Denny Hamlin made the most of a clutch final pit stop and nailed the overtime restart to grab the win in Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. It’s his second win in a row and first time winning back-to-back races since 2012.
Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota came out of the pits ahead of the pack after a late caution caused by Kyle Larson’s spin. From there, he held off William Byron on the restart and took the checkered flag, beating Byron by just over half a second.
“Two people I love right now—my pit crew and Kyle Larson,” Hamlin said with a grin. “The crew crushed it again. They won it for us last week, and they did it again today.”
Byron had dominated most of the race, leading 243 of the 297 laps and winning both early stages. But when it came down to the final laps, Hamlin’s team gave him the edge.
“It felt like we were having a perfect race,” said Byron, this year’s Daytona 500 winner. “Once we lost control at the end, it was too late to get back up front. Definitely stings, but still proud of the effort.”
Christopher Bell rallied from 20th to finish third, followed by Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney, who had just taken the lead before the final caution hit. Blaney, frustrated by the timing, said, “I thought we had it. Just bad luck. Proud of the team though.”
Rounding out the top 10 were Chris Buescher (sixth), Ross Chastain (seventh), Chase Elliott (eighth), Ty Gibbs (ninth), and Kyle Busch (10th). Gibbs’ ninth-place run was his best of the season so far.
Byron’s second-place finish keeps him on top of the points standings, now 49 ahead of Hamlin and 52 ahead of Bell. Chase Elliott sits fourth, 59 points back, while Kyle Larson dropped to sixth after finishing 37th on Sunday. Alex Bowman now ranks 10th.
Next up: the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway next Sunday for the Food City 500, where Hamlin is the defending winner.
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