Denny Hamlin's double overtime triumph at Dover draws praise from NASCAR Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs: "He's after it right now."

NASCAR Cup Series AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 - Source: Getty
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Progressive Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway on July 20, 2025- Source: Getty

Denny Hamlin survived a double overtime and a rain delay to bag his fourth win of the season at Dover Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 20. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is now a 58-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series. If everything goes well for the Tampa, Florida, native, he might catch Kevin Harvick’s tally (60 wins) this year itself.

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Team owner Joe Gibbs was elated at Hamlin’s latest victory at the Monster Mile. Speaking with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio after the race, the 84-year-old Hall of Famer said,

“I gotta tell you; he's after it right now. I think that 58 (wins) for Denny is just great. At this point in his career, he is after it, in the sim, working extremely hard. I just really appreciate him and his leadership with all of our other drivers and everybody in our competition meetings. Really a big deal. Proud of him.”
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With 17 laps to go, Hamlin took the lead as his JGR teammate Christopher Bell stayed on his tail. Then, a caution emerged for Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain. But three laps later, rain hit Dover, and the field was stalled for an hour.

What was supposed to be the final restart took place with eight laps to go. Hamlin was able to outrun Bell yet again, but this time, Bell spun out, triggering a caution. Despite running on old tires, Hamlin maintained the lead in the double overtime, holding off his other teammate, Chase Briscoe, by 0.31 seconds.

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“It was tough,” Hamlin said in a statement. “Those guys gave me a run for it, no doubt about it. But this whole Progressive Toyota team just did amazing.”

Denny Hamlin is now the winningest Cup driver of 2025. He ranks fourth in the driver standings with 663 points to his name. 21 races into the season, the Toyota icon has 10 top fives and 11 top-10s.

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When NASCAR granted Denny Hamlin a playoff waiver

Denny Hamlin missed the most-awaited Mexico City race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez back in June. His fiancée, Jordan Fish, had just given birth to their third child. So Hamlin opted out of the event to stay by his fiancée's side.

As per the latest rules, a driver must take part in all point-paying races in the regular season to be eligible for the 10-race postseason. However, exceptions can be made on medical grounds, which is exactly why Denny Hamlin was handed a playoff waiver.

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Ryan Truex, the younger brother of Martin Truex Jr., also a reserve driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, drove the No. 11 car instead of Hamlin and delivered a P23 finish. Former Supercars icon and series newcomer Shane van Gisbergen won the race, marking his maiden win of the season.

Notably, that was Hamlin’s first time missing a regular-season race since a March 2014 event at Auto Club Speedway. Between that and the one in Mexico City, Denny Hamlin made 406 consecutive starts at the Cup level.

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Edited by Tushhita Barua
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