Denny Hamlin won NASCAR’s playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway while two former champions were eliminated Saturday night.

Joey Logano became the first reigning champion eliminated in the first round when he crashed early in the third stage and finished 34th. He was watching as a spectator as former teammate Hamlin celebrated his 51st career win.

Kevin Harvick, who is retiring at the end of the season, also was eliminated after finishing five laps down in 29th. Harvick was the first driver in 2014 to win the championship in this elimination format.

Also eliminated were Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Michael McDowell, who finished sixth.

Hamlin was resoundly booed after stopping his No. 11 Toyota at the finish line. He collected the checkered flag then verbally sparred with the angry spectators.

“Everyone like a winner, right?” he said at first of the jeers.

He confidently boasted “this is our year” for a championship, then addressed the crowd directly.

“I beat your favorite driver,” he taunted.

“Who?” asked the announcer. “All of them,” Hamlin said as he headed off to celebrate, likely with his 23XI Racing team after Bubba Wallace drove his way into the second round with a 14thplace finish.

Wallace was also booed and quoted recent U.S. Women’s Open winner Coco Gauff for motivating him despite the discouragement.

“God, I love that (stuff),” Wallace said as boos reigning down on him. “Counted us out. Like Coco Gauff said, ‘All they are doing is adding fuel to the fire. I love it.”

He celebrated with team co-owner Michael Jordan, who watched from Wallace’s pit stand. Wallace, who is last in the now 12-driver field, said he was “mentally exhausted” after advancing in the playoffs.

Logano was eliminated just after the halfway point when he drove the No. 22 Ford to the garage with broken parts that were likely catastrophic to his season. The two-time champion was 12th and on the bubble of elimination when he was collected in the crash.

“It will take a miracle at this point. Maybe something will happen and we can squeak in at some point,” Logano said.