2 days Ago By Daytona Beach News-Journal
Denny Hamlin didn’t unfurl the “11 Against the World” flag Sunday.This time, the world threw him a lifeline.With four laps to go in the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, Hamlin was running third.
Ryan Blaney had just overtaken Tyler Reddick for the lead. Blaney had the best car, consistently laying down the fastest times on the track in the waning laps to catch Reddick. With possession of the front spot, he looked poised to keep it.
Then, seconds later, Kyle Larson wrecked.That brought about a caution flag and an overtime restart. Hamlin beat everyone off pit road and then left the field in the dust when the green flag flew, speeding to a victory for the second straight week.
“There’s two people I really love right now — my pit crew and Kyle Larson,” Hamlin said. “Had a little assist there, so thank you.”William Byron, who began on the pole and dominated the first 243 laps, finished second.
Christopher Bell, Reddick and Blaney rounded out the top five.Here are three takeaways:1. William Byron, Ryan Blaney suffer heartbreakBefore diving deeper with Hamlin, let’s talk about Byron and Blaney.
Through the first 243 laps, Byron turned in a throwback performance on NASCAR’s throwback weekend. It marked the most laps he’s led in a race in his Cup Series career.It was the best 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 never got back in front.“First off, really proud of my team,” Byron said.
“To bring that level of effort and preparation and have a car like that, and for us to execute like that, it was looking like it was going to be a perfect race. We were going to lead every lap. Was really proud of that .
..“I’m sure it will sting a lot tonight.
But there’s still a lot of positives. It just stings in the moment, for sure.”Blaney scored his first top-five at Darlington, but it could’ve been a lot more.
He led two laps. He’s still searching for his first win of the season.“I thought we finally had the race won,” Blaney said.
“I don’t really know. Have to watch the replay of how that yellow came out.”2.
Denny Hamlin wins back-to-back racesAfter controlling the Cook Out 400 for 274 laps on his way to Victory Lane last week, Hamlin’s path back there at Darlington went a little differently.He sat in front for 10 laps, including the last two that mattered most after exiting pit road first and exploding out of the restart.Last week, Hamlin ended a 31-race drought.
Now, he’s captured two in a row. The victory was the 56th of his career, moving him past Rusty Wallace and into 11th place in the record books.3.
Next up, high-banked fun at BristolThe tour of old stock-car haunts continues in the coming week. On the heels of visits to Martinsville and Darlington, NASCAR's three top series rolls into Bristol Motor Speedway for races Friday (Trucks), Saturday (Xfinity) and Sunday (Cup).This season marks the 65th season of NASCAR racing at the high-banked, half-mile oval dubbed "The Last Great Colosseum.
" After that comes the lone off week for NASCAR, as the engines go quiet for the Easter holiday.— Ken Willis contributed to this story.This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR race results: Denny Hamlin is Darlington winner.
