NASCAR: Denny Hamlin reached the same milestone twice
By Asher Fair
Denny Hamlin’s win in Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway marked the second time he earned his 49th career victory.
With the first ever last lap pass at Kansas Speedway, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin tied Tony Stewart for 15th place on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list, securing his 49th career victory.
Hamlin had been on a 33-race win drought, having not won since last year’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day Sunday. However, Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 win actually marked his second trip to victory lane since that crown jewel win.
Hamlin took the checkered flag to win last year’s race at Pocono Raceway ahead of then-teammate Kyle Busch. Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott finished in third place.
The win moved Denny Hamlin into a tie with Tony Stewart for 15th place on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list.
But shortly after the race, Hamlin and Busch were disqualified when their Toyotas failed post-race technical inspection, handing the win (and, yes, eventually the trophy) to Elliott. Both disqualifications came as a result of issues with the front fascia.
Before this race, no driver had been disqualified and lost a race win because of it since 1960, when Emanuel Zervakis took the checkered flag but the win was handed to runner-up Joe Weatherly after Zervakis’s car was found to have had a large fuel cell.
As a result, Stewart briefly “moved up” the wins list, despite having not competed since 2016, retaking sole possession of 15th place on the wins list. Hamlin dropped back to a 16th place tie with Herb Thomas. He had been there ever since.
Now on Sunday, Hamlin once again matched Stewart, and his No. 11 Toyota passed inspection, officially making him the 16th driver to win 49 Cup Series races. Next up on the list? Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson with 50 each.
Next. All-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list. dark
Hamlin is aiming to match Jarrett and Johnson and officially pass Stewart, which he would have done on Sunday had his Pocono win stood, in this coming Sunday afternoon’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. The race is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 starting at 3:00 p.m. ET. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss a moment of the action!