The Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on October 20, 2019, was a chaotic, caution-filled playoff race that saw Denny Hamlin secure his fifth win of the season and second career victory at the track. However, the real story unfolded behind him as Chase Elliott narrowly advanced to the Round of 8, eliminating Brad Keselowski in the process.
The third and final race of the Round of 12 was a nail-biter. Hamlin dominated, leading a race-high 153 laps. But late-race cautions, including one with 15 laps remaining involving Ryan Blaney, and another for a Matt Tifft and Bubba Wallace incident, bunched up the field and intensified the playoff battle. The race went into double overtime.
The key pass of the race happened during the final restart in the second overtime. Surrounded by Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Hamlin, with a push from Kyle Busch behind him, got a good jump and pulled ahead. Chase Elliott followed closely behind, sucking down low to get in line and make a move forward into second place.
This move was critical for Elliott, who had been in a precarious position needing to beat the Gibbs cars to advance. Meanwhile, Brad Keselowski, who had entered the race with a 20-point margin over Elliott, got bottled up in the field and dropped from 13th to 19th. This shift in positions ultimately eliminated Keselowski and allowed Elliott to advance by a mere three points.
On the final restart, surrounded by Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Hamlin held off Chase Elliott, who finished a crucial second place. This finish, combined with Brad Keselowski getting bottled up and dropping to 19th, allowed Elliott to advance to the Round of 8 by a mere three points.
After the race, Hamlin credited crew chief Chris Gabeheart for making adjustments to give him a “dominant car” in the second half of the race. Hamlin overtook Martin Truex Jr. shortly after the end of the race’s second stage in lap 160.
Hamlin also credited Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch with a well-timed push on the restart that positioned him to get out in front of the field and protect his lead.
