Denny Hamlin Wins at Gateway, Advances in NASCAR playoffs
Madison, Ill. – Denny Hamlin secured his victory in the NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on Sunday,advancing to the next round of the playoffs. Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota crossed the finish line first, marking the 200th Cup Series win for Toyota.Hamlin took the lead on a restart with 44 laps remaining after a strategic pit stop with 44 laps to go, passing Brad Keselowski. Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe finished second, having won the playoff opener at Darlington Raceway last week. chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, and joey Logano completed the top five, with playoff drivers dominating the results.
Christopher Bell finished seventh and Bubba Wallace eighth, after leading 73 laps and winning the race’s second stage.
The Cup Series now moves to Bristol Motor Speedway for the first-round cutoff race, where the playoff field will be trimmed from 16 to 12 drivers. currently, Shane van Gisbergen, Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman, and Josh Berry are outside the top 12 in points.
Berry Faces Elimination After Crash
Josh Berry’s playoff debut has been marred by misfortune.He finished last at Darlington and was involved in a crash on lap 36 at gateway after contact with Chase Elliott sent his no. 21 Ford into the Turn 2 wall.
“Chase and that team have done a lot for me, and I really doubt that was on purpose,” Berry said. “Just wrong place,wrong time for us again. obviously, it’s unfortunate. We’ll just go to Bristol and try to do the best we can and put ourselves in position to race for a win, and that’s really all we can do at this point.”
NASCAR Mourns Bill Davis
NASCAR has announced the passing of Bill Davis, a team owner whose teams achieved 40 victories across the Cup, Xfinity, and Truck series between 1993 and 2008. Davis earned all five of his Cup Series wins with driver Ward Burton, including victories in the 2001 Southern 500 and the 2002 Daytona 500. He was 74 years old.
“A championship-winning leader and owner, Bill Davis made a lasting mark on our sport through his passion and unwavering belief in the people around him,” NASCAR said in a statement.
Next Race
The first round of the Cup playoffs concludes next Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway. Kyle Larson,the defending race winner,has won the last two races at Bristol,leading 872 of the past 1,000 laps on the 0.533-mile oval.