Denny Hamlin breaks down winning Dover strategy, reveals he was 'amazed' in final restarts

Denny Hamlin was happy with how everything played out at the NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway. On the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin broke down his strategy at Dover that led to his fourth victory of the season.

“When we were the only ones to stay out, trust me, I had my doubts,” Denny Hamlin said. “If you can get a row or two buffer, you’re in pretty good shape. But I had the fresh tires starting on my inside for that restart. The 20 (Christopher Bell) got the caution that he needed to get back in the race when the rain came.

“It flipped everything over. We said, ‘Screw it. Let’s just control this restart, and hopefully win the race.’ We were able to fend them off multiple times with old tires. People will remember the end of the race, but when I had that seven or eight lap older tires on that first restart with the 20 before the long run, it was touch and go. I was amazed how quickly we were able to get through one and two there.”

Denny Hamlin had his share of challenges at Dover

Hamlin won the race despite a 56-minute rain delay and two overtime restarts. Even though he was on older tires, Hamlin got a jump on the field in both restarts and held off his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe, who finished second.

Hamlin is the first driver to win four races this year. He also earned his 58th career Cup Series race victory, and it’s his first win since the birth of son, Jameson, last month.

“It was tough, those guys gave me a run for it, no doubt about it. Winning here at Dover is super special to me,’’ Hamlin said after the race during the TNT broadcast. “This is a place I had not been very good at the first half of my career and then to have back-to-back (wins) here the last couple years is amazing.’’

Hamlin sits on top of the NASCAR playoff standings with 24 playoff points. The goal for him now is to finish the regular season strong and go on a playoff run to win his first Cup Series title.