Cup Series: Hamlin steals victory in overtime in Darlington

Sean McKean
6 days ago
5 min read

Written by Sean McKean

Despite William Byron dominance, it was Denny Hamlin who came out on top to take his second victory in a row in overtime. It was Hamlin’s fifth win at Darlington.

As it unfolded

William Byron got the jump and led away from pole position.

The first crash – and subsequent retirement – of the race came on Lap 4. Kyle Larson lost the rear of his car coming off Turn 2, sending him into the inside wall. The damage put the 2021 champion out of the race.

A handful of cars took to the pits. The 23XI pair of Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick led this pack.

Byron got the jump again on Lap 9.

On Lap 24, a spin by Carson Hocevar in Turn 3 brought the caution out once more.

Everyone took to the pits under caution. Byron won the race out of the pits.

Byron retained his lead on the Lap 30 restart. Further back, however, JJ Yeley tapped the wall and fell off the pace. No caution came out.

With only eight to go in the first stage, Hocevar crashed again. In trying to aggressively fight leader Byron to stay on the lead lap, the Spire driver came up on Riley Herbst in Turn 4. This sent him into a half-spin and brought the caution out again.

All drivers took to the pits for new tyres. Byron remained as leader.

Byron led the way with only two to go in Stage 1. He kept his lead until the green-and-white chequered flag. Bubba Wallace and Ryan Preece followed behind.

Stage 1 Results:

No. 24 - William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports)
No. 23 - Bubba Wallace (23XI Racing)
No. 60 - Ryan Preece (RFK Racing)
No. 17 - Chris Buescher (RFK Racing)
No. 45 - Tyler Reddick (23XI Racing)
No. 6 - Brad Keselowski (RFK Racing)
No. 12 - Ryan Blaney (Team Penske)
No. 2 - Austin Cindric (Team Penske)
No. 38 - Zane Smith (Front Row Motorsports)
No. 16 - AJ Allmendinger (Kaulig Racing)

All frontrunners stayed out.

Byron began Stage 2 as leader on Lap 99.

Pit cycles began on Lap 131 with Ryan Blaney. Whilst trying to get to pit road, Brad Keselowski went for a spin on entrance. However, no caution came out – leading to the 2012 champion doing a lap with two flat tyres. Luckily, the caution came out two laps later for debris on Lap 138.

All those who had yet to pit came down pit road.

Byron led the way on Lap 144. He held this lead until stage’s end, becoming the first driver to lead every lap in the first two stages. Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin followed behind.

Stage 2 Results:

No. 24 - William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports)
No. 22 - Joey Logano (Team Penske)
No. 11 - Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing)
No. 12 - Ryan Blaney (Team Penske)
No. 21 - Josh Berry (Wood Brothers Racing)
No. 20 - Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing)
No. 54 - Ty Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing)
No. 10 - Ty Dillon (Kaulig Racing)
No. 45 - Tyler Reddick (23XI Racing)
No. 48 - Alex Bowman (Hendrick Motorsports)

Everyone came down pit road, with Byron again winning the race off.

Byron began the final stage as leader on Lap 194. Only one lap later, however, Josh Berry became the next Turn 2 casualty. Coming off of Turn 2, Berry was battling with Tyler Reddick and got a bit overambitious – hitting Reddick’s quarter-panel and spinning into the inside wall. This put this year’s Las Vegas winner out of the race.

With 92 to go, Byron led but faced pressure by Christopher Bell for the first time. Byron came out on top.

Green flag stops began with 62 laps remaining. Notably, Byron coming into the pits with 50 laps to go ended the chance of him leading every lap of the race – a feat that hasn’t been achieved since 2000. Further, he lost two spots to Bell and new leader Tyler Reddick.

With great long run speed, Ryan Blaney began closing in on Reddick with only 20 laps to go. With eight laps remaining, Blaney cleared all cars ahead of him and closed the gap to two seconds.

Despite Reddick’s best defenses, Blaney made a deep dive in Turn 2 to take the lead, but in the process put Reddick in the wall. Reacting to Reddick’s wall hit, Kyle Larson went for another spin to the inside wall. This brought out the caution.

With the high stakes, all drivers came down pit road for tyres. Denny Hamlin won the race out of the pits followed by Reddick.

Hamlin got the jump on the ensuing restart, and that’s all he needed, as he took victory at Darlington for his second consecutive victory.

Provisional Results: