Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson finished 1-2 in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Kansas Speedway, although the front-end of the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro has heavy front-end damage.
The damage comes from hard racing for the win and some last-lap contact between Hamlin and Larson on the backstretch, which ultimately sent the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro into the outside wall.
Hamlin was able to sneak by Larson to score his first victory of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, while the Hendrick Motorsports driver limped his wounded Chevrolet back to the start-finish line in second place, 1.3 seconds behind the eventual winner.
"One of the greatest finishes here at Kansas!"@KurtBusch, @ClintBowyer and @mikejoy500 break down Denny Hamlin's battle with Kyle Larson on the last lap. pic.twitter.com/dDA8dRUCJi
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 7, 2023
Despite the definite contact on the last lap of the race, which kept Larson from his third victory of the season, it didn’t seem as though there were any hurt feelings between the two drivers.
The victory is the first of the NASCAR Cup Series season for Denny Hamlin, and his first since winning the Coca-Cola 600 in May 2022.