Denny Hamlin Alex Bowman Martinsville NASCAR Playoffs
Getty Images

Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin combined to lead 469 laps in Martinsville Speedway's Xfinity 500. They're three of four drivers who will compete for the championship in the NASCAR Cup Series season finale next weekend at Phoenix.

Yet when the smoke cleared on Halloween, this trio was left with a house of horrors as not a single one wound up inside the top 10.

That's how chaotic the final laps were at a short track known for slamming fenders and short tempers. One by one, the sport's best saw their races self-destruct along with some postseason momentum.

Larson buckled first, caught for pit road speeding twice after cruising out front from the pole. His mistakes left the race to Elliott, clinching his championship bid on the strength of a stage two victory and 289 laps led.

But when the No. 9 car lost the lead during a lap 380 caution, Elliott could never get the handling right in traffic. NASCAR's most popular driver struggled to hold his own, then wound up punted by Brad Keselowski as desperation among playoff drivers heated up.

"We started playing defense," Elliott said. "When you start playing defense, you typically start crashing a lot of times, especially when guys need to win."

That left the race to Hamlin, headed toward his third playoff victory until Alex Bowman caught him. The two raced side-by-side for several laps until Bowman's No. 48 dive-bombed a little too hard, spinning Hamlin out in turn 3 to force overtime.

Bowman then fought off Keselowski and Kyle Busch, both of whom needed a win to advance into the Championship 4. Hamlin was left limping home 24th, showing his displeasure with a post-race double bird, then bumping his car into Bowman's burnout before going ballistic on pit road.

"He didn't want to race us there," Hamlin said of Bowman. "We had a good, clean race. I moved up as high as I could on the racetrack to give him all the room I could and he still can't drive.

"He's just an absolute hack. He gets his ass kicked by his teammates every week. F---ing terrible."

That hack now has four victories on the year, the most in the Cup Series this year behind Larson. It's a nice consolation prize for a driver that was a surprise Round of 12 elimination after a career-best season.

"I understand why he's mad," Bowman said. "I'd be mad, too. I drove off into the corner, got loose, spun him out. At the same time, I didn't do it on purpose."

Fans seemed to agree, raining down boos on Hamlin during his post-race interview. Can the 40-year-old veteran shake off the drama reset and finally cash in on a first career Cup title?

"It's just Chase Elliott fans, man," Hamlin joked about the reaction before finding his mojo. "They're going to boo the sh*t out of me next week, I can tell you that."

Traffic Report   

Green: Martin Truex Jr. Truex sweated it out for the fourth and final Championship 4 bid after slapping the wall multiple times in the closing laps. His left front fender was flapping around in the wind but somehow, Truex kept it together, charging from outside the top 10 back to fourth in overtime. That was enough for spring's Phoenix winner to reestablish himself in this title chase, a dark horse after a postseason filled with missed opportunities.

"We always make it hard for ourselves," crew chief James Small said after the race. "But we're still in it."

Yellow: Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski. Both former champions made phenomenal drives after a flurry of late cautions gave them a chance to win. Busch was on the front row for the final restart, able to fight Bowman hard after not leading a lap all day.

It wasn't enough, second place the first loser as both Busch and Keselowski lost time fighting amongst themselves for the runner-up spot.

"[Keselowski] drills my ass coming out of 4 for no reason," Busch said. "What was he going to do, spin me out… for what, for second place? I should beat the s--t out of him is what I should do, but that doesn't do me any good, either."

"I don't know what he was thinking," Keselowski responded after Busch's No. 18 Toyota slammed into him after the race. "I don't know if he's mad at himself, mad at me. I don't sweat that."

It's the first time neither driver is in the Championship 4 since the first year of this format in 2014.

Red: Ryan Blaney. Ford's top young talent raised expectations by earning back-to-back wins to end the regular season. Blaney could just never sustain that speed in the playoffs, running no better than fourth before bowing out with a whimper after two straight weeks of contact with Austin Dillon.

"Losing is losing," Blaney said. "I don't care if you miss it by one point or 20, I mean, it stinks no matter what."

Speeding Ticket: Some fan with a beer can. Twitter was abuzz Sunday night after this toss was caught on camera as Hamlin was charging into Bowman's car.

Debate all you want whether Hamlin's post-race tantrum was fair game. But throwing a full beer from the stands? That's cowardly and dangerous, reminiscent of this ugly scene at Talladega where NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon got beer bombed.

Fans pay their hard-earned money to watch a race, not to have a chance to assault someone. Bad behavior in the stands is giving this sport a bad rap.

Oops!

The Cup Series wasn't the only wild ending this weekend at Martinsville. The Camping World Truck Series almost saw top seed John Hunter Nemechek knocked out of the Championship 4 after early contact with Austin Wayne Self.

"You've got to have respect," Nemechek said of the underfunded driver, "And obviously, he doesn't."

But the Trucks saved their best for last. This wild ending included a three-wide battle for the lead in overtime where only one driver, Zane Smith, emerged unscathed.

What a time for Smith to earn his first win of the season, a come-from-behind victory that knocked defending Truck champ Sheldon Creed out of the Championship 4. It also may keep this prospect, once pursued by Chip Ganassi, racing full-time in NASCAR next year, especially if he swoops in and steals the title.

"I am looking for a job right now," Smith said afterwards. "I have nothing… I'll do whatever it takes to win the damn thing."