Hamlin win caps Pocono 3race day

Denny Hamlin held off Kevin Harvick on Sunday night to win the second Cup race of the weekend at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania to flip the result of the opener.

Hamlin raced to his fourth victory of the season — and sixth at Pocono — to cap a wild, marathon day of racing at the track, with three NASCAR races and a neardarkness Cup finish. Pocono doesn’t have lights, but the pit road numbers were lit as Hamlin took the checkered flag for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Hamlin had a late vibration in his No. 11 Toyota on Saturday that hindered his attempt to catch Harvick down the stretch. About 25 hours later, Hamlin surged past Harvick and built a nearly 3second lead; Harvick’s serious run at the victory slowed because of a loose wheel.

The Daytona 500 champion won the finale of the first NASCAR tripleheader at one track. The race was delayed by lightning and rain, as much a part of Pocono as a JGR driver taking the checkered flag. Gibbs’ roster has six of the past seven winners at the 21⁄2 mile trioval.

In the first race of the day, Brandon Jones surged down the final two laps to win the wreckfilled Truck Series race. In the Xfinity race, Chase Briscoe held off Ross Chastain in overtime to win a crashfilled race.