The Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway delivered a finish that had everyone on the edge of their seats, and Chase Elliott stole the show with a last-lap pass that left Denny Hamlin fuming. A bold four-tire call by Hendrick Motorsports set Elliott up to storm from outside the top five on the final restart.

As Hamlin and Bubba Wallace slugged it out for the lead, Hamlin shoved Wallace into the wall in Turn 4, opening the door for Elliott to pounce. The No. 9 Chevrolet kept its momentum, slipping past for the win. “Everything worked out perfectly for me,” Elliott grinned post-race.

“The seas kind of parted and I kept my momentum up… We had pretty good tires compared to those guys.” His cheeky “Hope y’all enjoyed that” was a nod to the chaos that handed him the trophy. Hamlin, who dominated with 159 laps led, his most on a 1.5-mile track, was gutted. His No. 11 Toyota was a rocket, but a broken steering rack and a sluggish late pit stop under caution cost him the lead.

“Super disappointing,” Hamlin said. “I wanted it bad… Got really tight and let the 9 win… We had no power steering on that last run… I don’t think I’ve ever had a car that good to the competition.” His shove on Wallace was a desperate bid to reclaim the top spot, but it backfired, leaving him second and lamenting another playoff near-miss.

The race went to overtime after two late cautions, including a wild one where Zane Smith flipped after riding the wall. Wallace and Christopher Bell traded blows for the lead on restarts, with Wallace saying, “To even have a shot at the win… You could have fooled me.”

The top five were Elliott, Hamlin, Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Wallace, a playoff showcase with nine of the top 13 being contenders. Austin Cindric wasn’t so lucky, crashing in the final stage to finish 30th, while Joey Logano salvaged 21st after the same wreck, as per unofficial results.

Hamlin-Wallace clash sparks drama

At Kansas, tensions between Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace dramatically came to a head, and it played a pivotal role in how the Hollywood Casino 400 ended. As the field took the white flag in double overtime, Wallace held the lead, but Hamlin, desperate to overcome his steering woes, pushed hard, running Wallace toward the wall to steal the spot.

The contact sent Wallace hitting the wall, cracking the door open for Elliott to slip through and snag the victory. The clash wasn’t just a racing incident; it was personal. Wallace, driving for 23XI Racing, which Hamlin co-owns, was livid, flipping Hamlin off during the cooldown lap.

The move laid bare the messy mix of competition and ownership, turning a playoff race into a soap opera. Fans on X lit up, torn between Elliott’s clutch win and the Hamlin-Wallace feud, making this finish one for the NASCAR history books.