Right Strategy, Masterful Defense Gives Denny Hamlin Dover Victory

Denny Hamlin had to wait more than an hour to finish the final 14 laps of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Dover Motor Speedway, due to a mid-afternoon monsoon, but in the end, it all worked out for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.

The Chesterfield, Virginia-native captured his 58th victory in the NASCAR Cup Series in the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at the one-mile concrete oval, holding his teammate Chase Briscoe behind him, despite the driver of the No. 19 have fresher tires.

While Hamlin was clearly among the top-three best cars all afternoon in Dover, Delaware, it was his crew chief Chris Gayle who chose to keep the No. 11 Progressive Insurance Toyota Camry XSE on the racetrack at a Lap 338 caution for a sprinkle – the only driver to stay on-track.

Despite having tires that were 15 laps older than those behind him, Hamlin was able to hold off the first set of pursuits, which also came from a Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, although this time it was Christopher Bell.

Bell and Hamlin played cat-and-mouse games all throughout the final 60 laps of Sunday’s contest, with the 44-year-old driver doing just enough to keep his teammate at bay until 14 laps to go, when a heavier shower came into the area and stopped the race.

It wasn’t look good to the point where NASCAR was even moving the trophy to their makeshift indoor Victory Lane, but then the sun (and a rainbow) started shining down on Dover Motor Speedway, giving the sanctioning body the vigor to try and get started again.

So, after an hour of drying the track, cars re-fired and rolled off pit road for the final 14 laps – which brought with it a strategy conundrum: Stay on the racetrack on the old tires, or pit for new ones?

RACE RESULTS: 2025 NCS AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover

The field split nearly down the middle, with seven of 20 lead-lappers staying on the racetrack, while the remainder of the field came to pit road and would restart from the back-half of the top-10.

Chase Briscoe was the biggest mover on the restart, and after jumping into the top-five, Christopher Bell spun battling for the lead, setting up NASCAR Overtime and a fourth-place running position for the No. 19.

When all the cautions were said and done, and the final restart played out, Briscoe stayed alongside the No. 11 for a while, but couldn’t quite get clear, allowing Hamlin to pull away and capture the victory – his fourth of the season.

“It is so hard. I had to hold off those tires from [Christopher Bell] and others,” Hamlin said post-race. “We definitely had the oldest tires in the field those last few restarts but got good restarts. The last one – Chase [Briscoe] actually did an amazing job, holding right there with me. Made me really nervous that he was going to clear me off of [Turn 2]. But man, we fought back. I love that we didn’t let this one slip away. This one would have hurt.”

Chase Briscoe finished in the runner-up position, continuing a legacy of strength with the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE – which prior to this season was driven by Martin Truex, Jr.

Alex Bowman showed incredible speed all afternoon, especially on the long-run, and finished a solid third-place, with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson sitting in fourth. Also on new tires, Ty Gibbs rounded out the top-five.

Chase Elliott, after leading a race-high 238 laps and dominating the first half of the event, took two tires on the final pit stop and faded back to a disappointing sixth, but did manage to take over the regular-season points lead.

Bubba Wallace stayed consistently inside the top-10 throughout the afternoon to finish in seventh, while Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-10. RFK Racing managed to put two drivers in the top-10, after struggling throughout most of the afternoon.

Christopher Bell, who led 67 laps, was battling Denny Hamlin late in the race when his No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE snapped around off of Turn 4. That wreck also collected Noah Gragson and William Byron, ending promising days for both drivers.

Leaving Dover and heading to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Chase Elliott takes over the points lead in the NASCAR Cup Series, boasting a 16-point margin over Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron. Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin sit third and fourth, 38 and 39 points behind Elliott.

Next, heading to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, we have the finale of the in-season tournament, which will see Ty Gibbs (defeating Tyler Reddick) and Ty Dillon (defeating John Hunter Nemechek) facing off for a $1 million prize.

Coverage of the Brickyard 400 will take place on Sunday, July 27 at 2:00 pm ET on TNT Sports, IMS Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

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