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Las Vegas winners and losers - NBC Sports
Denny Hamlin earned his first career win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Who else feels good leaving Vegas - and who feels like they got a bad beat?
Sports
A look at the winners and losers from Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedwa.
WINNERS
Denny Hamlin – Moved on to the Round of 8 with his second win in these Cup playoffs. Over the first four playoff races, he’s led over a third of the total laps (35.5 percent – 545 of 1,534), won five of eight stages, and finished no worse than ninth at the checkered flag. The winless regular season feels like a distant memory now.
Chase Elliott – Reeled in Denny Hamlin during the final laps, but couldn’t quite mount a challenge for the lead and finished second. Salvaged what was an otherwise tough night for Hendrick Motorsports in regards to strategy (see below).
Kyle Busch – Third-place finish in his 600th career Cup start put a rocky first round of the playoffs behind him. It’s his first top five on an oval since placing second in July at Atlanta. Even more critical are the 18 stage points he earned, which give him a 35-point cushion above the cutline going to Talladega.