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Denny Hamlin takes South Point 400 for second win in 2021

Sep 26, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin (11) celebrates his victory of  the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

For the first 26 weeks of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, a big question was whether Denny Hamlin would win a race this season.

That question has been replaced by two others. How many races will the Joe Gibbs Racing driver win this year? And is he now the favorite to win his first championship?

Hamlin got his second victory of 2021 on Sunday night when he won the South Point 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The victory, which comes three weeks after he got his first win — at Darlington — gives Hamlin an automatic berth in the Playoffs’ Round of 8, which begins in three weeks at Texas Motor Speedway.

Hamlin, who won seven times in 2020, led a race-best 137 laps. It was his first career victory at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas oval.

Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports finished second, .442 seconds behind Hamlin.

Hamlin’s teammates Kyle Busch and Martin Truex, Jr., finished third and fourth.

Finishing fifth was Ryan Blaney of Team Penske.

Among other Playoffs drivers, Brad Keselowski was seventh, Kevin Harvick was ninth and Kyle Larson, who led 96 laps, was 10th.

Having tough Sundays among Playoffs drivers were Christopher Bell of the Gibbs team and Hendrick drivers William Byron and Alex Bowman. Bell suffered front end damage during an early pit stop while Byron and Bowman both suffered cut tires late in the race. All three finished off the lead lap.

The second of three races in the Round of 12 will be held at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. The round concludes in two weeks with a race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway infield road course.

Playoffs drivers Truex and Byron were forced to the rear of the field for the start after failing pre-race inspections. By Lap 51, both had driven back into the top 10.

Also sent to the rear for inspection failures were non-Playoffs drivers Aric Almirola and JJ Yeley.

— Field Level Media

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