Denny Hamlin had a million reasons to make up one position Sunday late in NASCAR’s All-Star Race.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver tracked down teammate Chase Briscoe, got by with 29 laps remaining and held on to claim the $1 million payday for Sunday’s exhibition race at Dover Motor Speedway in Dover, Del.
Briscoe’s No. 19 Toyota took the point from Hamlin’s No. 11 with 52 laps left after the final restart, but Hamlin patiently hunted down his teammate’s Camry, moved by on the frontstretch and raced to the checkers by 0.887 seconds over Briscoe.
“It makes it a lot easier when you have a car this fast,” said Hamlin, who led a race-best 103 laps. “I liked (the format). It challenges you to go through traffic. … I definitely like the invert. Obviously, it caused some chaos there and took out some good cars. But overall, this was a typical All-Star Race.
“I just knew the game-changer for us was long runs and obviously the ability to pass when we were behind someone.”
The 45-year-old Hamlin won the All-Star Race for the second time (Charlotte, 2015) in his 20th start. It was also his third straight victory at Dover, including two points races.
Briscoe battled a stomach bug all weekend and wrecked in practice, but he managed the runner-up spot.
“(My team) basically rebuilt the car,” said the Indiana native, who was at the point for 61 circuits. “I wish it was a points race because we definitely need the points. … It seemed like when I got the lead, I’d be so loose that it would just make me vulnerable.”
Erik Jones finished third, followed by Austin Dillon and rookie Connor Zilisch.
The high-banked, one-mile speedway reached out on Lap 2 as the first incident happened. Ryan Preece’s Ford was moved up on the straightaway and got into the No. 5 Chevrolet of reigning title winner Kyle Larson, creating a mess in Turn 1 in a nine-car melee.
The wreck involved Cup champions Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott, whose crews scrambled to repair their cars since the drivers were locked in to the final 200-lap segment.
After a lengthy cleanup, Brad Keselowski continued to pace the field but relinquished the point to polesitter Hamlin after leading the first 16 laps. Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota quickly built a 3 1/2-second lead in 13 circuits.
Bubba Wallace passed Hamlin on the segment’s final restart, and his No. 23 Toyota won it after Riley Herbst spun in a wreck that involved Elliott for a second time, ending the day for the sport’s most popular driver.
AJ Allmendinger gathered the lead from Shane van Gisbergen in the second segment, but the road course specialist later spun. A wreck involving Keselowski, Ross Chastain and Wallace resulted in Chastain’s No. 1 being retired.
Tyler Reddick worked his way back to the front to earn the checkers in the 75-lapper over Briscoe and Hamlin, but JGR’s Ty Gibbs had a tire go down and wrecked while running sixth on Lap 126.
Briscoe passed Hamlin to lead early in the final segment, but Reddick showed strength as did a hard-charging Zilisch as the competition caution neared. Hamlin moved by Reddick to the point as the yellow waved with 125 to go.
Just after Hocevar and William Byron pitted, Joey Logano’s No. 22 Ford crashed in Turn 1 after his left-rear tire came apart.
–Field Level Media
