MOTOR RACING: Denny Hamlin makes it 3 wins in a row, nabs 8th career title at Pocono

From Nashville to Michigan to the Poconos, the momentum of Denny Hamlin continued Sunday as he extended his winning streak and collected another checkered flag in dominant fashion.

The red-hot Toyota driver charged from behind and passed fellow Christopher Bell, his teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, to secure his career-best third consecutive victory. Hamlin won the Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, marking his eighth career win at the track and the 64th victory of his career.

With Bell’s No. 20 car running in fuel-conservation mode late in the race, Hamlin closed rapidly and made the decisive pass with four laps remaining. He finished 1.678 seconds ahead of points leader Tyler Reddick, strengthening his late-season surge.

“My first win was here in 2006. It’s just so special here,” Hamlin said after leading 28 laps on the 2.5-mile tri-oval. “This is a team effort. They’re giving me fast cars, and the pit crew is flawless right now. We’ve just got it all going.”

Reddick expressed frustration with finishing second despite maintaining the points lead throughout the race. Driving for 23XI Racing, he noted the missed opportunity in a tight championship battle.

“If the 11 wasn’t the winner, you could consider this a good day,” Reddick said. “Scoring the points we did just didn’t get the job done.”

Hamlin trimmed the points gap to 19 behind Reddick in the standings.

William Byron finished third, followed by John Hunter Nemechek and Kyle Larson to complete the top five.

Despite racing with a fractured wrist, Bell led Hamlin by 11 seconds with 21 laps remaining. However, he ran out of fuel with two laps to go, dropping to 26th and losing significant championship ground.

Toyota recorded its 10th win in 14 races at Pocono, continuing its strong performance at the triangular track.

The 160-lap event was moved up two hours due to forecasted severe weather later in the day. Larson initially surged to the front after starting alongside Hamlin and led early at the 2.5-mile circuit, building a near two-second advantage before Hamlin closed the gap in the closing laps.

Hamlin overtook Larson with five laps remaining and went on to win Stage 1 after leading 30 laps, with Larson, Ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe, and Chris Buescher following.

A caution came out on Lap 41 when Zane Smith spun in Turn 1 while battling in the pack. Later, a three-wide incident involving Shane van Gisbergen, Josh Berry, and Austin Hill triggered further disruption on the frontstretch.

Nemechek, who led a race-high 42 laps, lost the lead late in Stage 2 as pit strategy reshuffled the field. A late stop cycle allowed Front Row Motorsports’ Todd Gilliland to claim the Stage 2 win, the first of his career, ahead of Briscoe and others.

Hamlin regained control on Lap 111, passing Nemechek entering Turn 1 and maintaining the lead through the final round of pit stops. From there, he managed track position and fuel strategy to secure another victory in his streak-building run. -Field Level Media/Reuters