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Three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin stole an overtime victory in Sunday night's Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway. The win marked his second of the season and fifth at home.
A last-minute restart and a quick pit stop helped Joe Gibbs Racing star secure a win over his teammate Martin Truex Jr., who had a dominant outing, leading 228 of 407 laps.
However, Hamlin’s win sparked controversy. The NASCAR world has been divided about whether Hamlin jumped the restart in the final laps of the Richmond race or not.
NASCAR, the governing body of the sport, reviewed the final restart of the Richmond race after Truex Jr. accused his teammate Hamlin of firing off early. Speaking to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, the senior vice president of competition at NASCAR, Elton Sawyer confirmed that Denny Hamlin did not jump on the restart.
Sawyer said:
“We reviewed that. Obviously, the 11 was a controlled vehicle, it was awful close but we deemed it to be a good restart,”
On the final restart, Truex Jr. and Hamlin began the race on the front row. Truex Jr., who lined up outside, alleged that Hamlin had jumped from the inside lane.
“I took off right away” – Denny Hamlin on overtime restart
The #11 JGR driver secured two wins in the last three races. Describing his strategy during a restart in the race, he mentioned how he accelerated quickly after the restart to gain an advantage over Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr.
During the post-race interview, Hamlin said (racer.com):
“Yeah, I mean, I went right at (the restart zone), for sure. I did that because I saw those guys rolling to me. (Joey Logano) was laying back. (Maritn Truex Jr.) was rolling a couple miles an hour quicker than I was.”
“I wasn’t going to let them have an advantage that my team earned on pit road. Certainly made sure I went to my nose, got there. But I took off right away. Still, we were side by side down the water into Turn 1.”
With the victory in Richmond, Denny Hamlin gained 252 points and is third in the NASCAR Cup Series points table after seven races.
