NASCAR
Denny Hamlin Tames Darlington Xfinity Dash for Sixth Time
DARLINGTON, S.C. – In his lone Xfinity Series start of the season, Denny Hamlin parks it in victory lane at Darlington. Driving the No. 19 Toyota, Hamlin did not take command until the closing laps, having to rally in overtime after losing the lead. Driver 11 now claims six Xfinity triumphs at The Track too Tough to Tame. Exactly one-third of Hamlin’s 18 Xfinity wins have come on the South Carolina venue he calls his favorite track.
Stage 1 was the John Hunter Nemechek invitational, with the 20 pacing every lap from the pole. Even with losing the lead on pit road, Nemechek remained unbeaten in Stage 2. Trying to redeem himself from May’s close loss, the 20 was on rails in Darlington.
Edging the 20 off pit road on each trip down was the 21 of Austin Hill. The valuable first pit stall and a lightning-quick crew were what kept Hill in contention all day. Hill only lost the top spot to Denny Hamlin on lap 120, after several laps of keeping the 19 at bay.
A late caution put the race in Hill’s hands once again, after Ryan Sieg spun out. Hill’s win only seemed further cemented with an overtime restart. Hill had the advantageous line over Hamlin, and the race’s dominator Nemechek was in third. The 20 pushed the 19 clear of the 21 though, sealing the victory for Hamlin.
“I’m just proud to do this for Gordon Logan and everyone at Sports Clips,” Hamlin said. “He’s been such a supporter of my career for such a long time. Thank you to Sport Clips and Help a Hero. Appreciate everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing for the opportunity to come and do one Xfinity race per year and it’s great to have a win.”
“These cars just drive so different than the Next Gen does. Really, I just maintained my pace and kept them within shouting distance and then pounced when I really needed to.”
“First, I’ve got to thank our sponsors in Sport Clips, Toyota, TRD, FedEx, Coca-Cola, Interstate Batteries, Jordan brand, Logitech, Shady Rays. Man, it just suits my driving style really. I don’t know how else to explain it than I feel like you can manipulate the car to do the things you really need it to if it’s not perfect. And, a driver, when he feels like he can make a difference, you like the race track.”
Behind Hamlin and Hill, the Darlington top-10 finishers were: John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer, Josh Berry, Riley Herbst, Justin Allgaier, Sheldon Creed, Kyle Busch and Daniel Hemric. Hear from some of these drivers below.
Thanks to his sixth-place run and Parker Kligerman getting spun late, Herbst vaults back up inside the Playoffs. The 48 went around after contact from Sam Mayer, who Kligerman was not happy with post-race. The 98 now holds a one-point advantage over the 48 with one regular season race left.
The Xfinity Series regular season will end next week at Kansas Speedway. One race will determine the final three Playoff berths, with the cut line drivers separated by one single point. The Kansas Lottery 300 will go green at 3:00 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. The cut line drama is as close as can be, with four drivers gunning for three spots. Who will come out on top in the Heartland to race for the championship?
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Peter Stratta/TSJSports
