Daytona Motor Mouths: Denny Hamlin offers Martinsville a whoopin’
The fellows discuss Denny Hamlin and Martinsville, Brad Keselowski and Darlington and the brand new NASCAR commissioner, as Ken checks in from Indianapolis.
Denny Hamlin gained his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Collection race Sunday at Darlington Raceway, taking the lead throughout a late restart.William Byron led a race-high 243 laps however was unable to regain the lead after a Stage 3 pit cease.
Denny Hamlin didn’t unfurl the “11 In opposition to the World” flag Sunday.
This time, the world threw him a lifeline.
With 4 laps to go within the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, Hamlin was working third. Ryan Blaney had simply overtaken Tyler Reddick for the lead. Blaney had the perfect automobile, persistently laying down the quickest instances on the monitor within the waning laps to catch Reddick. With possession of the entrance spot, he seemed poised to maintain it.
Then, seconds later, Kyle Larson wrecked.
That caused a warning flag and an additional time restart. Hamlin beat everybody off pit highway after which left the sector within the mud when the inexperienced flag flew, dashing to a victory for the second straight week.
“There’s two individuals I actually love proper now — my pit crew and Kyle Larson,” Hamlin mentioned. “Had a bit of help there, so thanks.”
William Byron, who started on the pole and dominated the primary 243 laps, completed second. Christopher Bell, Reddick and Blaney rounded out the highest 5.
Listed here are three takeaways:
1. William Byron, Ryan Blaney undergo heartbreak
Earlier than diving deeper with Hamlin, let’s speak about Byron and Blaney.
By way of the primary 243 laps, Byron turned in a throwback efficiency on NASCAR’s throwback weekend. It marked essentially the most laps he’s led in a race in his Cup Collection profession.
It was the perfect tally by any Cup driver since Jeff Burton led all 300 laps at New Hampshire in September 2000.
On Lap 244, Byron hit pitted, giving Hamlin the lead. He by no means received again in entrance.
“First off, actually happy with my staff,” Byron mentioned. “To deliver that degree of effort and preparation and have a automobile like that, and for us to execute like that, it was trying prefer it was going to be an ideal race. We had been going to guide each lap. Was actually happy with that …
“I’m positive it can sting loads tonight. However there’s nonetheless plenty of positives. It simply stings within the second, for positive.”
Blaney scored his first top-five at Darlington, but it surely might’ve been much more. He led two laps.
He’s nonetheless looking for his first win of the season.
“I assumed we lastly had the race gained,” Blaney mentioned. “I don’t actually know. Have to observe the replay of how that yellow got here out.”
2. Denny Hamlin wins back-to-back races
After controlling the Cook dinner Out 400 for 274 laps on his solution to Victory Lane final week, Hamlin’s path again there at Darlington went a bit of in a different way.
He sat in entrance for 10 laps, together with the final two that mattered most after exiting pit highway first and exploding out of the restart.
Final week, Hamlin ended a 31-race drought. Now, he’s captured two in a row. The victory was the 56th of his profession, shifting him previous Rusty Wallace and into eleventh place within the document books.
3. Subsequent up, high-banked enjoyable at Bristol
The tour of previous stock-car haunts continues within the coming week. On the heels of visits to Martinsville and Darlington, NASCAR’s three prime sequence rolls into Bristol Motor Speedway for races Friday (Vans), Saturday (Xfinity) and Sunday (Cup).
This season marks the sixty fifth season of NASCAR racing on the high-banked, half-mile oval dubbed “The Final Nice Colosseum.” After that comes the lone off week for NASCAR, because the engines go quiet for the Easter vacation.
— Ken Willis contributed to this story.
