In a demonstration of unwavering focus, Denny Hamlin clinched victory at World Wide Technology Raceway, securing his advancement in the Cup Series playoffs. Hamlin, despite facing personal and professional challenges, demonstrated his ability to remain calm and focused, achieving an almost perfect weekend. Starting from the pole position, he led the most laps and secured his fifth victory of the season.
With this victory, the 59th of his career, Hamlin qualifies for the next round of the playoffs. In the race, Chase Briscoe, teammate of Joe Gibbs Racing, took second place, followed by Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano, completing the top five with playoff drivers. The No. 11 team’s strategy brought Hamlin to the pits for his final stop with 44 laps to go, and after a caution, he regained the lead. Hamlin overtook Brad Keselowski on the restart, securing Toyota’s 200th victory in NASCAR’s premier series. Joe Gibbs Racing’s driver celebrated with a long “burnout” on the main straight, unleashing the reaction of the public and demonstrating his enjoyment of being the “villain” of NASCAR. Hamlin, who also co-owns the 23XI Racing team with NBA legend Michael Jordan, and a podcast host, has managed to juggle his multiple roles without affecting his performance on the track. At 44 years old and in his 20th season in the Cup Series, Hamlin has become the seventh driver in NASCAR history with multiple wins after his 700th start.I just put in the work. The only thing I can do is continue to be a student of the game, continue to try to get better, and each week is an opportunity to get a little better.
Denny Hamlin
Hamlin, with his victory, advances towards his goal of winning the Cup Series championship. After the race at Gateway, Shane van Gisbergen, Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman, and Josh Berry are outside the top twelve positions. Kyle Larson, after a twelfth-place finish at Gateway, has the opportunity to secure his place in the next round simply by participating in Bristol. Bubba Wallace, who led 73 laps and won the second stage, is also in a favorable position. Josh Berry needs to win at Bristol to advance, after two last-place finishes in the first playoff races. An incident with Chase Elliott caused Berry’s car to end up against the wall on lap 36.He has a true determination to succeed.
Joe Gibbs
Elliott apologized for the incident, stating that it was not intentional. The passing of Bill Davis was also announced, whose teams achieved 40 victories in the Cup, Xfinity and Truck series between 1993 and 2008. Davis obtained five Cup victories with Ward Burton, including the 2001 Southern 500 and the 2002 Daytona 500. NASCAR issued a statement highlighting Davis’ impact on the sport, describing him as a friend and a leader respected for his kindness and passion for racing.Chase and that team have done a lot for me, and I really doubt that was on purpose. Just the wrong place, the wrong time for us again. Obviously, it’s unfortunate. We’ll go to Bristol and try to do the best we can and put ourselves in a position to compete for a win, and that’s really all we can do at this point.
Josh Berry
