The first victory
Denny Hamlin managed to achieve his first win of the season in the NASCAR cup series. At the opening of this season’s playoffs at Darlington Raceway driving No. 11, Joe Gibbs Toyota Racing won ahead of Kyle Larson. He reached his fourth victory on the mentioned track and his total of 45 victories in his career.
Tonight. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/5VPkLTeo2G
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) September 5, 2021
Hamlin the fastest
This time the sun finally shone on Denny Hamlin who did not have a single victory in the season until this race. He reached 10 points and victory in the first stage. In this part of the race, Alex Bowman had a problem. He hit the outside wall in turn 3, so he went to the pit stop several times. Another driver from the playoffs, Michael McDowell, also had an accident, first hitting the outer wall and after turning, he suffered a very strong blow to the inner wall. Hamlin took the win on this stage ahead of the leader and guy with the most wins this season Kyle Larson.
Larson retorted, Hamlin fourth
Larson was the fastest in the second stage ahead of Christopher Bell while Denny Hamlin finished this part of the race in fourth place. This part of the race was certainly marked by an accident suffered by Kyle Busch who, after a strong blow to the outer wall, had to go straight to the garage, which made him visibly disappointed. The incident was also experienced by William Byron, who was left without a point in the 200th lap. He hit the wall, so the race was over for him as well. Denny Hamlin fell from second to the fourth position in the last two laps.
Close victory for Denny Hamlin
In the final part of the race, it was very exciting at the end. Larson chased after Denny Hamlin and in the end, got quite close to him. Hamlin came away with a first win in the season. Hamlin thus finally reached his first victory of the season, which will help him in the next fights. In this part of the race, after contact with Christopher Bell, the defender of the title, Chase Elliott, also experienced an incident. Ross Chastain finished the race in third place, so he was the best-placed driver out of the playoffs. Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harwick completed the top 5. Hamlin did best in a race in which many contenders for the title experienced incidents, so they recorded weaker placements than expected. This victory will be a great incentive for the next race.