NASCAR
Polesitter Hamlin Falls Back Early, Rebounds to Coliseum Clash Win
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – NASCAR is back in action for the 2024 season and the heel is in victory lane again. From the pole, Denny Hamlin appeared unstoppable in the opening laps of the Busch Light Clash. After falling back around halfway though, the 11 had to slowly claw back forward. On a restart with 10 laps left, Hamlin retook command and held on through overtime for the win. Hamlin now trails only Dale Earnhardt (six) with most Clash wins all-time.
Hamlin’s speed was evident early on Saturday, leading practice and taking pole position in abbreviated qualifying. The Sport Clips No. 11 Toyota paced most of the Clash’s first half, only losing ground late to teammate Ty Gibbs. Contact while racing for position sent Hamlin back to seventh.
Once the second half got underway, Gibbs quickly found the top spot again and began to drive off. The sophomore driver was trying to become only the third ever winless Busch Light Clash champion, joining Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin.
Gibbs’ march to a seemingly dominant win was only derailed by a caution with 10 laps left. On the ensuing restart, the 54 ran the 22 of Joey Logano wide off of turn two, opening the door for Denny Hamlin to pounce. Despite heavy tire smoke, Hamlin was able to edge ahead of Gibbs on the short run.
Hamlin had to hold off the field on an overtime restart too, after the 54 was sent spinning. The 11 got a big enough jump though to retain control and sail off for victory lane.
“A lot of it was just what happened in front of me,” Hamlin said. “With the 54 and 22 there, you just never know what’s going to happen. I got a really good run off of turn two, got position, and was just able to hang of from there. The restarts are so chaotic, everyone just bumping and banging, but it feels great to win here in L.A.”
“It’s just a great momentum boost, it doesn’t do much more than that though. I clean off all my trophies in my house every January 1st, and now we add one pretty quick. Really happy about that.”
Hamlin wouldn’t leave the chorus of boos from the grandstands without his trademark zinger though: “You know I beat your favorite driver again, right?”
Behind Hamlin, Kyle Busch was second for a second time in three years at the Clash. Defending Series Champion Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Kyle Larson all rounded out the top-five. Other strong finishers included: Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr, and William Byron.
The NASCAR Cup Series will be back in action in two weeks for the 66th Running of the Daytona 500. The green flag will fly Sunday, February 18 at 2:30 p.m. ET (FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Clash winner Denny Hamlin is going for his fourth victory in The Great American Race. Can team 11 add another big trophy to their case in February?
Written by Peter Stratta
Be sure to follow us on Twitter
Be sure to follow the writer on Twitter and YouTube
Photo Credit to Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
