For the first time in the illustrious career of Denny Hamlin, the No. 11 has won three races in a row with a victory at Pocono Raceway.
Hamlin started on the pole for the third race in a row, before conceding the lead in the opening stage to Kyle Larson. In the closing laps of the stage, Hamlin made his way back around Larson for the first stage win.
Hamlin emerged again in the final stage, taking the lead from teammate Christopher Bell, who ran out of fuel with just a handful of laps remaining. Denny would remain unchallenged to the checkered flag.
Tyler Reddick, whose points lead has been cut to only 19 above the No. 11, finished in the runner-up position. The No. 45 was flying in the final laps on fresher tires than the field, but the 23XI machine ran out of laps to catch Hamlin.
Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek capped off a career day with a fourth place finish. The No. 42 led, appropriately, 42 laps on the day, including a battle with Tyler Reddick in the second stage. Teammate Erik Jones came home in sixth in a strong showing for the Legacy cars.
The second stage victory went the way of Front Row Motorsports Todd Gilliland, who scored his first career stage win before fading back to 19th.
Only two cautions for incident on the day, one for a solo spin by FRM’s Zane Smith, who tagged the inside wall during a battle with Denny Hamlin and another for an accident on the front stretch involving nine cars with only Brad Keselowski’s No. 6 retiring as a result.
The NASCAR circus rolls into sunny San Diego next week for the inaugural race at the Coronado Air Base, where Hamlin looks to add his name to the list of drivers to win four-straight.
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