DOVER, Del. — Denny Hamlin called his shot even before getting to Dover Motor Speedway, guaranteeing a win on his podcast, then followed through on his bold boast that would have made the Bambino proud.
Hamlin wiggled past lapped traffic and never let Kyle Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet squeak by him over the final laps in a showdown between two of NASCAR’s elite drivers, winning Sunday’s Cup Series race by about a quarter of a second to park his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota in victory lane at Dover.
“You better win if you’re going to open your mouth, that’s for sure,” Hamlin said.
The 43-year-old Hamlin earned his 54th career win as a Cup Series driver and his third this year, with his triumph on the “Monster Mile” joining a pair of short-track victories from last month at Tennessee’s Bristol Motor Speedway and Virginia’s Richmond Raceway. He hadn’t finished in the top 10 since then, though he did get to celebrate last week at Talladega Superspeedway in his role as co-owner of 23XI Racing when Tyler Reddick took the checkered flag at the Alabama track.
Hamlin’s contribution there was a bit overshadowed by another co-owner for 23XI: Michael Jordan. For the first time since he became a Cup Series team owner, the basketball legend from North Carolina was able to savor a victory by one of his drivers in person.