Sep
In a 20-lap sprint to the finish of Sunday night’s Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Denny Hamlin just couldn’t quite catch Erik Jones.
Many questioned Hamlin’s decision to be the last leader to make his last green-flag pit stop, but he was given a reprieve when a late caution for Cody Ware further congealed the field.
Kyle Busch, who had been leading when the caution came out, unexpectedly experienced an engine failure and was eliminated from the race.
With Tyler Reddick and Hamlin trailing on the resumption on Lap 348 of 367, Jones took up the lead as a result.
Hamlin swiftly shifted to second and started to pursue Jones. In the last two circuits, he nearly found himself in a position to try and overtake the leader, but fell just short.
Nevertheless, of the 16 racers competing in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, Hamlin finished first.
When asked if he could have avoided Jones in a better way, Hamlin responded, “Not without contact. Last night in Xfinity there was like 2½ seconds of falloff (on tires) in the last 15-lap run, and I think it was about a second for us in a 15-lap run.
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“So, the speeds are so fast, and so much on throttle time, it’s an error game. Erik just did a really great job.”
With two races left in the first round, Hamlin has moved up to third in the playoff rankings and is only eight points behind leader Joey Logano after this second-place result.
JGR’s late engine issues
Given that they are Joe Gibbs Racing partners and share the same engines, Busch’s engine issue late in the race presented a possible threat to Hamlin and his squad as well.
However, Hamlin had little choice except to compete hard for the victory.
“I mean, we can’t come in and change the engine. Nothing we’re going to do about it. We’re never going to give up track position to fix something even if it’s obvious anyway,” he said.
“That late in the race, I just looked at it, said it was a tough one for those guys. Obviously, it’s a bummer, but there’s nothing I’m going to change in the car, so I just concentrate on doing the best I can driving.
“Man, just a great day for Erik, great day for our team.”
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