Hamlin racks up second ’24 Cup win
NASCAR did review the final restart from Sunday night’s Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway after Martin Truex Jr. accused Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin of firing off early.
“We reviewed that; we looked at it,” said Elton Sawyer, senior vice president of competition. “Obviously, the 11 (Hamlin) was the control vehicle. It was awful close, but we deemed it to be a good restart.”
Hamlin won the Toyota Owners 400 and Truex finished fourth after overtime when the final caution flew with two laps to go because of a Kyle Larson spin. The 0.269-second margin at the finish line ahead of Joey Logano gave Hamlin his second Cup win this year and 53rd overall.
The caution sent the field to pit road for the final time, which got Hamlin the race lead as he beat Truex off pit road.
The two lined up on the front row for the restart, which outside starter Truex alleged Hamlin jumped from the inside lane.
Once beaten on the restart, Truex was frustrated by feeling he was “used up” by Hamlin in Turn 1. After the checkered flag, Truex, who had made contact with Kyle Larson over the final lap and past the finish line, ran into the back bumper of his teammate.
“I went right at, for sure,” Hamlin said of the restart. “I did that because I saw those guys rolling to me. The 22 (Logano) was laying back. The 19 (Truex) was rolling a couple of miles an hour quicker than I was. So, I wasn’t going to let them have an advantage that my team earned on pit road.
“I certainly made sure once my nose got there, I took off right away.”