Denny Hamlin collects third Cup win of season
Denny Hamlin celebrates his victory in a NASCAR Cup Series auto race on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. The Associated Press
Denny Hamlin celebrates his victory with a burn out after a NASCAR Cup Series auto race on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. The Associated Press
Denny Hamlin celebrates his victory in a NASCAR Cup Series auto race on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. The Associated Press
Denny Hamlin celebrates his victory with a burn out after a NASCAR Cup Series auto race on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. The Associated Press
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BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Denny Hamlin is pulling off quite a juggling act.
Hamlin outlasted the competition at Michigan International Speedway for his third NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and 57th of his career, juggling his roles as a driver, expectant father and co-owner of a racing team that's suing NASCAR.
"The tackle box is full," Hamlin said Sunday. "There's all kinds of stuff going on."
Hamlin, in the No. 11 Toyota, went low to pass William Byron on the 197th of 200 laps and pulled away from the pack to win by more than a second over Chris Buescher.
"Just worked over the guys one by one, giving them different looks," he said.
Ty Gibbs finished third, matching a season best, followed by Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson.
The 44-year-old Hamlin was prepared to leave his team to join his fiancee, Jordan Fish, who is due to give birth to their third child, a boy. If she was in labor by Lap 50 or sooner at Michigan, he was prepared to leave the track.
Hamlin said he would skip next week's race in Mexico City if necessary to witness the birth.
To add something else to Hamlin's plate, he is also co-owner of 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan, which is involved in a lawsuit against NASCAR.
He drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, which hadn't won at Michigan in a decade.
"I think it's the most underrated track that we go to," said Hamlin, who has won three times on the 2-mile oval.
Hamlin became JGR's winningest driver, surpassing Kyle Busch's 56 victories, and the 10th driver in NASCAR history to win after his 700th start.
"It feels good because I'm going to hate it when I'm not at the level I'm at now," he said. "I will certainly retire very quicky after that."
Hamlin's team set him up with enough fuel to win while many drivers, including Byron, ran out of gas late in the race.
"It really stings," said Byron, the points leader, who was a season-worst 28th. "We just burned more (fuel) and not able to do much about that."
Elsewhere:
– Steve Torrence prevailed in the Top Fuel division of the NHRA event in Bristol, Tenn., on Sunday.
– Stewart Friesen won the DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 Craftsman Truck race on Saturday with Grant Enfinger second.