It has been more than 12 years since Denny Hamlin has managed to secure back-to-back victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, but on Sunday, with some help from his pit crew, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver was able to pull it off, winning the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.
The Chesterfield, Virginia-native looked to have nothing for race dominator William Bryon throughout the majority of Sunday’s 297-lap contest, but when the final caution of the afternoon was displayed, the No. 11 pit crew jumped from fourth to first on the pit stop.
However, without the aid of that late-race caution, which was displayed when Kyle Larson crashed into the inside retaining wall after contact with 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace, Hamlin would have been relegated to a finish of fourth place, at best.
“There’s two people I really love right now: my pit crew and Kyle Larson,” Hamlin said post-race. “Had a little assist there, so thank you. Man, the pit crew just did an amazing job. They won it last week. They won it this week. It’s all about them.”
Ryan Blaney, who has endured a rough stretch of luck in the NASCAR Cup Series, had just taken over the race-lead from Tyler Reddick – who was on older tires and fading quickly – when the incident happened, leaving the Team Penske crew to try and defend the position on pit road, which they were unable to do.
RESULTS: NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway
Like in the several restarts beforehand, Denny Hamlin blasted away in NASCAR Overtime, getting clear of Christopher Bell and William Byron while they battled for the runner-up spot, ultimately giving Hamlin the nod at the checkered flag.
William Byron finished in the runner-up spot after spanking the field throughout the first two-thirds of the race, leading the first 243 circuits around Darlington Raceway – the most consecutive laps led to start a NASCAR Cup Series event at Darlington, ever.
Byron lost the lead on the final cycle of green-flag pit stops and was then stuck back in traffic as the final laps of the race played out, leaving him to struggle with his racecar in dirty air – something he hadn’t experienced all afternoon.
Christopher Bell, who at one point was under threat of being put a lap down in the race’s first stage, finished in third place, while Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney completed the top five.
Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs, and Kyle Busch rounded out the top-10.
Following Sunday’s Goodyear 400, Hamlin is now in sole possession of 11th place on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list, surpassing Rusty Wallace. Next is another track that Hamlin thrives at, Bristol Motor Speedway, where he’ll look to go three in a row.
Leaving Darlington, with his second-place finish, William Byron has extended his points lead to 49 markers over Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell in second and third. Chase Elliott and Tyler Reddick complete the top five, with Kyle Larson sliding down to sixth.
Next up for the NASCAR Cup Series is Bristol Motor Speedway, where the series will take on the Food City 500 on April 13 at 3:00 PM ET on FS1, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
