In Darlington, South Carolina, Denny Hamlin ensured he completed his task effectively, allowing his pit crew to execute their finest stop precisely when needed.
After a last-lap yellow flag put him in third position, Hamlin entered the pits and advised himself to hit all the marks before allowing his team to take charge.
That’s precisely what the Joe Gibbs Racing team accomplished, executing a flawless victory as Hamlin surged ahead at just the right time. Taking command after the lastrestart, he managed to stay ahead of William Byron to claim triumph in the Goodyear 400 on Sunday.
This marked Hamlin's 56th career victory in NASCAR, his fifth at Darlington Raceway, and his consecutive win of the season.
"When you consider 56 victories, that's an enormous achievement," stated Gibbs, who has been Hamlin's long-time team owner.
Hamlin mentioned he stayed persistent throughout the race as both Byron and others seemed poised to snatch the win. However, Hamlin patiently bided his time until he could make his move during the green-white-checkered finish, breaking away for the lead.
"I am still capable of doing it, able to perform at a high level and eager to win many races this season," Hamlin stated.
Hamlin secured victory for another consecutive week after his success at Martinsville .
Hamlin selected the outside lane for the lastrestart and quickly moved into the lead, pulling ahead of both series point leader Byron and the driver with the most NASCAR victories,Christopher Bell.
It seemed Hamlin was heading towards a solid podium finish rather than victory lane when Ryan Blaney overtook Tyler Reddick with just three laps remaining. However, shortly after, Kyle Larson had a spin-out which brought out a last-lap caution, extending the race to an overtime finish.
The moment arrived for Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing pit crew to excel, getting him out swiftly and back in the lead.
Byron, who took the lead for the first 243 laps, finished in second place, followed by Bell, his teammate from Joe Gibbs Racing, in third position.
"There are two individuals I genuinely adore at the moment: my pit crew and Kyle Larson," Hamlin stated, eliciting jeers from the audience in the stands.
Reddick came in fourth place with Blaney right behind at fifth. Completing the top ten were Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs, and Kyle Busch.
Hamlin attributed the last two wins to his pit crew.
“They executed a fantastic performance,” he stated. “They secured victory last week, and they've done it again this week. Everything comes down to their efforts.”
Blaney believed he was heading towards his maiden win at Darlington when he managed to overtake Reddick near the end. However, upon seeing the caution flag due to Larson’s spin, he exclaimed, "Oh, no! I thought we had the race secured."
Just like Byron, who aimed to be the first NASCAR driver in almost 25 years to dominate every lap en route to winning. However, he dropped in position during the final sequence of green-flag pit stops and couldn’t claw his way back up.
"It seemed as though it would be a flawless race, with us leading from start to finish," he stated.
However, once "we lost control, it was too late to climb back up," Byron stated.
Bad day
Kyle Larson, the winner of the Southern 500 in 2023, was looking forward to securing another victory at Darlington. However, during the third lap, he hit the inside wall exiting the second turn and had to head directly to the garage. His crew spent several hours repairing his car before sending him back out onto the track on lap 164, having fallen far behind with a deficit of 161 laps. Despite their efforts, Larson ended up finishing near the bottom in 37th place.
Biffle's ride
Greg Biffle, who was the last NASCAR driver to secure back-to-back wins at Darlington in both 2006 and 2007, led the field as the pace car for the Goodyear 400 on Sunday. Over recent months, Biffle has been quite busy, piloting helicopters on rescue missions into regions across the Southeastern United States hit hard by the destructive Hurricane Helene in September.
When Biffle was preparing for a seven-day vacation in the Bahamas, his phone began alerting him about individuals trapped in certain areas of Western North Carolina.
I arrived at the hangar only to find that the power was off," Biffle stated. "We managed to get the hangar doors open using the tug and pulled the helicopter out. After taking flight, I understood what had happened.
Biffle subsequently piloted for the following 11 days from dawn until dusk.
It was amazing," Biffle stated. "The initial week was quite challenging.
Biffle received the Myers Brothers Humanitarian Award for his work.
Up next
The series heads to Bristol on April 13 prior to its usual Easter hiatus.
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AP NASCAR: https://apnews.com/hub/nascar-racing
Pete Iacobelli, The Canadian Press