The NASCAR Cup Series was on the track at Darlington Raceway for the second time this week Wednesday night with the Toyota 500. It was the series’ first Wednesday race since 1984.
Denny Hamlin was awarded the victory at the historic South Carolina track when the race was called because of rain with 20 laps remaining.
Hamlin finished ahead of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch, who had gotten into second after spinning Chase Elliott a few laps earlier.
“I’ve got my happy face on, made sure I brought it with me today,” Hamlin said from inside his car on pit road, referring to a face mask depicting a huge smile. “The pit crew did a great job today, everybody really. I was pretty happy with how it all turned out.
“It’s a driver’s race track,” said the three-time Darlington winner. “You can move around and you can do different things to make your car handle and we got it right today.”
The victory is Hamlin’s second of the season in six races. He won the season-opening Daytona 500 in February.
Clint Bowyer won the first two stages of the race but fell back late. He finished 22nd.
Hamlin’s victory followed Kevin Harvick’s triumph in the Real Heroes 400 at Darlington on Sunday.
NASCAR at Darlington results
Finish (starting position), driver, manufacturer, laps completed
1. (16) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 208.
2. (26) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 208.
3. (20) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 208.
4. (8) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 208.
5. (13) Erik Jones, Toyota, 208.
6. (3) Joey Logano, Ford, 208.
7. (9) Aric Almirola, Ford, 208.
8. (37) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 208.
9. (7) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 208.
10. (15) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 208.
11. (24) Christopher Bell #, Toyota, 208.
12. (34) William Byron, Chevrolet, 208.
13. (14) Tyler Reddick #, Chevrolet, 208.
14. (6) Ryan Newman, Ford, 208.
15. (18) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 208.
16. (21) Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet, 208.
17. (23) Michael McDowell, Ford, 208.
18. (19) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 208.
19. (2) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 208.
20. (10) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 208.
21. (5) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 208.
22. (4) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 208.
23. (32) Chris Buescher, Ford, 208.
24. (31) Corey LaJoie, Ford, 207.
25. (39) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 207.
26. (35) Quin Houff #, Chevrolet, 207.
27. (25) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 207.
28. (29) JJ Yeley(i), Chevrolet, 207.
29. (30) Joey Gase(i), Ford, 207.
30. (11) Matt Kenseth, Chevrolet, 206.
31. (22) Cole Custer #, Ford, 206.
32. (28) Gray Gaulding, Ford, 206.
33. (33) Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, 204.
34. (36) Garrett Smithley #, Chevrolet, 204.
35. (12) John Hunter Nemechek #, Ford, 202.
36. (38) BJ McLeod(i), Chevrolet, 202.
37. (27) Brennan Poole #, Chevrolet, Transmission, 201.
38. (17) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, Accident, 200.
39. (1) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, Engine, 69.
# Rookie.
(i) Ineligible for series points.
Average speed of race winner: 104.984 mph.
Time of race: 2 hours, 42 minutes, 23 seconds. Margin of victory: Under caution.
Caution flags: 11 for 54 laps.
Lead changes: 17 among 13 drivers.
Lap leaders: R. Preece 0;T. Dillon 1-8;J. Logano 9-27;B. Wallace 28-30;C. Bowyer 31-83;M. Truex Jr. 84-99;K. Harvick 100-109;*. Suarez 110;C. Bowyer 111-128;R. Newman 129-133;E. Jones 134-160;C. Elliott 161-175;B. Keselowski 176-181;B. Poole # 182;C. Elliott 183-190;B. Keselowski 191;C. Elliott 192-196;D. Hamlin 197-208.
Leaders summary (Driver, times led, laps led): Clint Bowyer 2 times for 71 laps; Chase Elliott 3 times for 28 laps; Erik Jones 1 time for 27 laps; Joey Logano 1 time for 19 laps; Martin Truex Jr. 1 time for 16 laps; Denny Hamlin 1 time for 12 laps; Kevin Harvick 1 time for 10 laps; Ty Dillon 1 time for 8 laps; Brad Keselowski 2 times for 7 laps; Ryan Newman 1 time for 5 laps; Bubba Wallace 1 time for 3 laps; Brennan Poole # 1 time for 1 lap; * Daniel Suarez 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage 1 Top Ten: 14,19,12,88,22,10,9,11,42,37
Stage 2 Top Ten: 14,9,19,20,4,24,11,88,22,21
