Hamlin wins wild one
Secures spot in final eight with late pass in wild ride at Talladega
Denny Hamlin avoided the crashes — many of them — at Talladega.
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Denny Hamlin was one of the last drivers standing at the end of the messiest and longest race in Talladega Superspeedway history.
The Daytona 500 winner surged to the win with a sweeping three- wide pass — the 58th lead change of the race — coming out of the final turn of the third overtime Sunday. The race went nearly 32 miles, or 12 laps, longer than scheduled because of a record 13 cautions that collected nearly every playoff contender.
Fitting for this particular wreck- fest was that Hamlin’s win needed official review. He had gone below the yellow out- of- bounds line during the third overtime, but NASCAR ruled the move was legal.
“They were crashing in front of us,” Hamlin shrugged. “Obviously, I got
forced down there.”
The crowd of 15,000 booed Hamlin as he was declared the winner. The race went more than four hours, so long that it was moved from NBC to NBC Sports Network because local news and then NFL football needed the big network.
The brutality of the day was punctuated by Kyle Busch, who was at last given a merciful exit when he was collected in an accident during the second overtime.
The reigning Cup champion is still winless this season and on the verge of playoff elimination. He was involved in a dizzying number of incidents at Talladega, including a 13- car accident in which older brother, Kurt, went airborne over Cole Custer.
Hamlin earned the automatic berth into the next round of the playoffs, joining Kurt Busch, winner last week at home track Las Vegas but one of six playoff drivers that failed to reach the finish.
“You’re on top one week with a win and everything’s fantastic,” Busch said. “And then this week we’re here at Talladega … and next thing you know, I’m going for one of the wildest rides I’ve ever been in.”
After Hamlin, Austin Dillon was the next highest-finishing playoff driver at 12th. Four of 12 drivers will be eliminated next week at The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The bottom four in the standings are Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola and Dillon.
This race got busy early with the first yellow flag before a single lap had been completed.
Hamlin deliberately waited until the last moment to make a move. It snapped a four- race slide at the start of the playoffs for Hamlin, who along with Kevin Harvick is considered a title favorite.
“I hate to say it, but you have to play the game. You have to get to the next round,” Hamlin said. “To win the championship, you have to win the last race and you have to get to the last race. For us, we played the strategy to play the numbers to make sure we got locked in.”