Kansas City, KS – The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs delivered pure chaos at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, as Chase Elliott stormed past Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace in a jaw-dropping overtime finish to win Race 2 of the Round of 12.
Hamlin Dominates Early
From the drop of the green flag, it looked like Denny Hamlin’s race to lose. The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran swept Stage 1 and Stage 2, controlling the race with clinical precision. Even when pit cycles shuffled him back, Hamlin muscled his way forward — a dominant performance that seemed destined for victory lane.
Stage 3: Trouble Brews
Hamlin led into the final stage, but trouble was brewing. He reported power steering issues while still managing to fend off charges from Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, and Bubba Wallace.
Cautions stacked up late, including a massive multi-car pileup triggered by Noah Gragson and Austin Cindric going four-wide, collecting Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and AJ Allmendinger.
The Overtime Chaos
With 14 laps to go, a Kyle Busch flat tire reset the field. On pit road, Bell gambled with two tires, while Hamlin’s slow stop dropped him to sixth.
Then came NASCAR Overtime — and the fireworks.
- Wallace and Bell banged doors for the lead.
- John Hunter Nemechek turned Zane Smith, sending Smith riding the wall and flipping in a terrifying crash that brought out the red flag.
On the restart, Wallace and Hamlin collided battling for the lead in Turn 3, both washing up the track.
That’s when Chase Elliott pounced.
Elliott’s Perfect Timing
As Hamlin and Wallace slid wide, Elliott shot underneath, banging doors with Hamlin out of Turn 4. At the line, Elliott had the momentum — and the checkered flag.
The Kansas crowd erupted as Elliott punched his ticket deeper into the playoffs with a season-defining victory.
Kansas Speedway Race Results – September 28, 2025
- Chase Elliott
- Denny Hamlin
- Christopher Bell
- Chase Briscoe
- Bubba Wallace
- Kyle Larson
- Tyler Reddick
- Brad Keselowski
- William Byron
- Shane van Gisbergen
- Ross Chastain
- Todd Gilliland
- Ty Dillon
- Michael McDowell
- Chris Buescher
- Erik Jones
- Daniel Suarez
- Justin Haley
- Kyle Busch
- Cole Custer
- Joey Logano
- Riley Herbst
- Noah Gragson
- Ryan Blaney
- Ty Gibbs
- Ryan Preece
- Austin Dillon
- Alex Bowman
- Carson Hocevar
- Austin Cindric
- Zane Smith
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Josh Berry
- JJ Yeley
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr
- AJ Allmendinger
- Cody Ware
The Takeaway
- Elliott: Clutch, opportunistic, and now a Round of 12 hero.
- Hamlin: Dominated all day, but contact in overtime cost him the win.
- Wallace: Aggressive and fearless, but Kansas heartbreak struck again.
- Playoffs: The picture tightens heading into the elimination race at the Charlotte Roval.
Kansas reminded everyone why the NASCAR Playoffs are can’t-miss drama: no win is safe until the checkered flag falls.
