DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) – Denny Hamlin has run for championships before without success. He’s worked hard this season to make sure his latest try for a title the way he and his team want.
Hamlin won for the second time this season and established himself a strong contender for his first NASCAR crown when he overcame a bad mistake to take the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
Hamlin reeled in Martin Truex Jr. with three laps left, erasing a deficit of some 20 seconds to sweep Darlington’s throwback weekend.
After a regular-season finish at Richmond International Raceway next week, the playoffs get going and Hamlin again plans to be hot on the heels of regular-season points champion Truex.
We’ve been at this point before where we had wins going into the playoffs,” Hamlin said. “Luck has kept us from championships in the past and mistakes have kept us from championships in the past. Not many times has it been performance.”