On a tough day for the entire 36-car field, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin stood above the rest to score his first win of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The 43-year-old perfectly balanced going easy and saving his tires, while also going for the jugular when it was necessary.
At the end of the race, where Hamlin led 163 laps en route to victory, his No. 11 Express Oil Change Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE underwent the post-race technical inspection process. Hamlin’s car passed with flying colors.
As a result, NASCAR declared the driver and his No. 11 team the official winners of the race. This marks Hamlin’s second-consecutive race win at Bristol Motor Speedway, as he won the night race last fall. Overall, the win marked Hamlin’s fourth at the half-mile speedway in Tennessee.
And with the win, Hamlin is now a 52-time race winner in the NASCAR Cup Series ranks.
There were no issues detected in post-race inspection among the remainder of the contenders in the field, and no cars will go back to the NASCAR R&D Center for further evaluation. This means all results and standings following the 500-lap event at Bristol are now considered official.
Martin Truex Jr. was the official second-place finisher, as he crossed the finish line 1.083 sec. behind his teammate. Brad Keselowski finished in third, followed by Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson in fourth and fifth.
John Hunter Nemechek, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs, and Christopher Bell rounded out the top-10 finishers in the race, which featured an all-time track record 54 lead changes.
Official Race Results
Race Recap
Denny Hamlin Nurses Tires Best to Score Victory in Old-School Race at Bristol
Updated Driver Standings
Updated Owner Standings
Rookie Standings
Manufacturer Standings
Video Highlights
Video: Tyler Reddick Crashes From Lead, Multi-Car Crash Ensues at Bristol
