Denny Hamlin showcases a master class in fuel-saving victory at Michigan International Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400.
Ultimately, Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota had just enough fuel to claim the checkered flag at Michigan International Speedway and do one celebratory series of burnouts in front of the huge grandstand crowd before running out of gas on his encore celebration and needing a tow to his ultimate destination: Victory Lane.
Denny Hamlin Victory at Michigan
The 44-year-old put on a master class in fuel saving and end-of-race pressure at the two-mile oval, taking his third win of the season and 57th of his career. Hamlin crossed the line 1.099 seconds ahead of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher and his JGR teammate, Ty Gibbs, after the day’s most dominant driver, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron, had to pit for fuel on the last lap.
“No, not really,’’ Hamlin said, insisting he wasn’t overly worried about running out of fuel in the closing laps. “I wanted to get the lead, and obviously, he [William Byron] was doing a really good job defending.
“Sorry, but I beat your favorite driver,’’ a grinning Hamlin – in his 701st career series start – addressed the rowdy Michigan crowd.
“This whole team just stepped up,’’ he said. “Great job. We’ve been so fast this entire year, just haven’t finished it for one reason or another, so it feels good to come to Michigan where we’ve been so close the last couple of years.
“Such a gratifying day to restart 11th or 12th and charge to the front,’’ added Hamlin, who has now won multiple races in the last seven consecutive seasons.
The Closing Laps
With 20 laps remaining, Hamlin had made his way from 11th place to fifth in the running order. He was behind the day’s most dominant cars, Carson Hocevar in the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. And Byron in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Hocevar, a Michigan native, was racing for his first career NASCAR Cup Series win. Hocevar and Byron were told they would run out of fuel before the end of the race. Instead of a fuel issue, however, Hocevar, who led 32 laps, had to pit from the race lead with 19 laps remaining for a flat tire.
Byron, who led a race-best 98 of the 200 laps, inherited the lead from Hocevar. He then had to try to fend off Hamlin. Hamlin methodically started moving forward, racing Byron hard and forcing the championship leader out of a fuel-saving mode.
The FireKeepers Casino 400 Results
Hamlin got by Byron with four laps to go. Then, Byron dove down pit road for fuel on the final lap, having to settle for a 28th-place finish. Hocevar finished 29th.
“Ultimately, maybe not as good mileage as the guys farther back to start that run and that’s just the way the cautions go and the nature of being closer to the front and burning a lot of fuel,’’ Byron said. “That one, you can’t really do a lot about. It sucks. It really stings.
“But we had a really good car. I thought we executed well It seemed like we waited a little more on fuel on that last stop and just burned more, not able to do much about that. So it is what it is.’’
Bubba Wallace drove the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota – a team Hamlin co-owns – to fourth place. Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson was fifth.
Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain was sixth. Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith finished a season-best seventh place. Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch was eighth. Finishing behind him were RFK teammates Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski. It was the first time all three RFK cars finished among the top ten this season.
There were 13 lead changes among 11 drivers, and Hamlin led only five laps on the day.
A nearly 12-minute red flag period occurred early in the race. The workers ensured the track was race-worthy after a four-car incident. The No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, driven by Alex Bowman, was sent hard into the wall after being clipped by Cole Custer’s spinning No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford. Bowman spoke to reporters after being checked out at the medical center. It marked the seventh time in the last nine races, however, that the perennial championship contender, Bowman, has finished 25th or worse.
The NASCAR Cup Series Point Standings
With 11 races remaining in the regular season, Byron holds a 41-point lead over Larson in the championship points standings. There have been nine race winners. Team Penske’s Austin Cindric currently holds the 16th and final spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs point standings.
Next Up
The NASCAR Cup Series will make its first international points-paying trip next weekend. Sunday’s Viva Mexico 250 at Mexico City’s renowned Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez road course starts at 3 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, and MAX.