NASCAR Las Vegas: Hamlin beats Elliott for victory.
The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver successfully negotiated a series of green-flag pit stops and cycled back to the lead on lap 229 of 267,
with the final stage being free of cautions.
Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. of Hamlin’s team finished third and fourth,
respectively, with Ryan Blaney of Penske rounding out the top five in the leading Ford.
Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick,
and stage one winner Kyle Larson, who won the spring race in Las Vegas, rounded out the top ten.
The lead-lap cars pitted after the break between Stages 2 and 3,
with stage two winner Hamlin being the first to emerge from pit road.
Truex, Reddick, and Kyle Busch trailed Hamlin on Lap 167.
On the restart, Truex swiftly moved to the inside and took the lead,
only for Hamlin to reclaim the lead on the following lap.
With 80 laps remaining, Hamlin was approximately a half-second ahead of Reddick,
with Truex third and Elliott fourth.
On lap 210, the last round of green-flag pit stops started, with many drivers receiving new tyres and fuel before the conclusion of the race.
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On lap 213 with Blaney, Hendrick Motorsport drivers Elliott and William Byron pitted,
while Hamlin stayed until the next lap.
Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports was forced to stop for the second time under green due to a damaged valve stem on his left-rear tyre.
He returned to the track in 28th place, two laps down.
On lap 225, Byron was forced to stop under green due to a flat tyre.
He was 22nd and two laps down when he returned to the course.
On lap 229, Hamlin reclaimed the lead from Elliott, Truex, Kyle Busch,
and Reddick, who was followed by Elliott, Truex, Kyle Busch, and Reddick.
With 30 laps to go, Hamlin was still in front,
but Elliott had reduced his advantage to less than a second and was gaining distance fast.
In the closing circuits, Elliott cut Hamlin’s advantage to approximately a half-second,
but he never came near enough to compete for the lead and deny Hamlin his 46th career win.
Larson has a 14-point lead over Hamlin in the playoff standings.
Following the Charlotte Roval race, Byron, Harvick, Bowman, and Christopher Bell are the current final four drivers at risk of being eliminated.
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