Denny Hamlin, amid NASCAR lawsuit controversy, captures Dover thriller in OT

Denny Hamlin powered his way to victory in Sunday’s EchoPark AutoTrader 400 at Dover Motor Speedway, navigating a rain delay, strategic pit calls, and a pair of nail-biting overtime restarts to earn his second consecutive win at the track and a NASCAR Cup Series-best fourth victory of 2025.

The veteran Joe Gibbs Racing driver at age 44, proved “in the clutch” when it counted most, seizing the lead on both overtime restarts and ultimately fending off his new teammate, Chase Briscoe, who was on fresher tires. Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota Camry crossed the finish line a mere .310 seconds ahead of Briscoe, marking his 58th career Cup Series win and his first since the birth of his son, Jameson, last month.

“Things were going pretty well there before the rain and then obviously had to endure a few restarts there,” a smiling Hamlin said after the race. “It was tough; those guys gave me a run for it, no doubt about it.”

Hamlin, who has historically struggled at the “Monster Mile,” emphasized the significance of his recent success. “Winning here at Dover is super special to me,” he added. “This is a place I had not been very good at the first half of my career, and then to have back-to-back (wins) here the last couple years is amazing.”

Briscoe, piloting the No. 19 JGR Toyota, pushed Hamlin hard in the final two-lap sprint. The two ran door-to-door on the white flag lap, with their cars making slight contact, before Hamlin edged ahead to become just the 13th driver in Dover’s history to win consecutive races.

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson finished third and fourth, respectively, with another Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Ty Gibbs, rounding out the top five.

For much of the day, it appeared Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott was poised to continue his summer hot streak and claim his second win in four weeks. He dominated, leading a race-best 238 of the 407 laps, securing his first stage win of the season, and overcoming an early pit road miscue. However, he couldn’t challenge Hamlin in the closing stages, finishing sixth.

Despite not winning, Elliott found some solace in his finish. Combined with teammate William Byron‘s accident with two laps remaining in regulation, Elliott now holds a 17-point championship lead over Byron with five races left in the regular season, marking the first time he’s led the standings this year.

Elliott’s long stints out front were interrupted by a cycle of pit stops. Hamlin capitalized, cycling to the lead when Elliott pitted during a caution and beating JGR teammate Christopher Bell on a restart with 60 laps to go. Hamlin maintained the lead when a 56-minute red flag for rain halted the race with 15 laps left, ultimately leading the final 67 laps.

“I thought I did everything I needed to and thought I had it there for a second,” Briscoe said of his battle with Hamlin. “I was so close to clearing him and just couldn’t do it. Obviously racing a teammate, I wanted to make sure at least a JGR car won. Honestly, it was a great day. We weren’t probably a second-place race car; we were probably fifth to 10th place car. Glad we were able to make a good finish out of it.”

Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski completed the top 10 behind Elliott.

While the top of the championship standings saw a shift, the four drivers still vying for a points-based Playoff spot — Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, Chris Buescher and Bubba Wallace — remained unchanged. Wallace’s seventh-place finish gives him a 16-point advantage over Ryan Preece for the 16th and final transfer position. Kyle Busch, who finished 11th on Sunday, is now 39 points behind Wallace.

The Dover race also determined the finalists for the “In-Season Challenge” championship round, with Ty Gibbs and longshot Ty Dillon advancing to the $1 million-to-win grand finale next week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This inaugural incentive program is presented by TNT.

In their respective head-to-head battles, Gibbs edged out Tyler Reddick in the closing laps, while Dillon benefited from a “lucky dog” pass late in the race to beat John Hunter Nemechek. Dillon and Nemechek finished 20th and 21st, respectively.

“Super cool today, I really appreciate my team,” a smiling Gibbs said.

Dillon, driver of the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, was equally thrilled for the opportunity. Seeded 32nd among the 32 qualified drivers for the tournament, he has already upset big names like Hamlin in earlier rounds.

“All respect to John Hunter, we ran next to each other all day,” a thrilled Dillon said. “Just so grateful to have this opportunity, and this is one of the greatest things to happen in my career.”

The NASCAR Cup Series now heads to the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway for next Sunday’s Brickyard 400 (2 p.m. ET, TNT, HBO Max, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Kyle Larson is the defending race winner.

Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 Results

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Dover Motor Speedway
Dover, Delaware Sunday, July 20, 2025

1. (13) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 407 Laps
2. (2) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 407 Laps
3. (16) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 407 Laps
4. (25) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 407 Laps
5. (9) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 407 Laps
6. (1) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 407 Laps
7. (22) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 407 Laps
8. (31) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 407 Laps
9. (12) Chris Buescher, Ford, 407 Laps
10. (15) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 407 Laps
11. (10) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 407 Laps
12. (4) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 407 Laps
13. (7) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 407 Laps
14. (8) Joey Logano, Ford, 407 Laps
15. (23) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 407 Laps
16. (26) Austin Cindric, Ford, 407 Laps
17. (20) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 407 Laps
18. (3) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 407 Laps
19. (11) Ryan Preece, Ford, 407 Laps
20. (21) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 407 Laps
21. (28) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 406 Laps
22. (30) Zane Smith, Ford, 406 Laps
23. (34) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 405 Laps
24. (32) Riley Herbst #, Toyota, 405 Laps
25. (24) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 405 Laps
26. (18) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 404 Laps
27. (27) Erik Jones, Toyota, 404 Laps
28. (14) Josh Berry, Ford, 404 Laps
29. (29) Cole Custer, Ford, 403 Laps
30. (6) Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 400 Laps
31. (5) William Byron, Chevrolet, Accident, 393 Laps
32. (36) Noah Gragson, Ford, Accident, 393 Laps
33. (19) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, Accident, 382 Laps
34. (37) JJ Yeley(i), Chevrolet, Fatigue, 369 Laps
35. (35) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, Handling, 302 Laps
36. (33) Cody Ware, Ford, Handling, 232 Laps
37. (17) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, Suspension, 221 Laps

Average Speed of Race Winner: 110.849 mph.
Time of Race: 3 Hours, 40 Minutes, 18 Seconds.
Margin of Victory: .310 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 8 for 50 laps.
Lead Changes: 13 among 10 drivers.