LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Denny Hamlin chalked up his record seventh win at Pocono Raceway — “Eight, right?” he quipped — to nothing more than coming out ahead after a hard, respectful duel with Kyle Larson over the furious final laps.
Hamlin’s take: His Toyota held firm in the middle lane while Larson’s Chevrolet ran out of room on the outside when it got choked in a tight aerodynamic situation and sailed into the wall.
Larson’s view: His so-called good buddy Hamlin ran him up the track, smashed him into the wall and derailed his chance at the win.
Larson was furious. Hamlin shrugged it off. After all, he had the win at Pocono — and this time it counted.
Hamlin returned to victory lane Sunday a year after his first-place finish was thrown out, giving him a track-record seven wins and 50 overall in his Cup career.
Hamlin won for the second time this season and also gave Toyota its 600th NASCAR victory. Afterward, he stood firm that he did not even brush Larson.
“I’m not here to defend anything,” Hamlin said. “How can you wreck someone you don’t touch?”
Hamlin passed Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon — for the second straight year — for most wins at the tri-oval track. Hamlin and his former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch had their 1-2 finishes stripped a year ago by NASCAR for aerodynamics violations.
That made Hamlin the first disqualified Cup winner since April 17, 1960, when Emanuel Zervakis’ victory at Wilson Speedway in North Carolina was thrown out because of an oversized fuel tank.
“That was a bitter disappointment for us last year,” team owner Joe Gibbs said. “Hopefully today, that’s not going to be the case and we get through inspection.”
They did. Hamlin laughed as he referenced the reason for the DQ, saying, “there’s no tape on the car this time.”
But Hamlin might have to go to the videotape to see if his No. 11 Toyota really did make contact with Larson. The pair bumped and battled over the final laps before the three-time Daytona 500 winner pulled away on the final restart and won with the caution flag out.
“Damn, man, we’re all racing for a win and I guarantee you, roles reversed, it goes the same way,” Hamlin said.
The sold-out crowd — Pocono’s largest since 2010 — showered Hamlin with boos.
“I love it,” Hamlin said. “They can boo my rock out of here in a few years.”
Pocono paints rocks outside the garage to honor of some of NASCAR’s greats, such as Jimmie Johnson and Richard Petty. Hamlin swept two races at Pocono in his rookie season in 2006, and added wins in 2009, 2010, 2019 and 2020.
