Hamlin outwits teammates in contentious last-lap battle to take Cup Series victory at Nashville

Call it victorious whiplash.

Polesitter Denny Hamlin took the lead at the drop of the green flag, was penalized and re-set to last in the 38-car field for jumping that start, then rallied his way forward again in the ensuing 300 laps to be in front for the checkered flag of Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.

After a back-and-forth among teammates on a final restart with four laps remaining – which featured a three-wide last-lap challenge for the win among three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas – Hamlin delivered the manufacturer its first victory at the 1.33-mile Nashville concrete oval, his No. 11 Toyota finishing a slight .115s ahead of teammates Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe.

“The 20 [Bell] and 19 [Briscoe] were battling so hard on that first corner it just let me get to the inside of the 20 at the first corner after the restart and, from there, side-by-side with the 20,’’ Hamlin, 45, said describing the dramatic final laps that resulted in his 62nd career win.

“He [Bell] drove in so deep on that last lap into [Turn] 1 that it just allowed me to barely clear off of [Turn] 2.

“What an unbelievable day starting first, going to last and then back to first.’’

For Bell, the close finish marked his second runner-up showing in as many weeks, simultaneously frustrating and encouraging. As with Hamlin, he recovered from an early race challenge after a pit stop miscue dropped his No. 20 JGR Toyota from running among the top five to 30th place for a restart just before the finish of Stage 1.

“It was great racing, I hope the fans enjoyed that,’’ Bell said. “Just disappointed in myself, disappointed for my team. We brought a great race car and I didn’t get the job done.’’

The finish was certainly indicative of the close racing, important strategy calls and flat-out team speed ultimately necessary to finally settle a race that featured a record 31 lead changes among a record 15 drivers.

The race was delayed almost two hours because of weather, but when the action resumed, there was plenty of drama and intrigue.

The sold-out Nashville crowd issued a silent salute on lap eight to the late two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, 41, a beloved four-time Nashville winner (twice each in the CRAFTSMAN Trucks and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series), who passed away last week of sepsis.

In the laps thereafter, the intense action quickly settled in. Hamlin’s 57 laps out front were a race high, but nine different drivers led double digit laps. Eleven caution flags affected strategy throughout the night.

Hyak Motorsports’ Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished fourth in the No. 47 Chevrolet, followed by a career-best fifth-place effort by Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen. The popular New Zealand road course ace turned in one of his best flag-to-flag oval performances running among the top 10 all night. His 12 laps led in the No. 97 Trackhouse Chevrolet were the most for him on an oval track.

Reigning championship leader, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott were scored sixth and seventh, but were collected in an accident just after taking the checkered flag in a hard push by the field to the finish.

Last year’s race winner Ryan Blaney was eighth,followed by Zane Smith, whose No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford was leading until 12 laps to go. Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar was 10th. Hendrick’s Kyle Larson – the reigning series champion – led 56 laps (only one lap less than Hamlin) but finished 23rd.

The race featured two first-time stage winners on the season – Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger (Stage 1) and last week’s Charlotte race winner, Spire Motorsports’ Daniel Suárez (Stage 2).

With his sixth-place finish, Reddick remains atop the standings, 97 points ahead of Hamlin and 174 points up on Blaney in third place.

The series moves a few hours north to Michigan Speedway for next Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Denny Hamlin is the defending race winner.

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