Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott won the Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN Bet held at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, September 28, 2025. Later, during a post-race interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90, Elliott got candid about the final restart that led to his victory.Toyota dominated the 267-lap race from the start, with Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe clinching the pole position, followed by his JGR teammate Denny Hamlin in P2. The #9 Chevy driver qualified fourth, one spot behind his HMS teammate, Kyle Larson. Elliott completed the lap at Kansas Speedway with a best time of 30.16 seconds, reaching a top speed of 179.06 mph.Following the excellent start, Hamlin dominated the other drivers on the grid, securing both stage wins. However, during the last restart of the race, the 44-year-old charged on race leader Bubba Wallace with everything he had. Unfortunately, both Toyotas made contact and gave Chase Elliott the chance to pass them and secure his second win of the season.Recalling the moment, the HMS driver told the media house:"Yeah, it was crazy just the way it all kind of went, and yeah, I gave up, you know, we were eighth. Gave up a row to start tenth, uh, you know, outside row five, and was a little worried that might be too far back, um, but yeah, it kind of all started on the restart roll. The six gave me a good shove; I was able to get top three of the 24.""Saw the 11 was, looked like he was fixing to ship it off into three. And I was just hoping that those guys would get choked up enough so I could at least get three wide bottom and have a chance, So yeah, glad it worked out like it did. It was crazy but good weekend for us—really all around win or no win," he added.Chase Elliott became the second driver to lock in a spot in the Round of Eight playoffs. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin wrapped the 267-lap race as the runner-up, missing his sixth victory of the season by a small margin of 0.069 seconds to the HMS driver.“It would be better than what we have”: Chase Elliott on the 2026 season's rumored playoff formatNASCAR analyst Dalton Hopkins featured Chase Elliott in an interview ahead of the 2025 season's first playoff race at Darlington Raceway. During the interaction, Hopkins asked Elliott what he thinks of the rumored playoff format.The current playoff format features three elimination rounds in the postseason, with three races each round. Additionally, four drivers are eliminated from the Cup Series championship race in each round. The final four drivers compete in the Championship Four race at Phoenix Raceway for the title. However, the governing body might change the format to 3/3/4 for the next season to make the sport more engaging.Chase Elliott expressed his support for the new format, stating:"I think it would be better than what we have... Because you just have a larger amount of races at around to decide. You know, it could, it would, seemingly, would give an opportunity to, you know, have something that's totally out of somebody's hands, not completely derail their championship. What is now, you know, their shop. So, it seems like, is it perfect? Probably not. But I would say that that sounds better."Following the Kansas Speedway race, Chase Elliott moved two spots up in the points table. He currently sits fifth with 3104 points, two wins, 10 top fives, 16 top tens, and 18 playoff points in 31 starts this season.