A Vegas Finish to Remember _ 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Extended Highlights

Everybody wants good luck, good fortune when they come to Las Vegas. Well, you're going to need more than just good luck here today to guarantee yourself a spot in the championship for the South Point 400 on a sunny day here in Las Vegas. Let's go! Good start, Denny Hamlin from the pole position. And he's got two of his teammates right behind. Organization up front. Three Joe Gibbs racing cars. First, second, third. Will they play nicely? They do. They stay in line to try to get the momentum. This corner, easily wide open on restarts. It's all about who can push down the backstretch. Briscoe looks for that inside run. Chase Briscoe. He believes that he can go all the way, not only just to the championship four. He said, if you can get us to Phoenix, we can win the whole thing. I said, push. Briscoe scoffed at my suggestion of pushing a teammate. He pulls right out and goes by the 19. Very impressive. Yeah, you saw Denny Hamlin lose the lead to his teammate, Chase Briscoe, fairly quickly. And there's a reason for that. It was Hamlin on the radio just seconds ago. Sorry, on the start, I couldn't get it into fifth. Copy. Interesting, Steve. He couldn't get it into fifth gear. As you watch the battle behind those Joe Gibbs racing cars. So, how much would that slow Hamlin down if he couldn't quite get it into fifth gear on the start? This race a year ago featured a lot of issues on pit road. This team, though, Kim, did not have any in the spring race. Yeah, finishing up their stop, William Byron, tight on the bottom. He said, overall, though, pretty good in terms of balance. You see Ryan Blank right there. He said, loose right in the middle, forcing him to run the bottom. He has to be tightened up one number, Marty. Denny Hamlin at the very front end of pit road. You saw their car fall off on the longer run. That's what they struggled with in practice yesterday. He said the car was, quote, just edgy. And you heard the radio comment, just no rear grip at the end of that run. His teammate, Chase Briscoe, however, has led all 35 laps before he came to pit road. Said the car gets a little bit too free off the corner. And he said, for way longer than normal, the car was bottoming out into the run. So see if the 19 can have a clean pit stop here. Waiting on the left here. All this is going to cost the 19 is a long stop here. First stop of the day. The big blend will be Byron against Briscoe. Briscoe should have easily kept the lead. He had a three and a half second lead over Byron. And you're going to see him right here, chase him down. The middle of one and two. Momentum is going to be on the side of the 24. So first pit road fumble. 19 of Chase Briscoe. Lead lost in the green flag cycle. Hey, Kim Coon, it was a frustrating stop for the nine. And Chase Elliott fans have noticed that he has dropped. What happened? Yeah, that's right. He entered that green flag cycle of pit stops. Third now ultimately run six. You're going to see this replay here. No major problems in terms of gun issues or problems with the tire changes. He just goes long in the box. So further into that pit box than he had intended, which kind of messes up the choreography of the team. We talk about mistakes being made on pit road. This would be considered a mistake, not hitting his marks. And mistakes are what can lose you a race. They are blown up here and amplified in the playoffs. Dropping down now. This is a nightmare situation for Ryan Blaney. With just nine laps to go to the end of stage one, he ended up in the wall. You see the left front flat and flapping. Kim. Right now, the driver just a little bit panicked. He said the steering isn't working. Everything feels broken. They've kind of tried to talk a little off the ledge, kind of look at this car, diagnose it before they decide anything is terminal. But we've seen tire issues from the 12 team before, both here and at other intermediates. This could be a day ending issue. Again, the team looking at that car right now. Here, bottom and out, you can. You can hear the left front bottom and out and start slapping up the rubber. So definitely a tire goes down first and then straight up into the wall. The wall heavy damage to the steering left front already flat. So I don't know if he ran something over what the cause was. But the left front goes down and into the wall for the 12 car. He was last on pit road in the mid 30s. So, you know, about 30 laps on that set of tires. So does everyone pit? I mean, that's the call you want to make. Everybody wants to come down and get new tires. But do you only put two on and try to guarantee stage points? So maybe some gamesmanship here on pit road. Kim, we're gonna have to watch closely to the nine stop as he slid too far into the box earlier. Hits his marks right there. He said the balance is pretty good. Just managing the front tires for fresh Goodyear's. You see the middle of your screen. William Byron said tight to fire off, but good on the long run. Kyle Larson at the bottom still battling a tight condition. Cliff Daniel said he did a good job strategizing the run to minimize that problem. But they'll get more aggressive, freeing it up here with the chassis adjustment. Marty. A little further up pit road. Chase Briscoe said it was better taking off. It just takes 20 laps for our car to come in. You see a few cars flash by the 19, but a much cleaner stop for the 19 bunch. But William Byron will win the race off pit road. Both team Penske drivers are at the bottom of the playoff points. Here's that Echo Park Automotive Restart Zone. And it's William Byron who has led 35 laps today. Leads the field back to green. Look how racy and determined the 19 of Chase Briscoe is on the inside. Three wide down the back stretch. There's Ravel on the bottom. He loses momentum. Stage points on the line. William Byron is going to grab the maximum here. What an opening stage for the Hendrick Motorsports driver. That's the way to do it. Briscoe and Larson are fighting hard to the line. But it's William Byron who wins his eighth stage of this year. One stage down, two to go. Echo Park Automotive Restart Zone. South point 400. Let's do it. Here we go. Stage two underway. Not quite as good of a restart. Oh! He was almost turned. Chase Briscoe into the back of William Byron. And he almost went through the grass. What a save. See Larson on the outside. That's what Larson wants. He wants to try to pinch off William Byron. Not let him turn the car the way he wants to. Three wide. Briscoe on the inside. He's on the attack. Larson goes to the lead. Byron is in the middle and going backwards. Hamlin's up on the high side. William Byron running in the second position. No surprise. He has had great stats here at Vegas. Finished top six in the last five Vegas races. Has led laps in the last five Vegas races. Already done 45 of those lap leads here today. A little surprising we haven't seen this team in victory lane here during the playoffs. Especially considering they were the regular season champions. But no reason to think that they couldn't come here and find victory lane. It's a little free. And he needs to be tightened up when they make stops, Dylan. Chase Elliott saying the nose is just a little too numb off the wall. Needs a little bit better turn for that Chevrolet. They put on those four fresh Goodyear tires. Air pressure adjustment, Marty. Platinum running coming down pit roads. And it didn't go as free this run as it did the last one. But, man, he is using the top of the racetrack to his advantage. It was a late call to get Denny Hamlin to pit road. And, Jeff, terrific observation by you. They have made the car so much better for Hamlin. It's been edgy all day long. But Hamlin said the back is in the track much more on this run. And coming down pit road, Kim, he said the car is really good right now. And Marty, just loose condition for the 24. He said, I'm a little free here. But if you tighten me up, I will be fine. Again, they'll get him a little bit more stability, Marty. Chase Frisco coming down pit road on the last stop. Remember, they had that rough stop earlier in the day. On the last stop, though, they gained two spots. See if they can have a cleaner green flag stop here for the 19. Frisco saying, I just need a little bit more right rear grip. And, Steve, while you were talking about Kyle Larson, let's talk about his teammate Chase Elliott. Uncontrolled tire. And he's going to have to serve a penalty. He's back on pit road now. Oh, that is just a... Once again, an unforced error, a mistake by another playoff car. The 9 will roll down pit road. As this battle continues, let's see exactly what happens to the 9. He stops in his box. A little long still. That's happened twice. You see the tire rolling to the front. Well, it turns and keeps rolling, keeps rolling, keeps rolling well into the next pit box. And then it takes another crew member to stop it. That, I think, is what triggers the uncontrolled tire when it gets to the point where you need help to stop the tire. And very close call between Chastain and the 11 of Hamlin. On this final lap, presented by Credit One Bank. Oh, McDowell went to the top right there, trying to get by the 35 of Hertz. He's going to hold on, though. McDowell will stay ahead as Kyle Larson wins the second stage here in Las Vegas. That makes 10 stage victories this season. That's right. William Byron pocketing the second most stage points today. He said he struggled when he would catch cars. A little lazy with the front end this run. So Rudy Fugel telling him that they were going to just free him up. He did a tight bit. Dylan. Kyle Larson, middle of the screen, still has been tight and sliding the front tires. Cliff Daniels said, we've got to keep being aggressive, freeing it up. They're planning two stops ahead with their next adjustment. The first adjustment, something Kyle could do in the car, Marty. Best long run speed of the day for Denny Hamlin. He said the car is certainly a lot better. Then he told Chris Gale, you need a better driver just a little bit because I'm just not timing things very well. Speaking of timing, timely pit stop for the 11 months. They gain a spot here on pit road, Lee. Roaring out of the Echo Park automotive restart zone. Hamlin is all over the back of Larson. He goes by Rennick. What a day it has been for Kyle Larson. Can he lock himself into the championship four in less than 100 laps time? Christopher Bell with an aggressive move. He's on the inside of William Byron. Byron comes back in that green, white, and black Chevy for Hendrick motorsports. Yeah, man, Steve, this top six is so tight. Five playoff drivers in that top six. And Chase Briscoe has been in that top five all day long until just a moment ago. Why? Listen to the radio. Look at the right side of the wall. On the back, they're going to make vibration. I don't know if my tune's out or what. Copy. And here's that replay of Chase Briscoe getting into the wall on the restart. James Small did look at video, said he thinks it's fine. But Chase Briscoe came back on the radio a second time and said he thinks the toe is knocked out. So how does that change the game for Chase Briscoe? We don't know how much, Jeff, but certainly feels like he's driving at a bit of a deficit right now. Hey, we talked about and debated whether or not Tyler Rennick and Billy Scott would come early here with 55 laps to go. More splitting it in the middle for Rennick, who's had the same complaint all day long. A little bit too free the further they run. But clearly, they've got a top five car. Need just a little bit more to be a winning car, Kim. And for the 24 of William Byron, most of that run, he said it was pretty good. Then just a couple of laps ago, he goes, the right rear does not feel great. We definitely need a little bit more for longevity. Four fresh Goodyear tires to note. Go fuel, Dylan. Rich Revell has been a little bit snug and a little bit free all day today, just chasing the balance and perfection on this run. He wants to be a half number tighter on exit for this final run, potentially, of the day. Four tires and fuel for the 20. Kyle Larson will be in as well. He reported just less overall grip this run. We told you that Cliff Daniels had an adjustment planned a couple of stops ago to try to help get them a little bit better for this final run to try and get him freed up. We'll see what that is here as Larson gets ready to hit his marks here. The Zac Brown Band number five car. Different look for him here. They'll go around and change right side tires. There's the adjustment they had planned. Rich in the backside window on the left side. Here's the left side tires. Smooth stop service and the change for Larson. So here, bottom of your screen, Byron already has serviced his car. Start, finish now. The five on the apron up through the gears. But remember, at 190 miles an hour of top speed, it is going to take Larson a little bit up to speed as he sneaks around the apron. This one is gonna be close, real close. I think the 24 is gonna have momentum, but does he have enough to make a pass? Yes, he does. Lead change. Byron in front of Larson on the cycle. Team might on team might. Two seconds back for Byron. Made up two seconds between the lap and he had to come around the 43 on the green flag pit stop. Now we'll see who has made the right adjustments as the track cools with 51 to go. We continue to look further back. You're gonna see Bowman in the bright green car jump into the picture. That 48 is fast, guys. Then there's the 54, there's the 19. Look how much time this is gonna cost the 11 of Hamlin. Don't hold your breath. You might not make it. I don't know if he's sure or not, but Denny was still in his pit box when Byron and Larson went by. 13-second stop. So you'll never know if the strategy was right because the execution wasn't. Let's see. This has been a little bit of an Achilles' heel. Remember that dominant race of Kansas went away on a slow two-tire stop. This is just... You can't have that issue on the jack at this point of the season. Listen, it's human error. It's easy to do, but you can't have that if you want to be one of the best cars out here today. We're looking for that clean execution. So it's slow stop, stressful times for Chris Gayle and the crew chief. You race lead, Amati. Larson has got the five. Back out in front. How did it happen? What happened? To William Byron. Whoa! That shows you how on edge these cars are. To go fast, you have to be loose. The back of the car is always going to be borderline, and you saw it right there how loose he was. Yeah, nearly a second off on that lap for William Byron, which is way better than the opposite, which could have been a wrecked race car. A heck of a save. But that puts Larson back in control. There's only been one caution in this South Point 400 today, and that was for Ryan Blaney earlier when he got into the wall. But here's that moment where, in William Byron's words, he said, I almost crashed, but I saved it. Oh, there is a wreck off turn four right now. Big wreck. Wow. And Byron's involved after a brilliant day. The driver of the relay Chevy. Kim, tell us why. Tell us more. Yeah, William got on the radio and said, I had no idea he was pitting. What was he doing? So William Byron kind of scratching his head there on what that incident and what caused it. Seen some guys, as they break it up into the racing line, just take a look. Oh, wow. Oh, my goodness. No idea that he was pitting at all. Many times, the spotters will signal, wave their arms, I'm pitting. And clearly, no communication from up there. William Byron just had no indication he was going to pit. Echo Park Automotive restart zone. Back to it. Logano and Briscoe. The two-tire stop. Keselowski, the two-tire stop. Larson did four. Wow, they're wrecking in one. It's Ty Gibbs into the wall. I think that's the 88 of SPG also involved. Armendinger, the 16. Let's take a really good look here. Watch fourth row. Now, third row. The 54's right rear and the 20's left front come in contact with one another. If we back that up, it's kind of like they're not in defined lanes. So right here, 20's looking left. Oh, yep. I don't know if the 20 was getting pushed by the 54, but the contact between Bell and the 54 sends the 54 spinning. I feel like it started with the 88 and the 20. Watch this. See this contact right there? Oh, yeah, yeah. Clear high, clear high, dig. Dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig. Okay. You know, if you ask yourself, where's Bell going? To the front. Bell's trying to get to the front to win this race, and it's just... Yeah, he was going to try to go to the middle, and the 54 was coming up. It's just a restart. I mean, it's just everybody... Look at Chase Elliott back here. Look at how close he gets to getting in this wreck. Are you ready? Does the gamble pay off? We're about to find out. Echo Park, automotive restart zone. Good restart, Briscoe. He's left Bowman behind. Logano's going with him. It's the teammates side-by-side with Bowman, and here comes Denny up on that high line. Kozlowski's pushing Bowman down low. Kyle Busch is in the mix, two in the eight. That spot that Denny Hamlin gained during that crash gave him the opportunity to make this move. You mentioned it. I had talked about how the eight hadn't found any speed, but today they had found something that Kyle likes in that eight car. I think Hamlin's going to get him down to the bottom. There it is. Hamlin through. Is there enough time? That is not what Briscoe wanted to see because this 11 car is fast. Four and a half laps for Denny Hamlin to make the championship four in his quest for his first championship. 59 wins. Will today be 60? The hot topic within Joe Gibbs Racing not that long ago was conduct between teammates. How do they race each other? What's the level of respect? Here comes Hamlin again. Goes up on the high side. Remember, it's a two-tire stop versus a four-tire stop. Denny's better equipped with four new tires and takes the lead. Big-time moments for big-time athletes. Denny Hamlin trying to put his name as the first to advance. He needs three and a quarter more perfect laps because Larson is back on the offensive. One lap to go presented by Credit One Bank. One lap to go to determine Denny Hamlin going to the championship four. What a gritty performance. Coming back from those early race challenges, the 44-year-old veteran who is still searching for that elusive championship. Well, he's going to get win number 60. He's won in Vegas before, but maybe this is the most important win. Denny Hamlin is going to Phoenix. Whoo! Let's go, D.A.! How about that? He's out in the dirt road. Doing burnout right in front of his team. This is going to mean a lot. He knows his time in the sport remaining is limited, and he's going to maximize and capitalize on every opportunity. He's wanted it for his dad, Dennis. Thought he had it a couple of weeks ago at Kansas. But he makes it happen here in Las Vegas. And welcome to the championship four, Denny Hamlin. He had tears in his eyes going around the racetrack. Going to go grab this checkered flag, and I think that one might be going to Chesterfield, Virginia, to his dad, Dennis.