DARLINGTON, S.C. (April 6, 2025) – A perfectly executed overtime restart by Denny Hamlin following a clutch final pit stop by his Joe Gibbs Racing crew provided exactly the advantage the veteran needed to claim the trophy in Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
Hamlin took the race lead out of the pits during the final late race caution then bested the field on the ensuing restart, pulling his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota out front and ultimately to a .597 second victory over the day’s most dominant driver, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron.
It’s the second consecutive victory for Hamlin, who won last week at Martinsville, Va. and marks the first time he’s won back-to-back races since 2012 when he won at Bristol, Tenn. then Atlanta the following week.
All smiles as he climbed out the car, Hamlin gave all the credit to his pit crew. He was third place at the time of the final caution – the yellow coming out for Byron’s Hendrick teammate Kyle Larson’s spin. The leaders seized the chance to pit for fresh tires in anticipation of the overtime restart and Hamlin’s crew got him out of the pits first - ahead of 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Byron.
A perfect launch on the ensuing green flag gave Hamlin the victory over Byron, who led a race best 243 of the 297 laps. It is Hamlin’s 56th career win, breaking a tie with NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace for 11th place on NASCAR’s all-time wins list.
“There’s two people I really love right now, my pit crew and Kyle Larson,’’ the 44 year old Virginian Hamlin said with a grin. “Had a little assist there, so thank you.
It was obviously a tough ending to a career day for Byron, who rallied to the runner up finish on the final restart but had absolutely dominated the early race, leading the opening 243 laps and claiming both Stage 1 and Stage 2 victories. It was the most laps Byron has ever led in a single race.
“First off, just really proud of my team to bring that level of effort and preparation and have a car like that and us execute like that,” Byron said.
“It sucks and I’m sure it will sting tonight, but there are still a lot of positives. It just stings in the moment for sure.’’
Hamlin’s JGR teammate Christopher Bell finished third in the No. 20 Toyota after an amazing rally forward from a 20th place starting position. Reddick finished fourth in the 23XI Racing Toyota, co-owned by Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan.
Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney finished fifth. It is the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion’s first top five at the 1.366 mile historic track, but the result still stings as Blaney had just taken the race lead moments before the final caution came out with only three laps of regulation remaining.
“Oh no,’’ Blaney said when the yellow flag flew.
Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher finished sixth, followed by Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, Hendrick’s Chase Elliott, JGR’s Ty Gibbs and Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch. It was a season best effort for Gibbs.
Byron’s runner-up showing keeps him in the NASCAR Cup Series championship lead now by 49 points over Hamlin and 52 points over Bell.
The NASCAR Cup Series moves to the famed Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway high banks next weekend for Sunday’s Food City 500 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Hamlin is the defending winner.