NASCAR
Denny Hamlin Dominates Second Half of Gateway for Fifth Win og 2025
MADISON, Ill. – Denny Hamlin once again finds himself on the doorstep of rewriting history books. Thanks to a lights-out final Stage from Gateway, driver 11 now has 59 career Cup victories and is a Playoff Round of 12 lock. Now with five wins on this season, the yearly question of ‘is it Denny Hamlin’s year’ will commence with Toyota’s winningest man appearing in peak form.
Last week’s Darlington winner Chase Briscoe remained perfect early, picking up his fourth-straight Stage win.
The closing laps of Stage 2 saw Ryan Blaney spun from fifth by contact from Kyle Larson. Following a one-lap dash to close this Stage, the win went to Bubba Wallace.
Pit strategy saw Wallace’s team duck to pit road shortly after losing the top spot on a blown restart to team owner Denny Hamlin. Aside from a green flag pit stop, the No. 11 Toyota would lead for the remainder of the afternoon. Gateway marked Toyota’s 200th Cup win and kept the 2025 Playoffs perfect for Joe Gibbs Racing.
“It’s so big for everyone at Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing,” Hamlin said. “The Progressive Toyota was just great there at the end. Man so happy to get this victory and my dad’s not feeling well at home. So just shoutout to him. The whole family’s here, so fantastic day and man, couldn’t be better.”
“I mean, I just step up. Now all I can do is just keep being a student of the game, keep trying to get better, and every week is a chance to get a little better.”
“So, man, it’s just a great victory. I love that Denny Time poster right there, it’s pretty good. 
And you know, y’all can boo me, but you can either get on the bandwagon or you can get run over by it. Bring them. Bring them all.”
Following a slow pit stop, Chase Briscoe rallied late to second behind his teammate. The Southern 500 winner remains in elite Playoff form. Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, and Joey Logano were the top-five. The rest of the top-10 were: John Hunter Nemechek, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, and Ty Gibbs. The updated Playoff standings heading into the Round of 16 cut race can be seen below.
Four drivers will see their championship aspirations end after 500 laps around Bristol Motor Speedway. The Bass Pro Shops Night Race marks the first cut race in the 2025 NASCAR Playoffs, setting the Round of 12 grid. 14 drivers will be gunning for the 10 coveted berths left up for grabs. The Last Great Colosseum will see its green flag fly Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Sean Gardner/Getty Images
