Winners and losers from a very clean NASCAR Cup race at Las Vegas

Surrounded by his family, Denny Hamlin secured an emotional win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, taking sole ownership of tenth place on the all-time wins list and breaking a tie with Kevin Harvick.

It was a race dominated by Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports, with their drivers combining to lead 253 of 267 laps. Impressively, there was only one natural caution during the entire event, and all 36 starters reached the checkered flag in a surprisingly clean race.

Here’s a look at the biggest winners and losers from Vegas:

WINNER: Denny Hamlin proves an ‘old dog can still hunt’

Watch: Victorious Hamlin celebrates ‘family sport’ of racing

Hamlin has been very open about the impact of his father’s tragic passing on him as he got back behind the wheel for the 2026 season. But on Sunday, he erased any doubts that he may have lost a step following his brutal 2025 title defeat and the off-season tragedy that followed. He even fought back from a mid-race speeding penalty, quickly making his way back to the front of the field. After the race, he said an “old dog can still hunt,” and this 45-year-old is a clear title contender once again.

LOSER: Trackhouse struggles, and clashes with its former driver

Intermediate tracks have historically been among Trackhouse’s strongest and Ross Chastain led all active drivers with the best Next Gen average finish at Vegas ahead of the weekend. And yet, they were nowhere on Sunday. None of their three drivers scored any stage points, and Chastain was their highest-finishing driver in 17th. Connor Zilisch’s difficult rookie season continued, and his spin was the only incident of the race. Shane van Gisbergen nearly spun as well, and despite a great save, ended up finishing dead last, losing eleven positions in the championship standings. And to top it all off, Chastain got into it with ex-Trachouse driver Daniel Suarez after the race in a heated post-race confrontation. 

WINNER: Hendrick back to form after slow-ish start to 2026

Watch: Chase Elliott has ‘mixed feelings’ after Vegas runner-up

Hendrick Motorsports have had an average start to the year, at least by their standards, but any questions about their potential vanished on Sunday. HMS drivers finished second [Chase Elliott], third [William Byron], and seventh [Kyle Larson]. Both Larson and Byron spent some time out front as well, and Byron won Stage 2. They’ve yet to reach Victory Lane, but there are now three Hendrick drivers in the top eight in the championship standings, and they are the obvious leaders of Team Chevy again.

LOSER: Ryan Blaney picks a bad time to pit

Vegas was a quiet day for Team Penske, but Blaney was making the most of it, running solidly inside the top ten for a large portion of the race. Unfortunately, he was on pit road when the one and only natural caution of the race broke out on the frontstretch. In the final run of the race, he was only able to make his way back up to 16th, falling to third in points behind Bubba Wallace.

WINNER: RFK were the best of the rest in a solid showing

Chris Buescher, RFK Racing

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

RFK Racing was a nice surprise on Sunday, and they asserted themselves as the ‘best of the rest’ behind the Hendrick/JGR fleets. Chris Buescher finished sixth, Brad Keselowski 10th, and Ryan Preece 11th for the historic team. All three are inside the Chase field at the moment, and last year, all three missed the playoffs, so strong points days like this will be critical for them to avoid a similar fate this year.

LOSER: A speeding Briscoe spends most of the race trapped a lap down

Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

Chase Briscoe spent about 170 laps off the lead lap on Sunday due to an early speeding penalty, but when he finally got the free pass during the final caution, the #19 showed what it was capable of. Briscoe rocketed through the field, driving from the very back to finish eighth in the final green-flag run. It was a solid effort, but he understandably saw it as a missed opportunity. He did make some ground in points after a disasterous start to 2026, but he’s still only 26th after five races. Also, he got nailed with a speeding penalty both during the race and on his way to the track on Sunday!

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– The Motorsport.com Team

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