Overview

• On the final lap at Kansas, Denny Hamlin crowded Bubba Wallace in Turn 3, opening the door for Chase Elliott to pass for the victory; Hamlin finished second and Wallace fifth, dropping below the Round of 12 cutline.
• On his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin refused to apologize, saying he is “racing for the win” and competes on Sundays as Joe Gibbs Racing’s driver rather than as a 23XI team owner.
• Wallace showed his displeasure with a middle-finger gesture and called the move “dumb,” while broadcaster Steve Letarte and other voices defended Hamlin’s decision as standard driver behavior.
• Hamlin dominated much of the race by leading 159 of 273 laps and sweeping both stages before a power‑steering problem and a pit jack issue cost him late track position.
• Heading to the Roval elimination race, Hamlin holds a strong points cushion as 23XI contends with charter and legal uncertainty, and he separately urged NASCAR to trim the schedule and consider Friday nights to avoid NFL competition.