Denny Hamlin Races to Polarizing 50th Cup Win at Pocono

Denny Hamlin achieved a milestone 50th NASCAR Cup Series victory at Pocono Raceway. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)

LONG POND, Penn. – No matter how it is sliced and diced, the duel between Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson at Pocono will be talked about for a long time.

Over the years, the two friendly combatants have waged in memorable battles for position and, on occasion, for wins. From the 2021 Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington to this year’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas, the two friends have been more like foes on the track.

With all the topsy turvy action in last Sunday’s HighPoint.com 400 at Pocono Raceway, the finish and decisive pass for the win seemed apropos. Prior to the Lap 154 battle, the 2.5-mile triangular shaped superspeedway seemed more like a short track on a Saturday night.

Round 21 of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season shaped up as a wildly unpredictable scrap. As William Byron, the pole sitter, led the opening 10 laps, JJ Yeley made contact with the inside retaining SAFER barrier in the short chute on Lap 6, bringing out the only caution in Stage 1.

Not long after, Joey Logano asserted himself into the picture as he took the lead from Byron on Lap 11. Initially setting up as a cat and mouse chase between Logano and Kyle Larson, the former remained in the lead.

On the other hand, Larson initially played the long ball game by short pitting prior the end of Stage 1 to have track position in Stage 2. Despite losing out on those precious stage points, Larson would restart on the front row while Logano won Stage 1.

Moments later, the first pivotal instance of the race occurred on Lap 37 when Logano, Noah Gragson and Daniel Suárez tangled in Turn 1. Although Gragson emerged relatively unscathed, Logano and Suárez’s afternoons were curtailed in heartbreaking fashion.

A rash of Turn 1 restart incidents followed suit on Lap 43 with Austin Dillon making slight contact with his rear clip. Just two laps later, contact between Christopher Bell and Larson sent the latter into the Turn 1 wall, scraping the rear bumper of the No. 5 car.

Subsequently, the dramatics silenced for the remainder of Stage 2 with Larson opting to stretch his fuel mileage, taking the stage win but restarting midpack for Stage 3.

The action heated up on Lap 107 when Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon tangled in Turn 1, sending the latter hard into the wall. Like Tony Stewart with Matt Kenseth in the 2012 Bristol Night Race, Dillon attempted to throw his helmet toward Reddick’s car with inglorious results.

Once the fracas settled, a variety of different pit strategies eventually brought Larson back into the lead namely with a two tire and refueling call. Similarly, Hamlin parlayed the same tactic which allowed both drivers to occupy the top two spots for the balance of Stage 3.

Then, a couple of cautions resulted in the controversial Lap 154, Turn 1 tango between Larson and Hamlin.

Following the push, Hamlin made slight contact with Larson in the middle of Turn 1, sending the latter into the Turn 1 wall. Immediately, Hamlin received a bit of a paint trading rub from Larson in the Long Pond Straightaway going into Turn 2 before dropping down the serial order.

On Lap 155, Justin Haley had an incident in Turn 1 that bunched up the field for one more restart. Prior to the resumption of green flag racing, Larson expressed his displeasure with Hamlin, driving into the side of the No. 11 car in a not so celebratory manner.

With the competition relatively depleted, Hamlin made quick haste of his remaining challengers on the final restart. Prior to the final lap, Ryan Preece spun in the short chute, seemingly in position to bring out a caution and ensuring Overtime restart.

However, it was not to be for anybody wanting to challenge Hamlin further with the caution coming out on the final lap, ending the race. Hamlin drove to his second win of the year and 50th of his career.

Regardless of the milestone for Hamlin, he was showered by jeers as he explained his Lap 154, Turn 1 dos-si-dos with Larson.

There was no denying Hamlin from his seventh Pocono win last Sunday. (Photo: Sam Draiss | The Podium Finish)

“I pushed him all the way into Turn 1,” Hamlin said. “I don’t know if he didn’t have his tires clean and then he washed up the race track. We got side-by-side, and he chose not to lift. It’s just one of those things when you are on the outside the aerodynamics position, I didn’t touch him. He just made the decision not to lift.”

Contrary to Hamlin’s account, Larson offered a different explanation with restraint but noticeable anger about the Turn 1 incident.

“He gave me a really good push on the frontstretch,” Larson said. “I was never of the move that happened because he made it work on Ross (Chastain) last year. He dirtied him up. He knows. Ross deserved it last year for all the times he got into Denny. I felt like I didn’t. I deserved to be raced with respect at least through Turn 1. But he knew that was going to be his only opportunity to beat me with how bad dirty air was.

“I got used up. Just unfortunate. I felt like we’ve had a handful of run ins but I’ve never had to reach out and apologize. Sure, there’s maybe been times where he’s been frustrated with me, but I’ve never hurt his results. I should’ve been at least been top two but I finished (20th). In my eyes, I could’ve had 10 more Playoff points, two more wins if not for the No. 11. Yea, I’m pissed and I should be.”

All things considered, about the only content individuals were the podium finishers who each race for the Toyota Racing banner. Tyler Reddick, who had a productive afternoon at Pocono, took the runner up spot, giving it all he had despite his hands being tied on restarts.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t make many decisions,” Reddick said. “They were being made for me. In the closing laps, we didn’t get a lot of pushes. We didn’t really get a good push on any of the restarts and that left us in a vulnerable spot. We did everything we could in our Jordan Brand H-Wings 2 Toyota Camry TRD. Solid car.”

After winning a rain delayed Crayon 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Martin Truex Jr. followed up with a third place finish. Of course, Truex would have preferred sweeping the Northeast oval summer races.

“When I got to second behind the No. 5, I thought better take the front row and hope for a good push,” Truex said. “I fell back to third. I got the front row again, still didn’t get a good push. At least on the last one, I was able to pull the 4 (Kevin Harvick) off the 11 and get to second, just impossible to pass the leader.

“Our car was so fast, but the guy out front would get clean air and be gone. All-in-all great day, track position was king.”

All in all, Hamlin, the king of Pocono, prevailed once again despite the controversy surrounding his achievement. Still, he did not seem deterred by the fan reaction or the consequences of his win, focused on his sponsors and team that put him in position to contend for wins.

Regardless of the court of public opinion’s decision of Hamlin’s move, the No. 11 car was top of the scoring charts by race’s end at Pocono. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)

“It just means so much,” he said. “I’ve got to thank the partners Mavis, Toyota, TRD, FedEx, Sport Clips, Coca-Cola, Interstate Batteries, Jordan Brand, Shady Rays and Logitech – they are the ones that make this possible. This team right here.

“They’ve just done a phenomenal job on pit road, the strategy guys in the war room, the guys on the top of the pit box, Chris (Gabehart, crew chief) and his team, they are the ones that got me those wins.”

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Joey Logano
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Tyler Reddick
5. AJ Allmendinger
6. Michael McDowell
7. Bubba Wallace
8. Justin Haley
9. Chris Buescher
10. Erik Jones

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Kyle Larson
2. Ty Dillon
3. William Byron
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Alex Bowman
6. Tyler Reddick
7. Ty Gibbs (R)
8. Ryan Blaney
9. Bubba Wallace
10. Martin Truex Jr.

HighPoint.com 400 at Pocono Raceway Race Results