Denny Hamlin credits pit crew for Darlington win: 'They were salivating at that opportunity'

Every great racer needs a great pit crew. Denny Hamlin has one and they were at their best on the final pit stop in Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.

Hamlin’s crew got him out of their stall in 8.3 seconds, giving him the lead as the race went into overtime. Hamlin said his crew were “salivating” at the opportunity, and they certainly performed.

“Last week, the pit crew got a lot of attention on different things they were doing and for them to get to showcase it at the end of this race in a green-white-checkered situation where they know that if they get you out with a lead, your chances of winning are pretty high,” Hamlin told Kevin Harvick. “They were salivating at that opportunity, and they took advantage of it.”

Hamlin jumped out to a healthy lead off the ensuing restart and brought his No. 11 Toyota around for career win No. 56 and his second in as many races. After the race, Hamlin credited two people/groups for helping him to victory. One was Kyle Larson, who spun with four laps remaining to send the race to overtime. The other was his pit crew, who shined in the big moment.

“There’s two people I really love right now, my pit crew and Kyle Larson,” Hamlin told FOX Sports. “Had a little assist there, so thank you. Man, the pit crew just did an amazing job. They won it last week, they won it this week. It’s all about them. Thanks, Sport Clips, they have such a big deal here in Darlington, South Carolina.”

Denny Hamlin compares himself to Houston after Final Four, win at Darlington

Hamlin didn’t have the fastest car at Darlington. That belonged to William Byron, who led a race-high 243 laps. But Hamlin found his way to the front late and took advantage of the opening created by Larson. Hamlin compared his win to Houston rallying to beat Duke in the Final Four on Saturday night.

“This one certainly is one that I didn’t deserve really as a driver,” Hamlin said. “It feels good to get a win that you didn’t have the best car, you didn’t have race-winning speed, you just did your job just good enough to execute and keep the team in the game, right?

“Very similar to Houston yesterday, Duke dominated the game, but Houston just kept hanging around just enough and capitalized when the others couldn’t close. That’s what happened tonight.”