Chase Elliott’s stunning drive from 10th to first on the final restart at Kansas Speedway Sunday proved that in NASCAR, you’re never out of it until the checkered flag waves.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver capitalized on a late-race incident between race leaders Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace to claim his second victory of the 2025 season in the Hollywood Casino 400, securing his advancement to the next round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs in the most dramatic fashion possible.

“I feel like anything could happen, but you’re lining up 10th on a green-white checker. Odds are not very high, I wouldn’t say at that point, but, yeah, I’ve seen crazier things,” Elliott said after the race. “My mindset was just try and build up as much momentum as I could and hope lanes, hope things went my way.”

The decisive moment came in turn three on the final lap when Elliott, running the bottom groove with fresh tires and a full-send mentality, made contact with Hamlin as the race leader attempted to block his charge to the front.

“We were pretty much door to door, the best I can remember,” Elliott explained. “I was coming on the bottom with a pretty good head of steam and I think he saw me coming, and he was just trying to cover my run. And I think he was a little late to the party.”

The victory was particularly sweet for Elliott and crew chief Alan Gustafson, who had endured several strategic calls this season that were thwarted by poorly-timed cautions. This time, their decision to take four tires on the final pit stop paid dividends when it mattered most.

“I wanted to give an advantage over the cars that were consistently better than us all day,” Gustafson said of his call to take four tires while others took two. “You could follow suit and take rights and hope that things go your way. That’s not really the strategy that I wanted to employ. I wanted to give Chase an opportunity to have a distinct advantage.”

Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon, watching from the team’s pit box, experienced the full range of emotions as the drama unfolded. “I don’t know that we thought we could win from 10th, but they had, they went in fresh tires, they got a couple cautions. I think those tires were obviously big and paid off,” Gordon said.

Gordon particularly enjoyed the team’s fearless approach on the final restart. “My favorite part was what Alan said to Chase on that last restart is something about the cut line because he mentioned something about if Bubba wins and Chase acknowledged it. And then he said something else about, ‘screw the cut line.'”

The victory advances Elliott to the Round of 8 in the playoffs and provides crucial momentum for his championship aspirations. For Elliott, who has been transparent about areas where his team needs improvement, Sunday’s performance represented a complete weekend effort.

“I thought this weekend was truthfully a really solid weekend, a really competitive weekend for us from how we unloaded Saturday to the opportunities that we continue to present ourselves today,” Elliott said. “That is why we ended up having a chance to win.”

The afternoon’s drama wasn’t limited to the thrilling finish. Earlier in the first overtime period, Zane Smith suffered a spectacular accident that eliminated him from the race.

The race was tantalizingly close to the finish, with Bubba Wallace headed to his second victory of the year, before John Hunter Nemechek’s Toyota turned Smith’s Ford sideways against the outside wall at Turn 3, with Smith’s car sliding on the driver’s side through the corner before barrel-rolling down the banking and coming to rest upright on four wheels.

“It was a wild ride, no doubt,” Smith said. “Before I knew it, I had a decent restart going and I just get wrecked by the 42 [Nemechek]. He just drives through me and then I was sliding on the wall. I was just mad at that point from how our day was going, and this just pissed me off even more, because that’s what really hurt was just flipping down the track. It was violent, no doubt, but we had such a fast Speedy Cash Ford today. It’s just a bummer.”

The race showcased what has made Kansas Speedway one of the premier venues in the Next Gen era, with multiple grooves and passing opportunities that kept fans on the edge of their seats throughout the afternoon.

“This place, just the way it’s shaped, the way the surface is, everything just suits it about as perfectly as we can have a track do that,” Elliott noted when asked about Kansas Speedway’s racing product.

Local Impact Remains Strong

The Hollywood Casino 400 continues to serve as a major economic driver for Kansas City, Kansas, and the surrounding region. Wyandotte County Mayor Tyrone Garner, attending what will be his final race in an official capacity, emphasized the lasting impact NASCAR has had on the community.

“The community impact is great. Since its inception, NASCAR has been a great neighbor. The fans are awesome,” Garner said. “It’s not just great for Wyandotte County, it’s great for the Kansas City Metro to have NASCAR here, bringing in fans from all over the country.”

Garner pointed to the broader economic ecosystem that has developed around Kansas Speedway, including the Village West entertainment district. “What spun off obviously is the Legends great shopping area. Then you have Sporting KC, you have the Monarchs, you have the hotel project, the entire Village West atmosphere,” he said. “They all make a great synergy of prosperity that really puts Kansas City, Kansas on the map as being the number one tourist attraction and destination in the great state of Kansas.”

For Elliott, the victory represented more than just a playoff advancement—it was validation of a never-give-up approach that defines championship contenders. As he looks ahead to Charlotte Motor Speedway and then the Round of 8, Elliott knows that momentum in the playoffs can be everything.

“It’s all about buying yourself more time. If you’re not where you want to be, you’re just trying to buy yourself more time,” Elliott said. “And fortunately, we bought ourselves three more weeks and we’ll fight like hell till they tell us to not.”

The victory marked Elliott’s 22nd career Cup Series win and the second of the 2025 season, along with his win in late June at Atlanta. With the playoff pressure now off for the immediate future, Elliott and his team can focus on what they want to do — race for wins.