Denny Hamlin’s 60th-career NASCAR Cup Series victory clinched the first spot in the Cup Series championship round of 4.

Hamlin opened the round-of-8 in the NASCAR playoffs with a victory at Las Vegas.

The No. 11 car driver now doesn’t have to worry about moving on to the season finale at Phoenix on points.

Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe left Las Vegas in the positive column on points with two races left in the round-of-8.

Updated NASCAR Point Standings

Hamlin booked his spot in the championship round with Sunday’s win at Las Vegas.

The victory also put him into a tie for 10th on NASCAR’s all-time wins list with 60.

The No. 11 team can now use the next two weeks to fine-tune its operation at Talladega and Martinsville.

The other seven drivers still alive in the championship hunt will have advance either by way of a win at Talladega or Martinsville, or through points.

Kyle Larson is the safest of the seven drives with a 35-point advantage to the cut line going into next week’s race at Talladega. William Byron, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney are on the outside looking in.

Larson, Byron and Elliott finished inside the top five during April’s race at Talladega, an event won by Austin Cindric.

The Hendrick Motorsports trio were the only round-of-8 competitors to land inside the top 10 at Talladega in the spring.

Logano and Blaney, Team Penske teammates, didn’t last 10 laps at Talladega in April. They need better luck at the superspeedway to make a surge toward the top four.

The top four drivers after the Talladega and Martinsville races will compete for the Cup Series title at Phoenix on November 2.