Hamlin ends Gibbs’ drought
Driver holds off Larson for team’s first win of season.
Joe Gibbs Racing has undergone an upheaval that has prompted the team to launch a youth movement.
The bigger surprise, though, was going 0 for 2017.
Veteran driver Denny Hamlin ended that rut with the kind of finish that showed he still knows how to win.
Hamlin held off Kyle Larson over the final laps Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to send Gibbs to its first victory of the season.
JGR’s four drivers had yet to win until Hamlin took the lead with 33 of 301 laps left and held off Larson.
Hamlin’s 30th career Cup victory secured his berth in NASCAR’s 10-race playoff and ended a winless streak that dated to last September.
“Definitely needed a win for the organization, for myself,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin, who has a Cup win in each of his 12 seasons, gave everyone a laugh when he scampered away from the lobster traditionally awarded to the winner in victory lane. “I have a lobster phobia,” he said.
Larson had a sensational run from the rear, where he was forced to start because he failed inspection after he won the pole.
Larson lost his points lead last week and his crew chief was suspended after the car failed a postrace inspection at Kentucky.
Hamlin crashed his Toyota in practice and was forced to race in a backup car. It seemed to suit him just fine.
Martin Truex Jr. was third, followed by Gibbs driver Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick.
JGR won the 2015 championship with Kyle Busch and seven of the first 12 races last season. Carl Edwards was 10 laps away from a possible title when he crashed out in the finale, and then he unexpectedly retired.
Rookie Daniel Suarez replaced Edwards this season, and Hamlin, Kenseth and Busch have all made strong runs at the checkered flag without winning.
“It’s not from a lack of trying,” Hamlin said.
JGR also announced last week that Erik Jones, 21, would replace Kenseth, 45, in the No. 20 next season. Jones and Suarez will soon be expected to carry the load into the next decade once Busch and the 36-year-old Hamlin finish their careers.
“They’re going to be there long after I’m gone,” Hamlin said. “They’ll be the team leaders. You just try and set an example. Show the work ethic that it takes to be a winner on a weekly basis.”
Larson said that “the little stuff we got in trouble for so far hasn’t affected our performance. We’ve got to keep working hard on the areas on our race car that are legal and find more speed that way.”
Aric Almirola finished 24th in his first race since he suffered a fractured vertebra during a wreck May 13.
Formula One: Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton led from start to finish, earned his fourth win of the season and cut Sebastian Vettel’s lead in the championship to one point at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone, England.
Vettel’s Ferrari suffered a blown front left tire on the penultimate lap, and he finished seventh after making a pit stop. He was third at the time of the mishap, a standing that would have ensured 10 points separated him from Hamilton. He began the race with a 20-point lead.
“It could have been a bit better for sure, but a disaster? I don’t think so,” Vettel said.
Teammate Kimi Raikkonen’s car also experienced a puncture as he was set for second. It allowed Valtteri Bottas to complete a Mercedes 1-2 with Hamilton, and Raikkonen dropped to third.
“The pendulum has swung this weekend,” Hamilton said. “That is only good for Formula One and good for the fans with the close battle we continue to have.”
IndyCar: Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, in a Chevrolet, won Toronto’s street race for the second time in three years and earned his second victory of the season.
Newgarden took the lead on the 25th of 85 laps after Tony Kanaan’s crash brought out a caution, and he maintained an advantage of more than two seconds for most of the race’s remainder.
Alexander Rossi was second. Scott Dixon was 10th and leads the standings by three points over Helio Castroneves, who finished eighth. Five races remain.