Denny Hamlin continued Toyota’s domination of the 2026 NASCAR Cup season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, claiming his 61st career victory while leading Joe Gibbs Racing’s attack on the 1.5-mile track.
Toyota has now won four of the season’s first five races and led more laps than Ford and Chevrolet drivers combined, 677 of the 1,145 circuits completed this year. That’s more than 59%.
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Toyota drivers also have led the most laps in six-consecutive races for just the second time since the manufacturer joined the Cup Series in 2007. Hamlin led the most laps in the 2025 season finale at Phoenix and Sunday at Las Vegas en route to his third victory at the Nevada track. Bubba Wallace, driving for 23XI Racing, was the top lap leader in this year’s Daytona 500. His teammate, Tyler Reddick, led the most laps in back-to-back races at Atlanta and Circuit of the Americas. Christopher Bell led the most laps in this year’s Phoenix event.
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At Las Vegas on Sunday, JGR drivers claimed three of the top-five positions in the Pennzoil 400—Hamlin first, Bell fourth, and Ty Gibbs fifth. Chase Briscoe placed eighth. It was the first time this year that all four JGR drivers have finished in the top 10. However, it was the third consecutive race in which Bell and Gibbs have each recorded a top-five finish. For Gibbs, it was the first time in his young Cup career that he has produced three straight top-five finishes.
Bell led five times for 31 laps in Sunday’s 267-lap Las Vegas event, but he said his team wasn’t at its best at the right time.
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“I didn’t feel like I drove a very good race,” Bell said. “At times, I felt like I had plenty of speed, and a great long run car in the first stage. We drove to the lead, and then I never executed the restarts very well. We were at our worst at the end, which was a bummer. But overall, to get out of here with two solid Stages and a good finish, it’s a good day.”
After this season’s first five races, Hamlin is fourth in the point standings, Bell is sixth, and Gibbs is 10th. Briscoe’s top-10 finish allowed him to gain seven positions in the standings, moving from 33rd to 26th, 179 points behind leader Reddick.
Reddick’s 13th-place finish at Las Vegas marked the first time this year he has finished outside the top 10. However, he continued to lead the driver standings with a 61-point advantage over teammate Bubba Wallace, who finished ninth in the Las Vegas race. Wallace, who is second in the standings, has placed outside the top 10 only once this year, finishing 11th at Circuit of the Americas.
A North Carolina native, Deb Williams is an award-winning motorsports journalist who is in her fourth decade covering auto racing. In addition to covering the sport for United Press International, she has written motorsports articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites including espnW.com, USA Today, and The Charlotte Observer. Her awards include the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence, two-time National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, and two-time recipient of the Russ Catlin award. She also has won an award in the North Carolina Press Association’s sports feature category. During her career, Deb has been managing editor of GT Motorsports magazine and was with Winston Cup Scene and NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for 18 years, serving as the publication’s editor for 10 years. In 2024 she was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.