Damage leaves van Gisbergen last in Las Vegas

Van Gisbergen got loose out of the final turn and slid below the white line, which broke the underside of the front splitter.

Trackhouse Racing tried to make repairs to the splitter, though it was damaged beyond repair and ultimately left van Gisbergen with wild swings of oversteer and understeer.

At the end of 267 laps, the #97 Chevrolet Camaro finished last in 36th.

“I thought we were going to be on for a good day,” van Gisbergen radioed to his crew after the flag.

“That’s unfortunate.”

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin took victory in the #11 Toyota Camry with an incredible recovery drive.

Hamlin had to overcome adversity after he was stung for going 0.03 mph too fast in the pits at the end of Stage 1 on Lap 84.

That sent him to the back of the field, but by the end of Stage 2 was firmly back in contention, finishing the stage in fifth.

In Stage 3, with 82 laps to go, Hamlin returned to the lead of the race with a pass on Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron in the #24 Camaro.

Hamlin controlled the final leg of the race, beating Chase Elliott in the #9 Hendrick Camaro.

“Over the last few races here, I’ve had a dominant car and makes me look good when I can drive cars like this – but I’ve got to thank the whole team,” said Hamlin.

“They’re the ones who made all of this happen.”

It’s the first win for Hamlin since the tragic passing of his father, who was killed in a house fire.

Hamlin expressed doubts about returning to racing but said recent weeks had made realise his love for the sport.

“I knew it took a few weeks to feel like driving, and over the last couple of weeks I’ve definitely regained my love of it,” said Hamlin.

“I got refocused and these are great opportunities for us. This is a family sport and my family obviously had so many sacrifices to help me get here.

“It’s great that Mum gets to see us, I know Dad is still saying ‘That’s my boy’. Hell of a day.”

In total, Hamlin led a race-high 134 laps for his 61st win in the NASCAR Cup Series to move to 10th on the all-time race wins list.

That moved him ahead of NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick.

“Those are legends of the sport, and I feel very fortunate to be on the list, but those guys were far more talented than I have ever thought about being,” said Hamlin.

“I just work really hard, I still, to this day, work really hard at my craft to try continue to get better.

“Days like today certainly make me feel happy about where I’m at in the sport still and what I can still do.”

The contest featured just one incident-induced caution. That came with 57 laps to go when Connor Zilisch in the #88 Trackhouse Camaro spun out of the final turn when he rear-ended Ricky Stenhouse Jr in the #47 Hyak Motorsports Camaro.

The NASCAR Cup Series continues at Darlington on March 23 (AEDT).

Results: NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400, Las Vegas Motor Speedway