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Denny Hamlin steals Goodyear 400 in overtime at Darlington for second win in a row

JHby:Jonathan Howard•04/06/25•

Jondean25

Denny Hamlin Darlington Goodyear 400
Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

In the Carl Edwards throwback, Denny Hamlin pulls off the win in the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. Two wins in a row for the NASCAR veteran. He breaks his tie on the all-time wins list with Rusty Wallace and takes sole possession of 11th all-time.

The No. 11 is 11th all-time? If Denny Hamlin were ever going to try a backflip, now is the time to do it. Edwards more or less dared him to do one before the race.

At Martinsville, he dominated. Today, Hamlin did what he had to and his pit crew delivered him the win. William Byron dominated until the green flag pit stops in the final stage. The story of today wasn’t Byron’s domination but more so the dirty air at this track.

In the end, Denny Hamlin steals the win in overtime. He’ll take that 56th checkered flag home without any second thoughts. 11 Against the World and the 11 is 2-0 in the last two races.

After the race, Hamlin had one thing to say. “There’s two people I really love right now, my pit crew and Kyle Larson. Had a little assist there. So, thank you.”

William Byron was ultimately runner-up in this race. He led 243 of the laps today of 293 in regulation. Then he watched in overtime as Denny Hamlin ran away in clean air and didn’t look back.

This whole overtime was set up by a wreck from Kyle Larson. Ryan Blaney had surged through the field in the most impressive run of the entire race. He passed Reddick clean for the lead. Then Larson spun out after contact with Bubba Wallace.

Everyone filed down pit road, and the 11 team won out in the end. Blaney’s crew didn’t get the job done, and the rest is history.

Denny Hamlin wins again at age 44

44 years old and Denny Hamlin is still winning multiple races in a season. His longevity and talent should be appreciated for what it is. He is one of the best to ever do it and is still very much a championship threat.

Hamlin got off to a slow start. Things didn’t really click with this team until Phoenix. Now, he looks like one of the best drivers in the field. Four top-fives in the last five races, including three straight and two wins in a row. That is consistency.

Going to Bristol next week, Hamlin has a chance to three-peat like Christopher Bell did earlier this season. Bristol is a track that definitely favors Hamlin. Imagine if the tires were to wear down like they did last year. Conventional wisdom says that was most likely due to the cool temperatures at the track that day, but it is ultimately still a mystery.

William Byron dominated this race, but it felt like that was only due to dirty air. Drivers were able to get up to him under the green flag, but they were not able to close the door fully and make a move for the lead. When the green flag stops led to Byron filling in behind Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell, his car wasn’t the same.

Ryan Blaney made what was really the only green-flag pass for the lead. Then, Kyle Larson ruined that by wrecking. That’s just the way it goes at times. Big win for Denny Hamlin and the fifth win of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing. What is the ceiling for this 11 team?