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Motorsport

Denny Hamlin wins dramatic Dover NASCAR Cup race in double overtime

Denny Hamlin Christopher Bell Chase Briscoe Chevrolet NASCAR Toyota Ford NASCAR Cup Chase Elliott Joe Gibbs Racing

Denny Hamlin certainly had to earn it at Dover Motor Speedway on Sunday. After a one-hour rain delay, he had to face two hard-charging teammates in the closing laps, beating both Christopher Bell and later Chase Briscoe to capture the win.

"Things are going pretty well there before the rain," said Hamlin. "Then obviously had to endure a few restarts there. But yeah, it was tough. Those guys gave me a run for it, no doubt about it. This whole Progressive Toyota team did amazing ... winning here in Dover is super special to me. This is a place I've not been very good at the first half of my career. Having a back-to-back here over the last few years is amazing."

When the race resumed with just eight laps to go, the leaders stayed out on old tires on a green track. However, Tyler Reddick and Briscoe led the way in ninth and tenth for those who chose to pit for fresh rubber.

On the restart, Bell managed to stay side-by-side with Hamlin for the race lead, but it ended in disaster at the exit of Turn 4. Bell spun, causing a caution as both William Byron and Noah Gragson crashed trying to avoid him.

Briscoe made huge gains before the yellow came out, making it up to fourth. The race pushed into overtime, and Briscoe quickly made his way to second. On the backstretch, Ryan Preece and Zane Smith collided with Smith spinning into the inside wall.

The race was set to end in double overtime, with Hamlin now facing another teammate. Briscoe fought hard, even making contact with Hamlin as they approached the white flag, but the veteran driver managed to clear him and get away.

For Hamlin, it was his 58th career win and his fourth of the 2025 season. Briscoe was second, Alex Bowman third, Kyle Larson fourth, and Ty Gibbs fifth. Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, and Brad Keselowski filled out the remainder of the top ten.

As for the $1 million in-season challenge, Gibbs bested Reddick while Ty Dillon managed to finish ahead of John Hunter Nemechek. (Yes, it really will be Ty versus Ty in the finals at the Brickyard 400.)

Stage 1

Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing Toyota (Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)

As the race got underway, Elliott battled back-and-forth with Briscoe for the top spot. Behind them, Shane van Gisbergen slowed with a right-front tire issue, and was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop that put him almost five laps down. It was a tough break after back-to-back wins at road/street courses.

Due to no practice and qualifying on Saturday, NASCAR planned a competition caution for Lap 35, but there were no reported issues.

Daniel Suarez, Trackhouse Chevrolet (Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)

As the stage continued, Elliott found himself in a fierce battle with Daniel Suarez, who was trying desperately to not fall a lap down. Elliott eventually cleared him, winning the stage over Bell and Hamlin.

However, the fight was worth it as Suarez earned the free pass and got back on the lead lap. At the end of the stage, both Erik Jones and A.J. Allmendinger also suffered tire issues.

Stage 2

Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)

Things remained clean in the second stage, leading to green-flag pit stops. Elliott lost the lead after the car fell off the jack, giving Joe Gibbs Racing control of the race,

Hamlin was now out front, but it wasn't long until his teammate Bell snatched the lead away. Carson Hocevar was among those who ran long during the pit cycle, and later had a close call with Bell as he shot up into the outside wall, damaging the No. 77 car.

Hamlin was unable to challenge Bell as he remained trapped behind the lapped car of Ty Dillon, growing frustrated on the radio. However, Dillon was in a tense battle with John Hunter Nemechek over advancement in the $1 million in-season challenge.

William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)

Allmendinger had to go behind the wall as he lost the brakes, ending his day. At the end of the stage, Ross Chastain got held up while trying to lap Ricky Stenhouse Jr., resulting in some contact. As the stage ended, Chastain door-slammed Stenhouse.

Out front, Bell captured the stage win with Bowman second and Hamlin third.

Stage 3

Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (Photo by: Meg Oliphant / Getty Images)

As the final stage began, Bell suddenly bottomed out and spun from the lead. Shockingly, no one hit the No. 20 as the car was parked sideways in the middle of Turns 3 and 4.

On the following restart, Chastain had a run-in with Logano, who like Stenhouse, likely wanted payback for an incident at Chicago. He drove in deep, sending Chastain up the track.

Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (Photo by: Meg Oliphant / Getty Images)

As the field approached green-flag pit stops, there was some hesitation as rain showers approached. Bell and A. Dillon decided to run long, catching a caution for raindrops.

The race did eventually resume, but it was a huge track position gain for both drivers. Hamlin led the way, but Bell was right behind him, harassing him as the laps ticked away.

Mother Nature was not done with Dover yet as another cell closed in on the track. With 17 laps to go, Chastain wrecked from 13th, ending his day. While the damaged car was dragged away, the skies opened up and rain poured down onto the track.

Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)

NASCAR red-flagged the race with 13 laps to go, but they did not immediately call it. The rain shower passed over the track, soaking the concrete, but the sun quickly returned. Officials immediately sent jet driers out to get the surface ready to race again. The stoppage lasted 56 minutes, but set-up the aforementioned mad dash to the checkered flag.

Photos from Dover - Race

1 - 2
Cla	Driver	#	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Interval	Pits	Points	Retirement
1	D. Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing	11	Toyota	407	3:40'17.969		9	57
2	C. Briscoe Joe Gibbs Racing	19	Toyota	407	+0.310 3:40'18.279	0.310	10	44
3	A. Bowman Hendrick Motorsports	48	Chevrolet	407	+0.409 3:40'18.378	0.099	10	49
4	K. Larson Hendrick Motorsports	5	Chevrolet	407	+0.667 3:40'18.636	0.258	10	40
5	T. Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing	54	Toyota	407	+1.465 3:40'19.434	0.798	10	39
6	C. Elliott Hendrick Motorsports	9	Chevrolet	407	+1.497 3:40'19.466	0.032	10	48
7	B. Wallace 23XI Racing	23	Toyota	407	+1.655 3:40'19.624	0.158	10	31
8	R. Blaney Team Penske	12	Ford	407	+1.824 3:40'19.793	0.169	10	31
9	C. Buescher RFK Racing	17	Ford	407	+2.006 3:40'19.975	0.182	10	28
10	B. Keselowski RFK Racing	6	Ford	407	+2.223 3:40'20.192	0.217	10	27
11	K. Busch Richard Childress Racing	8	Chevrolet	407	+2.282 3:40'20.251	0.059	10	29
12	T. Reddick 23XI Racing	45	Toyota	407	+2.537 3:40'20.506	0.255	11	25
13	M. McDowell Spire Motorsports	71	Chevrolet	407	+2.746 3:40'20.715	0.209	10	24
14	J. Logano Team Penske	22	Ford	407	+2.812 3:40'20.781	0.066	12	25
15	A. Dillon Richard Childress Racing	3	Chevrolet	407	+2.886 3:40'20.855	0.074	10	22
16	A. Cindric Team Penske	2	Ford	407	+3.135 3:40'21.104	0.249	10	21
17	J. Haley Spire Motorsports	7	Chevrolet	407	+3.156 3:40'21.125	0.021	12	20
18	C. Bell Joe Gibbs Racing	20	Toyota	407	+3.280 3:40'21.249	0.124	12	38
19	R. Preece RFK Racing	60	Ford	407	+4.064 3:40'22.033	0.784	11	18
20	T. Dillon Kaulig Racing	10	Chevrolet	407	+5.992 3:40'23.961	1.928	11	17
21	J. Nemechek Legacy Motor Club	42	Toyota	406	+1 Lap 3:40'21.715	1 Lap	10	16
22	Z. Smith Front Row Motorsports	38	Ford	406	+1 Lap 3:40'29.199	7.484	12	15
23	R. Stenhouse Jr Hyak Motorsports	47	Chevrolet	405	+2 Laps 3:40'21.922	1 Lap	11	14
24	R. Herbst 23XI Racing	35	Toyota	405	+2 Laps 3:40'22.031	0.109	10	13
25	T. Gilliland Front Row Motorsports	34	Ford	405	+2 Laps 3:40'22.231	0.200	12	12
26	D. Suarez TrackHouse Racing	99	Chevrolet	404	+3 Laps 3:40'21.503	1 Lap	10	11
27	E. Jones Legacy Motor Club	43	Toyota	404	+3 Laps 3:40'22.228	0.725	11	10
28	J. Berry Wood Brothers Racing	21	Ford	404	+3 Laps 3:40'22.395	0.167	11	9
29	C. Custer Haas Factory Team	41	Ford	403	+4 Laps 3:40'25.128	1 Lap	9	8
30	S. van Gisbergen TrackHouse Racing	88	Chevrolet	400	+7 Laps 3:40'24.827	3 Laps	11	7
31	W. Byron Hendrick Motorsports	24	Chevrolet	393	+14 Laps 3:24'41.662	7 Laps	9	18	Accident
32	N. Gragson Front Row Motorsports	4	Ford	393	+14 Laps 3:24'41.676	0.014	11	5	Accident
33	R. Chastain TrackHouse Racing	1	Chevrolet	382	+25 Laps 3:05'23.351	11 Laps	8	4	Accident
34	J. Yeley NY Racing Team	44	Chevrolet	369	+38 Laps 3:03'10.718	13 Laps	10		Fatigue
35	C. Hocevar Spire Motorsports	77	Chevrolet	302	+105 Laps 2:55'45.509	67 Laps	9	2	Handling
36	C. Ware Rick Ware Racing	51	Ford	232	+175 Laps 2:14'52.770	70 Laps	10	1	Handling
37	A. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing	16	Chevrolet	221	+186 Laps 1:43'58.948	11 Laps	7	1	Suspension
View full results