Sportscasting | Pure Sports
Home / NASCAR / NASCAR Cup Series Fans Respond To Denny Hamlin Claiming Rain-Delayed AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 At Dover Motor Speedway

NASCAR Cup Series Fans Respond To Denny Hamlin Claiming Rain-Delayed AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 At Dover Motor Speedway

Jeff Hawkins Written by Sports EditorJeff Hawkins
Updated –
We publish independently audited content meeting strict editorial standards. Ads on our site are served by Google AdSense and are not controlled or influenced by our editorial team.
NASCAR Cup Series Fans Respond To Denny Hamlin Claiming Rain-Delayed AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 At Dover Motor Speedway

At one time, Dover Motor Speedway was the devil to NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin.

Early in the 44-year-old’s career,  he often called the “Monster Mile” his least-favorite track.

So, Hamlin started executing extra work, often speaking to former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ryan Truex Jr. and comparing notes with Jimmie Johnson, a 10-time winner at the concrete track.

After capturing Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 title, his second consecutive win at Dover, Hamlin posted his circuit-best fourth win this season. His attitude toward the venue has been altered.

“Winning at Dover is special,” Hamlin told TNT Sports. “You learn from greats and change your game to match it.”

“Going back-to-back the last few years is amazing.”

Hamlin earned a trip to Victory Lane by controlling two overtime restarts and holding off new teammate Chase Briscoe despite racing on older tires.

Hamlin said the win came “the hard way” on his team radio after enduring two rain delays on Laps 337 and 387 and late pressure from his teammate.

X (Twitter) users responded to Hamlin winning his 58th career Cup event and No. 32-seed Ty Dillon qualifying for the In-Season Challenge championship round against Ty Gibbs next Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway …

Joey Logano established the circuit’s quickest start to 600. The reigning circuit champion placed P14 …

Ready, set … “start your engines” …

Going green at the “Monster Mile’ …

Playoff-bound Shane van Gisbergen suffered tire issues on Lap 11. After claiming the past two road-course races, he finished P30, seven laps down …

Chase Elliott takes the lead on Lap 14 and established a 1.413-second lead over the next 13 rotations …

The series teams were unable to stage practice and qualifying Saturday because of rain, so a competition caution was issued on Lap 35. The pause allowed teams to make early adjustments …

After Elliott won Stage 1 and dominated most of Stage 2, the No. 9 Chevrolet’s pit crew fumbled with a 20-plus-second pit stop, allowing Christopher Bell to claim the lead. By Lap 212, Bell led by 4.11 seconds …

After winning Stage 2, Bell executed a quick pit stop and emerged as the leader. On the restart, Bell spun out along Turn 3 six laps later. He saved his No. 20 Toyota, but it signaled a caution period …

The machines came in with 14 Laps remaining …

The track dryers took center stage Sunday afternoon …

Rain delay entertainment …

Zane Smith, running P16, missed out on valuable points after the first overtime incident …

Following a second OT restart, JGR teammates, Hamlin and Briscoe, driving on fresher tires, battled for the win. At one point, the machines touched, but both drivers eased up and Hamlin cruised to the win. When asked by TNT Sports if he had any fault with the late contact, Briscoe said: “Denny did everything fine” …

Jeff Hawkins Written by Sports EditorJeff Hawkins
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He joined the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on NASCAR's increasing corporate influences, particularly in northern racetracks — commentary which you might find Jeff building on as part of the Motorsports writing team at Sportscasting now.  
All posts by Jeff Hawkins
Other News