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Money Stop Catapults Denny Hamlin Into Victory Lane At Darlington Raceway; Goes Back-To-Back In Cup Series

by Hunter Thomas April 6, 2025 1 comment

DARLINGTON, S.C. – William Byron looked as if he was going to lead nearly every lap, but pit strategy shook up the field, and it was Denny Hamlin prevailing in NASCAR Overtime to win the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.

Tyler Reddick was leading the race, when he bounced off the wall with three laps to go, handing over the lead to Ryan Blaney. The caution simultaneously came out when Larson crashed behind the leaders after contact from Bubba Wallace.

Hamlin’s crew got him off pit road on the final stop of the day, and the driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota was clutch in NASCAR Overtime as he solidified his fifth Darlington victory. The win also marks his second in-a-row as he won at Martinsville Speedway last weekend.

“There’s two people I really love right now: my pit crew and Kyle Larson,” Hamlin said. “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. Shout-out to Gordon and the whole team. We’ll see you at Victory Lane.”

Byron restarted on the second row in NASCAR Overtime, but he had nothing for Hamlin who shot out in front of the field. Byron led 243 of 297 laps, so to finish second was disappointing for the driver of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet; however, the team obviously brought a really fast car to the track.

“First off, really proud of my team, bringing that level of effort and preparation, have a car like that,” Byron said. “For us to execute like that, it was looking like it was going to be a perfect race. We were going to lead every lap. Was really proud of that.”

What really hurt the strategy for Byron and others was that several teams short pitted, and it allowed them to gain ground, while those who didn’t lost control of the race.

“Those guys could be aggressive on the other side of the green flag cycle, we lost control there,” Byron said. “Once we lost control, too late in the going to kind of get back up there.”

Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney completed the top-five. Rounding out the top-10 was Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch.

The caution flew on eight occasions for 45 laps.

The action started early, when Kyle Larson crashed along the backstretch on Lap 4.

On Lap 83, Carson Hocevar and Riley Herbst crashed on the frontstretch to bring out the third caution of the day.

On Lap 195, the caution came out after Josh Berry crashed hard into the inside wall on the backstretch. Reddick moved up the track, and the contact sent Berry spinning.

Byron continues to lead the standings. Hamlin trails Byron by 49 points.

The NASCAR Cup Series will visit Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 13 for the Food City 500. Live coverage will broadcast on FS1 at 3 p.m. ET.

Photo Credit: Hunter Thomas/TheFourthTurn.com