Games, which was acquired by iRacing and has been instrumental in the development of NASCAR ’25.

“NASCAR Thunder 2004” was the crowning achievement for EA Sports, which annually produced memorable NASCAR titles during the mid-2000s. Lewis was among three lead designers for EA Sports during that magical run — and that same trio also has been working on “NASCAR ’25.”

“It’s this crazy, full-circle deal,” Lewis said. “And the cool part for me is I remember playing ‘NASCAR 2003,’ and we’re like, ‘Man if we could ever take like the multiplayer and the physics and the authenticity of what Papyrus did and combine it with what EA Sports was doing in career mode and then combine that with the dynamic of ‘Dirt to Daytona’ and progressing through racing series to become a champion … that would be the best game on earth.

“Fast forward 20 years, and here we are. We are finally doing it.”

The fact that the key developers of “NASCAR ’25” also track with the glory days of racing video games is a reassuring factor for NASCAR, which has been seeking continuity after a tumultuous period of a few disappointing console game launches followed by a prolonged absence.

“It really is a dream team,” said Nick Rend, vice president for Interactive and Emerging Platforms at NASCAR. “iRacing has taken the foundation of their legendary sim and paired it with console veterans who know how to design careers, progression loops, user experiences and live-service systems. This is a group of people who know both the sport and the genre.”

RELATED: Bell, Byron, Blaney featured on NASCAR 25 cover

The melding of simulation and console gaming in “NASCAR ’25” also will be a unique marriage in the gaming world.

Console gaming is centered on the accessibility that traditionally has been found in video arcades. With a controller in hand, it’s possible to play within minutes and quickly progress through a linear storyline intended to appeal to a broad audience.

Sim racing is more about depth, whether it’s hardware, licenses, competitive ladders and precision. It’s designed for players who want lifelike realism and real-world authenticity in competition with accurate details from the physics of a car to the physical characteristics of race tracks that have inimitable bumps, elevation changes.

With its move into console gaming, iRacing is essentially scaling up a business that has nearly 350,000 active online subscribers. It’s expected that “NASCAR ’25” will be played by an audience well into seven figures.

That growth will mark another step in the progression of iRacing, whose popularity exploded during the pandemic when sidelined Cup drivers raced in nationally televised online races. Since then, iRacing has been a major contributor as a virtual proving ground for new races at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway and the Los Angeles Coliseum (and was also used to design the layout of the Chicago Street Race and the Naval Base Coronado in San Diego).

For executive vice president Steve Myers, “NASCAR ’25” will represent “completing a full circle” to the roots of iRacing.

“An authentic racing PC sim was really unheard of in the NASCAR space until really we made a great product that helped launch iRacing into what we’ve become today,” Myers said. “I think with ‘NASCAR ’25,’ we’re getting a chance to take a step back and ask, ‘OK, where is the piece that’s missing for the gamers and for the fans of the sport?’ And that’s ‘Hey, I want to go into my living room, pick up a game controller and play a quick race against the stars of today.’

“That’s been missing for all these years, and so it’s very exciting now to take this vast knowledge from 25 years of authentic racing simulations and packing and presenting it in a way that somebody will get that same feeling with a game pad.”

Here are five more things to know about the launch of “NASCAR ’25,” the sport’s first new console game in more than four years and the first NASCAR console game created by iRacing and its new studio division:

  • This will be the first console game predominantly using laser-scanned assets to create its graphical representation of its cars and race tracks.

Photo references and Google Maps typically have been used to create the surfaces, but “NASCAR ’25” will rely on the speedway laser scanning that has been a staple of iRacing.

“We have all these technologies that we’re able to apply like laser scanning and advanced ways to build tracks and the physical models of the race cars that we never had 20 years ago,” said Greg Hill, executive vice president and producer for iRacing. “And really an unparalleled level of connection and collaboration with NASCAR and the manufacturers as well. We’re working directly with their race engineers and the people who build these cars in the real world and operate them on a daily level, so we can incorporate all of their information into how we build the cars in iRacing. That is just so critical.”

Track surfaces will be dynamic, meaning that rubber buildup will affect handling as in the real world. Noting the hills and undulations of Sonoma Raceway as a good example, Hill said each track “has its own kind of subtleties that people discover.

“They will definitely notice and feel the scale of everything is exactly right. With many racing titles, they just kind of piece it together and generalize this world that approximates a Daytona, Indianapolis or Richmond. But with this, everything is exactly the right size and in the right place.”

  • More than 100 artists were employed just to work on the details for every track in NASCAR ’25.

For comparison, “NASCAR 2003” had a total staff of roughly 20 people working on the game at Papyrus.

“It took a lot to build, of course,” Hill said. “Just the core engineering of the systems and the physics, but also the art is a mammoth undertaking for this title in building out the full calendar of NASCAR tracks. Combined with an engineering and design staff of 30 to 40 people, as many as 150 people have been working at this game at certain points. It’s been the most sizable effort probably at the company.”

  • Rich Garcia, senior vice president for iRacing, began working on “NASCAR ’25” more than two years before it was announced — not long after Garcia’s Monster Games Inc. was acquired by iRacing in January 2022.

“Our real wish was to get to NASCAR,” Garcia said. “We didn’t have the NASCAR license at the time, but I started designing it even before we had the license. Nobody knew for sure, but I just thought it was coming, so I’m going to start laying it out. And so I worked with one of the designers on a new plan to upgrade our tech, re-integrate all of the iRacing assets, redo how our career mode works and redo the whole game as a big step up.

“The lead principal engineer is somebody I’ve been working with for 30 years, so it’s not like we bring on like novices who’ve never done racing before. It’s been a pretty fun project. I used to have to really battle with the publishers to get the quality where I wanted it, but now I’m working with people that understand the ins and outs of racing completely.”

Since its “Dirt to Daytona” title (which Garcia created as a career ladder-style game to fill the void between the realism of Papyrus’ “NASCAR 2003” and EA Sports’ NASCAR licensed games), Monster Games also relaunched the “NASCAR Heat” franchise a decade ago and recently had created “Tony Stewart’s Sprint Car Racing.” Those are just a few highlights in a long career of racing games for Garcia, who started as the third employee at Papyrus in 1988 and went on to focus mostly on developing console games. His mantra is to “never make it dumb. We never do an arcade game. It’s got to have this entry point where you feel anybody in the family can sit down, pick up the controller and have a good time.”

  • The “NASCAR ’25” cover features William Byron (who started his career on iRacing), Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney.

Lewis said all three stars have been among the notable support that the game has received, noting he got daily emails asking for game demonstrations.

“We didn’t get that back in the day,” he said. “It was much more of us going to them and asking ‘Hey can you please have one of your drivers play this game?’ Now it’s “I want to see it and make sure it’s good.’ The more people we get in front of and like it and genuinely want to say good things about it, the better we all are.”

As the first console game since the end of the 2020 season, “NASCAR ’25” will feature many new sponsors, paint schemes and social media elements.

“We haven’t got to do the Kyle Larson and William Byron paint schemes and adding those drivers into the mix and then the Dale Jr. podcast,” Myers said. “There are a lot of cool things that we’ve been able to do to kind of bring the industry into the game a little bit and make it feel current. It’s not just a rinse and repeat of what’s been done before.”

  • It’s the first video game to feature all of NASCAR’s top four national series, which helps enhance a career mode that Lewis said can unfold over multiple decades of a player’s career.

“It ramps up,” he said. “At the ARCA level, it literally looks like your backyard garage. As you move into trucks, now you’re in a warehouse. Then you go up to Xfinity and now you’re in a business park, and you start to hire more employees and do more management-type stuff with R&D and parts and chassis.

The career mode also will feature dozens of possible “turning points” that fall off the track and create a “Choose Your Own Adventure”-type narrative.

“You might encounter three or four of these if you win the championship, but the theory is if you go back and replay it, your story will be completely different,” Lewis said. “It’s this feeling of you’re doing more than just racing the car, and it gets you to this other level of having things to manage.”

Posted on by Pat DeCola

Denny Hamlin did what Denny Hamlin does best on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway — take control of a race in its final moments simply because he wants it more. Win No. 60 was paramount for the future NASCAR Hall of Famer, and he rides into a stress-free superspeedway weekend as the only driver in the Cup Series Playoffs that knows he’s racing for a championship this year.

NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola ranks the 2025 Cup Series Playoffs contenders after the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and before Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (2 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

HOW TO WATCH: NASCAR on NBC, USA | Driver Cams on HBO Max

Analysis: Sunday was far from Hamlin’s most dominant among his 60 wins, but it may have been his most Denny-Hamlin-like. A rousing Vegas victory — after which the crowd actually cheered him — was a monumental moment for a consistent Moment Maker, and the 44-year-old is now positioned to win his first championship better than at any other point in his career. As for this weekend, the two-time Talladega winner — and four-time pole starter at ‘Dega in this decade alone — should have a strong shot at two in a row, but the focus shifts fully to Phoenix.

Analysis: Hamlin walked away with the win and Phoenix bid, but Larson scored just as many points and was far and away the most dominant driver on Sunday. He still has some work to do, though, as a strong 35-point buffer could be washed away in a millisecond at Talladega, where Larson has not enjoyed consistent success over the years. There is, however, some hope, as despite No. 5 having just three top fives in 21 career Talladega outings, two of them have come in the past year.

Analysis: Another Las Vegas fall race, another instance of Bell landing just short of a jackpot in the form of a Championship 4 berth in Sin City. Still, Bell opened the playoffs with a P29 at Darlington and has been driving at a torrid pace ever since, with a win and no finishes outside the top seven the past six races. Don’t be surprised if he finds himself once again with his back against the wall at Martinsville, though — Bell’s ‘Dega record is extremely spotty, and with a 20.9 average finish there, it’s far from a guarantee he doesn’t run into any trouble.

Analysis: It’s worth noting above how Briscoe was once “Out” of these Power Rankings, yet here he is on the precipice of his first Championship 4 appearance and essentially playing with house money at this point. This was wholly because of a points penalty that was later overturned, but it’s still a remarkable turnaround for a group in its first year with a new driver filling the shoes of a future Hall of Famer. Briscoe will have an incredible shot at Phoenix if he gets there, and the prognosis is positive. Even before we start talking Martinsville, Briscoe has a solid history of keeping it clean at Talladega, and if he’s able to escape with at least the 15-point cushion he currently has, he’s in great shape.

Analysis: Byron was sensational for most of Sunday’s race at Vegas, winning Stage 1 and turning in a P3 in Stage 2 before, well, you know. That aside, it was a championship-contending kind of afternoon for the No. 24 team, which finds itself in a minor, but not insurmountable hole after Vegas. With five straight top sevens at the Alabama track, Byron may be primed — and there may never be a better time for — his first career win at Talladega.

Analysis: Elliott likely isn’t the Chase most people had in mind that would be below the cut in the Round of 8, with the other positioned to advance to the Championship 4, but it’s the current reality. That said, No. 9 still may be the more likely of the two to advance from here. Despite a lackluster Vegas showing, Elliott remains one of the best at Talladega and won this race in 2022 en route to a Champ 4 berth.

Analysis: There’s bad luck in Vegas, and then there’s Blaney and the No. 12 team. The 2023 champ is once again in the red after a trip to Sin City, but there’s also a reason why Team Penske has won three straight titles — you can’t ever count them out, no matter the stakes. Despite the Vegas snafu, Blaney arguably will be the favorite in each of the next two races at two very favorable tracks for him and should still have an excellent shot to advance with a win … which is probably his only path forward from here.

Analysis: Logano had a strong race at Vegas, finishing sixth, leading a lap and scoring 34 points, yet … still walked out of the desert staring up at a 24-point hole heading to Alabama. This would be a major cause for concern if it weren’t the three-time and defending champ we’re talking about — the same one that consistently defies everyone’s expectations and has four wins at the remaining Round of 8 tracks. Look for Logano to be in the mix this weekend and go from worst to first in these ranks if he wins, as he’d become the favorite once again should Phoenix be in the cards for him.

Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs Round of 8 continues at the behemoth that is Talladega Superspeedway in Saturday’s United Rentals 250 (4 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

ENTRY LISTS: Cup Series | Xfinity Series | Truck Series

Four spots are still open for a Championship 4 berth following Aric Almirola’s win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Rookie phenom Connor Zilisch sits comfortably above the cutline by 82 points after a runner-up finish at Vegas. Justin Allgaier (plus-44), Jesse Love (plus-20) and Sam Mayer (plus-6) hold the final three provisional spots above the cutline. Brandon Jones (minus-8), Sheldon Creed (minus-21), Carson Kvapil (minus-22) and Sammy Smith (minus-24) will have this weekend and Martinsville next weekend to race their way back above the cutline before a Championship 4 grid is determined.

2025 ARCA Menards Series Champion Brenden “Butterbean” Queen returns to the Kaulig Racing fold to drive the No. 11 Chevrolet for his third start this year. Connor Mosack will make his debut with Viking Motorsports this weekend after the team announced it was moving on from Matt DiBenedetto for the remaining three races of the season.

MORE: How to watch NASCAR on The CW

View the full entry list for the event:

Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 continues at the wild-card Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday in the YellaWood 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

ENTRY LISTS: Cup Series | Xfinity Series | Truck Series

Denny Hamlin clinched a Championship 4 berth following an emotional victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Kyle Larson, who finished runner-up in Sin City, sits 35 points above the postseason cutline. Christopher Bell (plus-20) and Chase Briscoe (plus-15), who finished third and fourth at Las Vegas, respectively, round out the playoff field currently in the green. William Byron (minus-15), Chase Elliott (minus-23), Joey Logano (minus-24) and Ryan Blaney (minus-31) all sit below the four-driver cut and will have two more playoff races to shift momentum back in their favor before the Championship 4 pool is cemented.

Casey Mears returns to pilot the No. 66 Garage 66 Ford for the third time this season. As driver of the No. 66 machine, Mears finished 35th and 29th at Martinsville Speedway and Daytona International Speedway (August), respectively.

HOW TO WATCH: NASCAR on NBC, Peacock | Driver Cams on HBO Max

View the full entry list for the event:

Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs continue after a brief break in the action, with the series taking to the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway on Friday afternoon (4 p.m. ET, FOX, NASCAR Racing Network Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

ENTRY LISTS: Cup Series | Xfinity Series | Truck Series

The Superspeedway showdown marks the second race in the Round of 8 contests, with the penultimate race of the 2025 season at Martinsville Speedway to follow next week.

Frankie Muniz returns to the Truck Series this weekend in the No. 33 Reaume Brothers Racing Ford after a broken wrist from a fall at his home sidelined the 39-year-old back in August. Journeyman driver J.J. Yeley makes a return to the series, making his debut with Spire Motorsports in the No. 7 Chevrolet.

HOW TO WATCH: NASCAR on FOX, FS1, more

See the full entry list for the event:

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

LAS VEGAS — Boisterous. Determined. Unflappable.

Everything that makes Denny Hamlin Denny Hamlin drove him from midpack on the final restart of Sunday’s South Point 400 to a historic triumph at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for his milestone 60th NASCAR Cup Series win.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

The layers associated with this victory are unlike any other he’s earned previously. This one propels him into a tie with Kevin Harvick for the 10th-most wins in Cup history, a mark Hamlin has been not just conscious of but vocally targeting for years. He entered the season with 54 victories to his credit. And with this series-best sixth win of 2025, Hamlin is the first driver to secure his place in the Championship 4. He will lead the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team to Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 2 for Hamlin’s first chance in the title race since 2021.

Factor in health issues for his 75-year-old father, Dennis, and the emotion poured out, leading to tears both in the car and during Hamlin’s post-race interview.

“I don’t know if I could have scripted it better,” Hamlin told reporters in the media center. “I talked about it before the weekend started, just how important this race was, right? I thought this was the most important. All of it. My friends all weekend (said), ‘We’re getting 60 this weekend.’ … All the factors, I can’t imagine there’s a win bigger for me than this one. With the family, with the significance of it, now being back on top for most wins in the season, punching the ticket to the (Championship) 4, all of it. The fashion in which the last 10 laps played out. All of the above is why I think this means the most.”

Hamlin has won big races before — three Daytona 500s, three Southern 500s at Darlington and one Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, to name a few. But this win serves as tangible proof that Hamlin continues to make history at age 44, now statistically one of the sport’s most elite drivers ever and finding sustained success at a stage of his career that seems improbable. That’s why win No. 60 always meant so much — and why the moment lived up to his dreams.

“I mean, what you saw, that was going on for the last three laps,” Hamlin said of the tears shed. “I did say a prayer into (Turn) 3 with two to go for no caution. I try not to ask for prayers for things that really don’t matter, like competition. I needed to see this one through all the way. So I asked for a favor on this one.”

That kind of emotion from Hamlin, though? The same guy who taunts the crowd by reminding them he beat their favorite driver and thrives when rained upon by boos?

“I’m probably softer than what I put off,” Hamlin said. “I maybe shed a tear during a love story on a movie or something if it’s a really emotional moment. I’ll never let my kids see it. But I do have feelings. I know it’s hard to believe.”

Denny Hamlin cries during a TV interview after winning at Las Vegas.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images

Hamlin has been competing in the Cup Series since late 2005, his first full campaign coming in 2006. His rookie year coincided with the season Jimmie Johnson earned his first Cup Series championship, one of a record-tying seven. Johnson, now the co-owner of Legacy Motor Club, was in Victory Lane on Sunday, looking on as Hamlin celebrated the most significant triumph of Hamlin’s career to date.

“I think he’s at 21 years of doing this. To still be winning races, competing for championships, I mean, that says a lot about him, a lot about the team,” Johnson told NASCAR.com. “I know those monumental, kind of odometer moments, milestones, when you click over, it always made them so real and deep. So with his quest to chase the championship, the 60th win, berth to the playoffs, he’s got to be glowing inside. And I think he’ll look back on the 60th in a deep way. We’ll find out more when we leave Phoenix, but this could be the start of something really big for him.”

In one way, Vegas does mark the beginning of something new for Hamlin — a renewed and re-energized fight for the championship that has eluded him forever. But Vegas is also the continuation of a long, arduous journey that Hamlin has fought to achieve for his entire life.

He knew exactly what he wanted from a young age. At age 8, Hamlin wrote a letter stating he wished to win the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18, 1998. He had to wait until 2016 instead, but indeed he won the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18. He did it again on Feb. 18, 2020. But it took years of sacrifice from Hamlin’s parents, Dennis and Mary Lou, to make their son’s racing career happen. And with Dennis “not doing well,” Hamlin said, Denny’s father’s contributions have been top of mind.

The two hadn’t spoken after the race before Hamlin made his way to the media center post-race, with Hamlin more eager for an in-person conversation than one over the phone. He did, however, offer insight into what he’d like to tell his father when they do speak.

“Just thank him for sacrificing really his and my mom’s life to chase around my dreams,” Hamlin said. “My parents had no money. My parents had very normal jobs, but they found a way. That way is a path I would never recommend anybody taking. Every credit card that comes to the mail, ‘OK, we’ll use it.’ Asking people to help. Second- and third-mortgaging the house. All these things. The arguments I had to listen to. I’m in my room, and my mom and dad are going at it. One is saying, ‘I can’t do it anymore.’ The other one saying, ‘Please, just one more week.’

“It’s great it’s all paid off. Certainly, they got the life now that they deserved before I decided to do this.”

Twenty-one seasons of NASCAR Cup Series racing for one team — Joe Gibbs Racing — have brought years of growth to Hamlin. Team owner Joe Gibbs points to the maturing Hamlin has done not just as a race-car driver but as a human being.

“Honestly, I would say that probably one of the biggest changes in a personality is when Denny first came to us,” Gibbs said Sunday. “He was so quiet. You had to try to get him to talk. Today, look at where he is. It’s been so interesting to watch that over the years. I think part of it is maturing. I do think one of the changes, too, is family and everything he’s got going there with (fiancée) Jordan. I think it’s just one of those things where somebody matures, becomes a father, and takes on a huge responsibility, has his own race team, all of that probably causes somebody to actually change their personality. Certainly, I think Denny has gone through one of the biggest changes of almost anyone I know.”

Chris Gabehart and Denny Hamlin speak before racing at Las Vegas.
Zach Sturniolo | NASCAR Digital Media

Chris Gabehart, now JGR’s competition director after six seasons atop the pit box for Hamlin and the No. 11 crew, beamed with pride as he stood on the edge of Victory Lane at Las Vegas Sunday. Together, Gabehart and Co. positioned Hamlin to earn 23 of his 60 career races. Chris Gayle, who moved atop the No. 11’s pit box this year, now has six of those 60.

“I can’t help it,” Gabehart said. “I poured six really hard years into that team and Denny Hamlin, and being a part of creating a pedigree that is that. What a huge win.”

In many ways, Gabehart was the conduit to Hamlin’s resurgent success — both while he was on the pit box and after he moved into his new role for 2025.

“I give full credit to Chris Gabehart for putting the team together,” Hamlin said. “He’s really the one that kind of rejuvenated my career five or six years ago (and) took me from a guy that didn’t win a race in 2018 to winning a lot in the next few years, obviously instilling in me a work ethic and a process that allows me to prepare for each weekend. I mean, I finished the (pre-race) drivers’ meeting and hauled ass back to the bus because I was like, there’s one more thing I need to look at that I think I might just have overlooked. Maybe it was the difference. Maybe, maybe not. But I never want to leave any stone unturned. I’ll never compromise knowing when I get in, I’ve done everything I have to do to go win.”

RELATED: Chris Gayle explains critical four-tire call

Much of that was evident in his drive to the front of the field late in Sunday’s thriller at Las Vegas. A crash by William Byron and Ty Dillon with just more than 30 laps remaining created different pit-strategy plays. Hamlin stopped for four tires and fuel, but others, such as Chase Briscoe and Joey Logano, took just two right-side tires instead. After another crash on the ensuing restart, Hamlin was left in sixth place for the final dash to the checkered flag. He quickly roared to third place, and in a fierce battle with Kyle Larson, Hamlin got the edge and cleared him for second to set his sights on Briscoe for the race lead. He got it with just a handful of laps remaining to claw past his teammate and lock into the Championship 4.

Hamlin admitted he was worried when JGR made its decision to move Gabehart off his pit box and into a management position. But the belief and trust he placed in the hands of Gibbs, Gabehart and Gayle has produced Hamlin’s winningest season since 2020.

“I really appreciate his leadership,” Hamlin said of Gayle. “He pushes me as hard as Gabehart did. I made it very, very clear to him that, regardless of my accolades or his, he is the leader, and I will respect whatever he tells me to do.  I think that’s very, very important as a driver, is to give the reins to your leader, which is your crew chief, comp director, whoever it might be. No one driver is bigger than the team they drive for or the person that leads their team.

“I wanted to make it very clear to him that he has my respect, he has my confidence, and do what you see is fit. Do not be afraid to tell me when you think I need to be fixing something or doing something.”

Denny Hamlin and Chris Gayle speak before racing at Las Vegas.
Zach Sturniolo | NASCAR Digital Media

Gayle has witnessed the fruits of that hard labor firsthand, and now he has a half-dozen wins and a Championship 4 berth to prove it.

And while Gayle may be new to Hamlin, but those at JGR and Toyota have witnessed Hamlin’s rise from a budding Cup racer with potential to become one of the best NASCAR has ever seen.

“I think what people don’t appreciate (is) Denny works really hard,” JGR president Dave Alpern told NASCAR.com. “He’s not only a student of the sport, as evidenced by his podcast, and when you’re in a driver meeting and you hear him. He just really, really works hard. He’s in the simulator. He just works at it. He deserves it. He earned it.”

Hamlin has been to the Championship 4 four times previously, coming up short each time so far. His most painful title loss, though, was in 2010, before the elimination-style format was introduced and when he finished runner-up to Johnson, who won his fifth straight championship.

Tyler Gibbs, president of Toyota Racing Development USA, has worked for the manufacturer since 1996, long before Hamlin started driving Camrys in the 2008 season and even before the automaker’s entry into the NASCAR world. Now, Hamlin stands alone as Toyota’s winningest driver with 57 Cup Series victories to his credit. Gibbs believes the No. 11 is finally due.

“He’s had other opportunities to win the championship,” Gibbs told NASCAR.com. “It feels like he’s more ready than he’s ever been to win the championship.”

Posted on by Nathan Solomon

As the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 commenced Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, some drivers hit it big in Sin City, while others have significant work ahead of them to clinch a Championship 4 spot.

A trip to Talladega Superspeedway is up next on Sunday (2 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), but before heading to Alabama, let’s take a look at where things stand in the race for the Bill France Cup after a thriller in Las Vegas.

WINNER

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Sunday’s victory at Las Vegas meant a little extra for the future Hall of Famer. Choosing to take four tires in his final pit stop on a great call by crew chief Chris Gayle, Hamlin secured his first Championship 4 berth since 2021 in style, passing teammate Chase Briscoe with four laps to go to earn the 60th victory of his Cup Series career. Wiping tears away, Hamlin dedicated the pole-to-victory triumph to his father, Dennis, back at home.

Now locked into the Championship 4 at Phoenix, Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gayle will have a two-week head start to prepare as the 44-year-old pursues his elusive first title.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

WHO’S HOT?

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Despite falling short of the win, the 2021 series champion turned in one of his most complete performances since his latest victory in May at Kansas Speedway. Larson led four times for 129 laps, won Stage 2 and banked 54 points as he finished second, tying Hamlin for the most Sunday evening. He’s finished in the top 10 his last four races, making it back-to-back runner-up efforts after falling short to Shane van Gisbergen last weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Yung Money is heating up at the right time, and now has a 35-point cushion above the elimination line headed to Talladega, where he finished second in the spring.

Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Finishing third for the third consecutive week, Bell couldn’t quite avenge his defeat in this race last year. He earned 43 points, thrusting himself from four points below the cutline to 20 points above, capitalizing on mistakes from other playoff competitors. It’s the third time in a row that Bell has finished on the podium in the Las Vegas playoff race, giving the 30-year-old a bit of breathing room ahead of Talladega.

WHO’S NOT?

Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford. The 2023 champion’s Las Vegas race went awry in Stage 1, suffering a left-front tire issue at Lap 72 from the 12th position. He pounded the Turn 4 outside wall, limping his battered machine back to pit road before his team determined that he could no longer continue, resulting in a last-place finish. Including Saturday sessions, it’s the third trip to Las Vegas in a row that Blaney has crashed, but this time it’s more costly with playoff implications. He sits minus-31 to the cutline, potentially backing the 31-year-old into a must-win situation at Talladega or Martinsville.

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Hopes of a Las Vegas victory were pried away from Byron with 30 laps to go as he ran into the pitting car of Ty Dillon while running second. The contact ripped the right front of Byron’s car apart, resulting in a 36th-place finish as he couldn’t continue. He led three times for 55 laps before the incident and had just surrendered the lead to teammate Larson. Despite earning 18 stage points, including a Stage 1 win, Byron drops to 15 points below the elimination line ahead of Talladega, but his back-to-back Daytona 500 wins prove he could be a factor next weekend in Alabama.

BUBBLE WATCH

RankDriver+/-
1Denny HamlinADV
2Kyle Larson+35
3Christopher Bell+20
4Chase Briscoe+15
CUTLINE
5William Byron-15
6Chase Elliott-23
7Joey Logano-24
8Ryan Blaney-31

NASCAR INSIGHTS

Finishing 18th on Sunday at Las Vegas, issues on pit road were costly for Chase Elliott. According to NASCAR Insights, the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team had the 28th-best pit crew in Sin City, headlined by an uncontrolled tire penalty at Lap 121. Elliott had to serve a pass-through penalty under green, and while he got back on the lead lap, the Dawsonville, Georgia, native could never return to the winning mix. Conversely, Joey Logano had the 26th-best pit crew on Sunday, but a late two-tire call from crew chief Paul Wolfe got the No. 22 team up to sixth after 267 laps.

QUOTABLE

“It definitely means a lot. This is the point where I kind of give the fans some [expletive], but not today. I appreciate all of you so much. Yeah, obviously want to say hi to my dad, family back at home. All the friends that came out here for Vegas, hoping we get 60. I didn’t think we were. Put the pedal down the last 10 laps, made it happen … if you would have asked me yesterday, I would have said no. Just super proud of this team for making the adjustments they did.” — Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, on winning his 60th career race to clinch a Championship 4 spot.

NEXT RACE

For the first time, Talladega Superspeedway’s fall date slides into the Round of 8, creating even more unpredictability with just three races remaining in the 2025 season. Talladega offers an opportunity for any playoff driver to turn their Round of 8 fortunes around. Keep an eye out for Team Penske drivers Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney: Logano led 24 laps in the spring race before a disqualification derailed a top five, while Blaney won this race in 2023. Teammate Austin Cindric wound up winning in April, further evidencing that Team Penske is the likely organization to beat.

Posted on by Dustin Albino

LAS VEGAS — When Chase Briscoe left the Cup Series field in the dust during the opening stint of Sunday’s Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he thought it was going to be a repeat of August’s Southern 500. Ultimately, it was a gamble made by No. 19 crew chief James Small that dictated the outcome.

Briscoe passed Denny Hamlin on the opening lap and led the opening 35 circuits of the race before hitting pit road during the first cycle of green-flag pit stops. With the No. 19 team having a mediocre 13.6-second pit stop, Briscoe fell to third in the running order at the conclusion of the stage.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

“The first run of the day, I was like, ‘my gosh, we’re going to murder them,’” Briscoe thought. “My car was unbelievable. We had that bad pit stop and lost control of the race and could never get the balance back to what it was.”

Throughout the race, Briscoe hovered around the top five, finishing fifth in Stage 2. But after bouncing off the backstretch wall on a restart during the final stage, he sank to eighth in the running order. But at a Lap 232 caution involving frontrunner William Byron and Ty Dillon, No. 19 crew chief James Small had a crucial decision to make. He was among four crew chiefs to gamble on taking two tires — along with fellow playoff contender Joey Logano —  to get Briscoe track position.

The risk was worth the reward for the No. 19 team, already banking 14 stage points on the afternoon. But the danger was high, should Briscoe fall into the clutches of the rest of the field on four fresh tires.

“It could have ended up really bad,” Small stated. “I think the key with what we’ve seen before, the car on two tires that can get the lead can hang on. If you don’t, you’re going backwards in a hurry. Thankfully, it was still a giant gain from where we were.”

With another multicar pileup on the following restart, Briscoe gained a buffer with the drivers on four fresh tires having fewer laps to hunt down the No. 19 car. The final restart waved with 14 laps remaining, with four of the top five drivers on fresher tires. Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson, both on four fresh Goodyear tires, made quick work of Joey Logano and Alex Bowman, putting them in prime position to hunt Briscoe down.

When Hamlin cleared Larson, he hurried to the back bumper of Briscoe. The No. 19 car began losing considerable pace in the waning laps, as Hamlin took the lead coming to four laps remaining. Larson followed through, as did Christopher Bell.

Briscoe earned a fourth-place finish, his 14th top-five finish of the 2025 season.

“Wish it was [five] laps shorter or whatever it was,” Briscoe added. “I was so loose at the end; I had nothing left. That was all I had.

“I was so loose all day long if I ran the top. I was already that loose running the bottom, I was scared to death to go up there. With them having new tires, I felt like if I gave them the bottom, they would drive right by me anyway. I was trying to air block as much as I could.”

The venture to take two tires ultimately netted Briscoe an additional point or two, he believes. On sheer speed, he thought the No. 19 team should have placed around fifth.

“It could have been a lot worse, and we’re on the upside of points, which is something not to be mad about,” Briscoe said.

With two races remaining in the Round of 8, Briscoe sits above the cutline with a 15-point buffer over Byron for the final provisional Championship 4 spot. Next up is a trip to Talladega Superspeedway next Sunday (2 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), where Briscoe finished 15th in April.

Posted on by Staff Report

Denny Hamlin became the 11th driver to reach the 60-win mark in the NASCAR Cup Series, prevailing Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in a win that secured his spot in the Championship 4.

The victory, his sixth of the season, pulls Hamlin into a tie on the Cup Series all-time win list with Kevin Harvick, who retired after the 2023 campaign. He led just nine laps on Sunday, but completed a full bookend as he started the 267-lap event from the pole.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Hamlin has mentioned his goal of reaching the 60-win plateau multiple times as the season progressed and his win total grew. After his victory at Dover Motor Speedway in July, Hamlin indicated that he placed more value on accumulating wins than on chasing a Cup Series championship — an achievement that has eluded him so far in his 20-year Cup career.

“If we do, we do. If we don’t, we don’t. I care about wins,” Hamlin said. “Trust me, I want more trophies, more trophies, more trophies. When I’m done, I want to be in the top 10 of all-time winners. That will mean more than any other accomplishment I could have.”

That said, he’ll have at least one more opportunity to compete for a championship. His win at Las Vegas secured his fifth Championship 4 berth and first since the 2021 season. Unlike other years, he and crew chief Chris Gayle receive a two-week head start at preparing for the Nov. 2 finale at Phoenix Raceway. After all, the driver to win the opening Round of 8 race has gone on to win the championship in five of the last nine years.

MORE: All-time Cup Series winners

Hamlin has reached all of his career milestones while driving the No. 11 for Joe Gibbs Racing, the team that brought him to NASCAR’s top division in 2006, when he won Rookie of the Year honors. JGR signed Hamlin to a two-year contract extension on July 25, all but ensuring that he will finish out his career with the organization.

Of the nine drivers ahead of Hamlin on the Cup Series’ all-time win list, eight are in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The only exception is former JGR teammate Kyle Busch, who is just ahead of him with 63 career wins, but remains active in the Cup Series and ineligible for Hall of Fame nomination.

Posted on by Holly Cain

LAS VEGAS — Denny Hamlin scored an emotional victory and claimed a significant career milestone with a dramatic NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 win in Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Hamlin passed two cars in the final 10 laps, ultimately taking the lead from his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe with four laps remaining and then holding off the day’s most dominant driver, Kyle Larson, by 1.533 seconds to claim a series-best sixth win of the season and 60th of his Cup career.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

The win secures the first of four positions for the Nov. 2 Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway — landing Hamlin his first title shot since 2021.

Hamlin was notably moved in the moments after climbing out of his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Instead of the typical playful banter the veteran normally delivers to the crowd after a win, the 44-year-old Virginian spoke more solemnly, mentioning his father Dennis, who has been ill.

“This win means a lot, this is the point where I kind of give the fans some [expletive], but not today, I appreciate you all so much,” said Hamlin, his eyes water-filled as he looked toward the crowded grandstands.

“Obviously, just want to say ‘hi’ to my dad and family back at home,” Hamlin added, his voice cracking with emotion. “We were hoping to get 60 [wins] today, but didn’t think we were. Just put the pedal down those last 10 laps and made it happen.”

A critical pit-stop during the race’s late running proved all the difference, with four fresh tires the winning hand.

“[Crew chief] Chris [Gayle] did an amazing job on that final stop, getting the car just right, and I just held it down,” Hamlin said. “That’s all I could do, just go for it. I felt like I had nothing to lose, just go for it and try to punch a ticket now, and it feels great.

“Just super proud of the team for making all the adjustments they did and the pit crew for doing a great job all day.”

It marked the eighth time Hamlin and fellow playoff contender Larson have finished in some combination of first and second place. Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was the class of the field for most of the day — leading a race high 129 of the 267 laps — but just unable to hold off Hamlin’s pole-winning Toyota heading to the checkered flag.

Denny Hamlin and his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing pit crew pose for a photo in Victory Lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Logan Riely | Getty Images

“I thought we did everything that we could do,” said Larson, who now holds a 35-point advantage above the cutline. “The Toyotas were really fast for the short-run there. I saw the No. 11 (Hamlin) line up behind me, and I knew he’d be difficult to hold off. If any one of the Toyotas got clear and could get rolling, I knew it would be tough.

“He did a great job, though. He still had to make the right moves, which he did. I felt like I was doing all I could to stay in front of him, while also trying to track down the No. 19 (Briscoe). We just came up a little bit short, but overall, it was a great day for the No. 5 Chevrolet team.”

WATCH: Gayle explains late-race pit stop | Larson on runner-up | Briscoe falls short

Larson, like Hamlin, took four tires on the final pit stop and lined up on the second row for the final restart with 14 laps remaining. Hamlin’s teammate Briscoe was out front, benefitting from a two-tire call that gave him better track position.

Hamlin restarted fifth and made his way forward, passing Larson with five laps remaining and then getting around his teammate Briscoe with four laps remaining. Larson and then Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell also got around Briscoe in the closing laps.

It marked the 15th time this year that Toyota had four of a race’s top-five finishing drivers. The effort gives Bell a 20-point advantage to the good in third place; Briscoe holds a 15-point edge.

“I was hanging on, but I thought I was in a really good spot there for that last three or four laps on that restart,” said Briscoe, who finished fourth. “My car drove really good, and as I ran, I was just absolutely sideways. Thought there for a while when they [Larson and Hamlin] were racing hard I’d be able to sneak one off, but just really, really loose there at the end. At least a JGR car won, but that’s going to sting for a while.”

While Briscoe didn’t win, his top-five finish certainly helped his playoff chances, too. Four of the top-six finishers — Hamlin, Larson, Bell and Briscoe — are among the current field of eight title hopefuls competing for a Championship 4 appearance with two races remaining in this penultimate round — next week at the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway and the following week at the half-mile Martinsville Speedway.

Team Penske’s Joey Logano, reigning series champion and current playoff driver, also gambled on a two-tire stop on that last caution period and managed a sixth-place finish. Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott was 18th, rallying from an early race pit miscue and penalty.

SHOP: Winner gear

Elliott’s teammate, 2025 Regular Season Champion and Daytona 500 winner William Byron, finished 36th after a bizarre late-race collision when his No. 24 Chevrolet car slammed into the back of the No. 10 Chevrolet driven by Ty Dillon, who pulled down to pit, although Byron, running at full speed, said he had absolutely no signal of Dillon’s intention.

The incident cost Byron dearly in the standings, dropping him to 15 points below the cutoff line, followed by Elliott (minus-23), Logano (minus-24) and Ryan Blaney (minus-31).

As with Byron, who won Stage 1 and led 55 laps Sunday, Penske’s Blaney — the 2023 series champion — also had a tough outing, finishing last in the 38-car field and dropping from second in the points to eighth.

Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford had a tire incident late in the opening stage and slammed into the wall only 70 laps into the contest.

Blaney’s disappointment after getting out of his car was palpable. He’s finished 32nd or worse in the last three Las Vegas races. The upside for him, however, is that he has three wins at Talladega Superspeedway and has won the last two Martinsville Playoff races.

“I’m not very happy right now, but tomorrow morning I’ll be optimistic to go to the next race,” Blaney said. “We’ve had good success at the next two events, so hopefully we can come and bring the speed and try to overcome the hole we put ourselves in today.”

MORE: Cup Series schedule | Cup Series standings

23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick was the lone non-playoff driver among the top five Sunday, finishing fifth. Hendrick’s Alex Bowman, Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch, and Roush-Fenway-Keselowski teammates Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-10.

The NASCAR Cup Series moves to the Talladega Superspeedway high banks next Sunday for the Yellawood 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is the defending race winner.

NOTE: Post-race inspection in the Cup Series garage concluded without issue, confirming Hamlin as the race winner. The No. 6 RFK Racing Ford, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota and No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet will return to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, for engine dyno only.