CONCORD, N.C. — Denny Hamlin won the Hisense 4K TV 300 XFINITY Series Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, moving up through the field and making the pass during overtime to claim the checkered flag.
Erik Jones brought out the eighth and final caution of the event, forcing it into overtime, after contact with the wall due to a blown tire. Hamlin chose to pit for fresh tires while leader Kyle Larson and second-place Joey Logano decided to stay out on the track during the yellow flag.
The gamble paid off for Hamlin who overtook both Larson and Logano for the win.
“It was a second opportunity, obviously,” Hamlin said. ”I was hoping for that caution there at the end, and we got it and we were able to get four tires on this Hisense Camry and took off. A little closer than what I thought. I mean, we were just really tight those last couple laps, but what a great day.”
It was Hamlin’s first XFINITY victory of the season in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and his only start in the series this year. It was the fifth win of the season for the JGR entry, which includes four previous wins by Kyle Busch.
Austin Dillon, who had taken right-side tires only on his last pit stop, finished second in his No. 2 Chevrolet, relegating Logano, who led 58 laps, to a third place result in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford.
Dillon felt as though, with a little luck, he could have taken home the checkered flag.
“We were definitely a fourth or fifth-place car today. We fired off tight and had decent track position, but after the second caution, we had to start pretty deep in the field. I’m not sure what happened there. That forced Danny (Stockman, crew chief) to call for two tires on the next few stops so we could gain our spots back. I think if we would have had a little extra luck on our side on the final restart, we could have won,” he explained. “Overall, it was a good day for this Rheem team. We have a few things to figure out, but we’ll get there.”
Logano was disappointed with his result but was pleased with the speed they showed.
“The Discount Tire Ford was the fastest it’s been all year,” Logano said post race. “We can’t hold our heads down about it. We had a car that was capable of winning if circumstances went right. I felt like I was gonna have a good restart next to Kyle. I felt my restarts were a little better than his all day, and I thought, ‘OK if I can clear him,’ which we did I was like, ‘Alright, we’ve got a shot,’ but it was really hard to hold off those four tires.”
Cole Custer finished fourth in the No. 88 Chevrolet with Justin Allgaier rounding out the top five in his No. 7 Chevrolet. Larson, after leading 46 laps, finished sixth.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Daniel Suarez, finished 12th and currently leads the XFINITY Series point standings.
NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – Hisense 4K TV 300 – Complete Results
1. (3) Denny Hamlin(i), Toyota, 206.
2. (4) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 206.
3. (7) Joey Logano(i), Ford, 206.
4. (11) Cole Custer(i), Chevrolet, 206.
5. (8) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 206.
6. (5) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 206.
7. (12) Brandon Jones #, Chevrolet, 206.
8. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 206.
9. (14) Brennan Poole #, Chevrolet, 206.
10. (17) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 206.
11. (27) Jeb Burton, Ford, 206.
12. (2) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 206.
13. (19) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 206.
14. (18) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 206.
15. (31) Garrett Smithley #, Chevrolet, 206.
16. (13) Ryan Blaney(i), Ford, 205.
17. (16) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 205.
18. (20) Drew Herring, Toyota, 205.
19. (15) Ryan Reed, Ford, 204.
20. (21) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 204.
21. (23) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 204.
22. (26) Ryan Preece #, Chevrolet, 203.
23. (25) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 203.
24. (40) Harrison Rhodes, Chevrolet, 203.
25. (30) BJ McLeod #, Ford, 202.
26. (35) Martin Roy, Chevrolet, 202.
27. (9) Darrell Wallace Jr., Ford, 201.
28. (6) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 200.
29. (22) Spencer Gallagher(i), Chevrolet, 200.
30. (34) Carl Long, Toyota, 200.
31. (1) Erik Jones #, Toyota, Accident, 197.
32. (37) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 183.
33. (36) Timmy Hill(i), Chevrolet, Suspension, 130.
34. (29) Jeff Green, Toyota, Fuel Pump, 127.
35. (38) Mike Harmon, Dodge, Accident, 91.
36. (33) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, Transmission, 84.
37. (32) Ray Black Jr. #, Chevrolet, Oil Line, 27.
38. (39) Cody Ware #, Ford, Accident, 12.
39. (28) Josh Wise(i), Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 5.
40. (24) Matt DiBenedetto(i), Toyota, Vibration, 3.
