With just under 25 of 267 laps remaining in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race, Hamlin worked his way around William Byron and set his sights on leader Kyle Larson.
With five laps to go, Hamlin got side-by-side with Larson for the lead but was forced to back off. On the final lap, Hamlin again got near Larson off Turn 2 and nudged Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet in the left-rear, which knocked Larson into the wall.
Larson was able to keep going and Hamlin cleared him by 1.307 seconds to claim his first win of the 2023 season.
The win is the 49th of Hamlin’s career and ends a nearly year-long winless drought. His most recent victory came last May in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Asked to explain his approach on the final lap, Hamlin said, "It’s the new NASCAR – it’s what everyone cheers about when someone else does it. I was just trying to side draft him there and miscalculated. It was great for us to get back into position to get close to him and get him loose through (Turns) 1 and 2. I had such a fast car, just couldn’t get long enough runs for it to materialize. Finally, we had just enough time.
"It is a big win for Joe Gibbs Racing, for myself. Every win is very, very hard to get, so you have to take every one you can get.”
WHAT A FINISH!
— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) May 7, 2023
After an incredible battle, it ends in tears for @KyleLarsonRacin and @dennyhamlin wins at @kansasspeedway! #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/YwC1rXjZ3A
After doing a celebratory burnout on the frontstretch following his win, Hamlin was soundly booed by the crowd as he exited his No. 11 Toyota to do his victory interview with Fox Sports.
“I’m proud of this whole team. I got position on (Larson) there and I tried to side-draft him and clipped his left-rear,” Hamlin said. “I’m glad he was able to at least finish.”
William Byron, who fell two laps down at one point in the race, rallied back to finish third, Bubba Wallace was fourth and Ross Chastain completed the top five.
Rounding out the top-10 were Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon.
While Hamlin was celebrating on the frontstretch, Noah Gragson grabbed Ross Chastain on pit road and began pushing him repeatedly until Chastain struck Gragson in the face.
The two were quickly separated by NASCAR officials.
Stage 1
Hamlin passed Truex with eight of 80 laps remaining and held him off by 0.892 seconds to claim the Stage 1 win. Ty Gibbs finished third, Reddick fourth and Daniel Suarez completed the top five.
Byron, the pole-sitter, was penalized for speeding on pit road during a round of green-flag pit stops midway through the stage and fell a lap down. He hit the wall later in the stage and was forced to pit road for additional repairs.
Stage 2
Logano inherited the Stage 2 win as a caution came out with two of 85 laps remaining when Kyle Busch wrecked on the backstretch. Michael McDowell was credited with second, Gragson third, Erik Jones fourth and A.J. Allmendinger fifth.
During the caution for a multi-car incident on lap 148, Busch and Chastain door-slammed each other after contact previously on the track.
Christopher Bell, who had been in contention for the win, wrecked hard off Turn 2 late in the stage, which brought an early end to his race.
Stage 3
Several drivers pit during the break between Stages 2 and 3, but Larson remained on the track and in the lead to start the final stage.
A caution for a spin by Harrison Burton sent most of the lead-lap cars down pit road for fuel and new tires on lap 193 but Truex stayed on the track and inherited the top spot.
Larson, among those who pit and took new tires, easily ran down Truex and returned to the lead seven laps later.
NEW LEADER: @KyleLarsonRacin is back!
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 7, 2023
After an early spin, the No. 5 is out front again in Kansas! (: FS1) pic.twitter.com/hiFC30f43V
Byron grabbed the lead with 54 laps remaining but quickly found himself in a side-by-side battle with his teammate Larson, who eventually reclaimed the top spot.
With 30 laps remaining in the race, Larson and Byron remained locked in a battle for the lead as Hamlin remained in striking distance in third.
Hamlin caught Byron and took over the runner-up position with less than 25 laps to and set his sights on Larson.
