Denny Hamlin now has 56 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, but it was not a dominant showing like his Martinsville victory just one week ago. Driving a throwback scheme paying tribute to Carl Edwards, Hamlin earned his fifth win at the track 'too tough to tame', in a race that was ultimately won via pit road.
First, a well-timed caution mid-race netted Hamlin a lot of track position and put him up into the top five. He was able to lap within the top five for the remainder of the race, surging from third to first on pit road during the final pit stop of the event. In the end, Hamlin led just ten laps — in a race where William Byron was up front for more than 240.
