Hamlin eludes chaos for 2nd Daytona win
Driver dedicates victory to team owner Gibbs’ son, who died last month at 49
DAYTONA BEACH — Denny Hamlin once prevailed during the closest finish in Daytona 500 history.
On Sunday, Hamlin won one of the most chaotic.
A wild race featuring three wrecks and two red-flag stoppages totaling nearly 40 minutes during the final 10 laps of regulation came down to three of NASCAR’s top drivers battling during overtime that extended the 200-lap race to 207 circuits around the 2.5-mile oval at Daytona International Speedway.
During the second delay, a sellout crowd filled the time by reviving “The Wave.” The 14 drivers still on the lead lap sat in their parked cars on the front stretch and recharged for one final push in a greenwhite-checkered flag finish.
When the race resumed, Hamlin was ready, making sure he did not make the same mistake he did in 2018.
“I’ve been in this position — last year was in this position, but I chose the inside lane,” he said. “It was the wrong decision. I knew my playbook and the top was the place to be and it worked out well.”
Hamlin finished third last February to begin a fruitless season in his No. 11 car.
This time Hamlin held his ground, with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch on his tail and still seeking his first win at the Great American Race. Joey Logano, the 2015 Daytona 500 winner, passed Busch and looked to pressure Hamlin, who would not be denied.
This would be no photo finish like in 2016 when Hamlin held off Martin Truex Jr. at the end.
On Sunday, Hamlin coasted to the win ahead of Busch. Erik Jones, another Gibbs racer and winner of 2018 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, finished third. Logano followed.
Hamlin, a Tampa native who grew up in Virginia, dedicated the win to J.D. Gibbs, who died last month at age 49 following a four-year battle with a degenerative neurological disease. Gibbs co-founded Joe Gibbs Racing with his father and drove a No. 11 car himself during his days as a racer.
“This one is for J.D.,” Hamlin said. “We
are desperately going to miss him the rest of our lives. His legacy still lives on through Joe Gibbs Racing and proud to do this for them.”
Hamlin said he planned enjoy this Daytona 500 win more than the first one when he was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the moment.
This time, Hamlin also has more perspective, having gone winless in 2018 for the first time since he became a full-time Cup series driver in 2006.
“I think I was so dumbfounded about everything that happened the first time with the photo finish and everything,” he said of 2016. “This one lets me soak it in a little bit more. I’m going to have a terrible hangover tomorrow, but I’m going to enjoy it the rest of my life.”
Unlike his driver, team owner Joe Gibbs was overcome by the significance of the win following the nearly four-hour race.
“What happened tonight is the biggest and most emotional win I’ve had in anything,” said Gibbs, a threetime Super Bowl-winning coach. “It’s the most important night of my occupational life.”
Temperatures reaching 82 degrees by the time the green flag dropped greeted the fourth consecutive sellout crowd and created slick, fast track conditions.
The day soon shaped up to be a battle of the sport’s next generation against the old guard.
Pole-sitter William Byron, 21, sat alongside 25-year-old Alex Bowman on the youngest starting front row in Daytona 500 history.
Byron’s lead lasted just three laps when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. moved to the front of the pack. By Lap 21, the lead had changed four times, with little-known Matt DiBenedetto and Busch, a 51-time Cup Series winner, each seizing the lead position.
Nine different drivers would end up in front, with seven holding the lead for more than 10 laps over the course of a day featuring plenty of passing and aggressive side-by-side racing.
“There was some good racing today,” Busch said. “I thought the two-wide, sometimes the wide-three action, sometimes the mixing-it-up guys would get loose and get shuffled out. That was pretty intense there a few times.”
With 20 laps to go, the drivers finally settled into a single-file line, looking to bide their time until another fast-and-furious finish at Daytona.
It was not long, though, until the “Big One” arrived.
Following a restart, Paul Menard — running in 19th position — caused a 21-car pile-up when he clipped the right end of DiBenedetto’s car. The miscue sent DiBenedetto’s No. 95 car into the wall and caused a chain reaction of flying sparks, twisted metal and broken dreams.
“I’ll take the blame for that one, I guess,” Menard said.
The list of those involved included seven-time Cup season champion Jimmie Johnson, 2018 Daytona 500 winner Austin Dillon, twotime Daytona 500 pole-sitter Chase Elliott, 2017 season champion Martin Truex Jr. and DiBenedetto, who led a race-high 49 laps.
Hamlin, a 32-time winner, was thankful to return to Victory Lane for the first time since 2017 at Darlington.
It came at the expense of two teammates as Gibbs Racing became the second team to finish 1-2-3 in the Daytona 500, joining Rick Hendrick Motorsports in 1997.
Hamlin, who has won nine total races at Daytona International Speedway, said the 33-year-old Busch’s time is coming during the NASCAR’s showcase event.
Fittingly, Sunday belonged to Hamlin and the Gibbs family.
“There’s just something about Daytona that fits everything I do,” Hamlin said. “But this one’s extra special.”