Hamlin takes the lead out of pits and holds off Byron in overtime to win at Darlington Raceway.
Associated Press
DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Denny Hamlin took the lead coming out of the pits before a final overtime finish and held off William Byron to win the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday.
Hamlin won for a second straight week after his success at Martinsville and for the fifth time overall at Darlington, the most of any current driver.
Hamlin chose the outside lane for a final restart and shot out to the lead and pulled away from series points leader Byron and NASCAR wins leader Christopher Bell.
Hamlin looked like he'd have a strong finish, but not a winning one as Ryan Blaney passed Tyler Reddick for the lead with three laps left. But moments later, Kyle Larson spun out forcing a final caution and the extra laps.
It was then time for Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing pit crew to shine as it got him out quickly and in the lead.
Byron, who led the first 243 laps, was second with Hamlin's JGR teammate Bell in third.
'There are two people I really love right now, my pit crew and Kyle Larson,' Hamlin said to a round of boos from those in the stands.
Reddick was fourth and Blaney was fifth. Bad day
Kyle Larson, who won the Southern 500 here in 2023, had high hopes for a second Darlington win. But he slid into the inside wall coming off the second turn on lap three and went right to garage where his team worked the next couple of hours to get him back on track. Larson returned on lap 164 after falling 161 laps off the pace. Larson finished next to last in 37th. Biffle's ride
Greg Biffle, the last NASCAR driver to win consecutive Cup Series victories at Darlington in 2006 and 2007, drove the pace car for the Goodyear 400 on Sunday. Biffle has had an eventful few months, flying rescue missions with his helicopter into areas of the Southeast affected by devastating Hurricane Helene in September.
Biffle was planning a weeklong trip to the Bahamas when his phone started going off about people stranded in parts of Western North Carolina.
'I went to the hangar and the power was out,' Biffle said. 'We got the hangar down open with the tug and got the helicopter out. Once I got in the air, I realized what had taken place."
Biffle then flew the next 11 days from 'sunup to sundown."
'It was incredible,' Biffle said. 'It was pretty tough going for the first week.'
Biffle won the Myers Brothers Humanitarian Award for his work. Up next
The series goes to Bristol on April 13 before taking its traditional Easter break.
___
AP NASCAR: https://apnews.com/hub/nascar-racing
recommended
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
19 minutes ago
- New York Post
Kirk Cousins sounds resigned to his sad Falcons fate
Kirk Cousins might have already accepted his football fate. Cousins was at the Falcons' mandatory minicamp on Tuesday and seemed to know that his days as a starting quarterback in the NFL might be over. 'Obviously, you'd love to play,' Cousins told reporters. 'But I'm not gonna dwell on things that aren't reality.' Advertisement Cousins, 36, is coming off one of his worst seasons in the league in his 13-year career. He started in 14 games for the Falcons, throwing 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions with a QBR of 50.4 Advertisement His season came to an end after being benched for rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in week 16, as the Falcons missed out on the playoffs. It's expected that Cousins will become Penix's backup this year, as Atlanta might be left with the 36-year-old quarterback at the start of the 2025 season. Many thought the Falcons would wait until the June 1 deadline to cut the $180 million quarterback, but that deadline has come and gone, and Cousins is still in Atlanta. 3 Kirk Cousins at Falcons minicamp. AP Advertisement That leaves the only option for both parties — a trade. Nevertheless, even that seems less likely with each passing day. 3 Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr. together at Falcons minicamp. AP The Steelers were the last team that desperately needed a quarterback but now have their guy in Aaron Rodgers. Advertisement Cousins said he's not looking at the past and hopes the Falcons have success this year. 3 Kirk Cousins in action at Falcons minicamp. AP 'Certainly there were conversations in January, February, March, even April, but we're moving forward now,' Cousins added. 'Those are things we talked about months ago. Now we need to move forward. Right now, it's about the situation I'm in and being the best I can be and hopefully, in February, we as an organization are holding up the Lombardi Trophy.'
Fox Sports
24 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Brendan Donovan leaves Cardinals' loss early with toe discomfort
Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals utilityman Brendan Donovan left Tuesday night's game against the Toronto Blue Jays with left toe discomfort. Donovan, who has mainly played second base this season but was the leftfielder on Tuesday, left the game after striking out on a nine-pitch at-bat in the eighth inning in the Cardinals' 10-9 loss. 'It's kind of the joint in his big toe,' Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. 'You can see that last at-bat, he couldn't even get off his backside there. It was hurting him pretty bad so we took him out.' Donovan received treatment but did not have an x-ray after the game. He is considered day to day. 'I was running around in the outfield, and it just started bugging me, and then it kind of just got progressively worse, and then it just got real grumpy at me,' Donovan said. Donovan said that there wasn't one moment that he hurt it, that it was more of a repetitive use injury. 'It's on my left foot, so kind of that foot that I tend to rotate off of,' Donovan said. 'I think that's kind of what led to me coming out of the game. … Just kind of sleep on it, reevaluate it tomorrow, and then go from there.' It would be a blow to the Cardinals if Donovan misses any time. Donovan won a Gold Glove as a rookie in 2022 and is putting together his best season at the plate hitting .310 with four home runs and 26 RBIs as the No. 3 batter in the St. Louis order. 'Donny's a big part of what we're about here,' Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas said. 'You know, the way he can move around the diamond and obviously, you know, be a really consistent anchor in that lineup as far as driving the ball and getting on base and driving runs in. You know, that's a bridge we'd have to cross if that happens.' ___ AP MLB: recommended
Hamilton Spectator
25 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Brendan Donovan leaves Cardinals' loss early with toe discomfort
ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals utilityman Brendan Donovan left Tuesday night's game against the Toronto Blue Jays with left toe discomfort. Donovan, who has mainly played second base this season but was the leftfielder on Tuesday, left the game after striking out on a nine-pitch at-bat in the eighth inning in the Cardinals' 10-9 loss . 'It's kind of the joint in his big toe,' Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. 'You can see that last at-bat, he couldn't even get off his backside there. It was hurting him pretty bad so we took him out.' Donovan received treatment but did not have an x-ray after the game. He is considered day to day. 'I was running around in the outfield, and it just started bugging me, and then it kind of just got progressively worse, and then it just got real grumpy at me,' Donovan said. Donovan said that there wasn't one moment that he hurt it, that it was more of a repetitive use injury. 'It's on my left foot, so kind of that foot that I tend to rotate off of,' Donovan said. 'I think that's kind of what led to me coming out of the game. … Just kind of sleep on it, reevaluate it tomorrow, and then go from there.' It would be a blow to the Cardinals if Donovan misses any time. Donovan won a Gold Glove as a rookie in 2022 and is putting together his best season at the plate hitting .310 with four home runs and 26 RBIs as the No. 3 batter in the St. Louis order. 'Donny's a big part of what we're about here,' Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas said. 'You know, the way he can move around the diamond and obviously, you know, be a really consistent anchor in that lineup as far as driving the ball and getting on base and driving runs in. You know, that's a bridge we'd have to cross if that happens.' ___ AP MLB:
