{"id":737637,"date":"2026-06-15T05:27:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T05:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/737637\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T05:27:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T05:27:18","slug":"hamlin-and-toyota-continue-to-run-roughshod-over-nascar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/737637\/","title":{"rendered":"Hamlin and Toyota continue to run roughshod over NASCAR"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin hoisted his record eighth NASCAR Cup Series trophy at the iconic 2.5-mile Pocono track<\/a> in Sunday\u2019s The Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA \u2013 his No. 11 JGR Toyota holding off the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota of Tyler Reddick by 1.678-seconds in a dramatic fuel-saving dance to the checkered flag.<\/p>\n

The victory marks the first-time in his 21-year fulltime career Hamlin\u2019s won three consecutive races \u2013 at Nashville, Michigan and now Pocono. It\u2019s sure been a productive summer for the 45-year-old Virginian who now has 64 series wins \u2013 placing him ninth on the sport\u2019s all-time list, breaking a tie with his former teammate, the late two-time series champion Kyle Busch.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust so special here,\u201d said a smiling Hamlin of his effort at the iconic Tricky Triangle.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust so happy for this whole Joe Gibbs Racing team,\u201d he continued. \u201cThis is a team effort. They\u2019ve given me fast cars. The pit crew is flawless right now, we\u2019ve just got it all going.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say it\u2019s certainly the best we\u2019ve been,\u201d Hamlin said of his team\u2019s current confidence level. \u201cWe come to the race track every week knowing that we\u2019ve got a great shot to win. The team is doing an amazing job knowing exactly what I need in the car every week and that\u2019s why we\u2019re winning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin hoisted his record eighth NASCAR Cup Series trophy at the iconic 2.5-mile Pocono track in Sunday\u2019s The Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA\u00a0 his No. 11 JGR Toyota<\/p>\n

Now with only 10 races left to set the 16-driver Chase field, Hamlin\u2019s win streak has decisively cut Reddick\u2019s once three-digit lead atop the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings. Reddick is now only 19 points ahead of Hamlin \u2013 who along with NBA legend Michael Jordan co-owns Reddick\u2019s team. It\u2019s the smallest margin atop the standings on the year for the five-race winner Reddick.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bummer,\u201d conceded Reddick, who rallied from fifth to second place in the closing laps, after concerns of a tire going down on a late race restart.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe definitely lost time in a couple spots there. Some of it is everyone\u2019s racing hard for track position and some of it is just bad luck, I guess, just where you catch cars.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew qualifying was going to be tricky coming into this and just weren\u2019t able to get stage points \u2013 scoring the points we did, just didn\u2019t get the job done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hamlin\u2019s JGR teammate Christopher Bell who gambled with a fuel-saving strategy in the closing laps, was passed by Hamlin with five laps remaining and then ran out of gas just as the field took the white flag. He finished 26th despite his valiant effort on the day, nursing a broken left wrist he suffered in an accident last week at Michigan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were mired back in the 20s so I think it was an amazing call,\u201d Bell said of the gamble, calling the calculated risk \u201cworth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hendrick Motorsports\u2019 William Byron finished third in the No. 24 Chevrolet, followed by Legacy Motor Club\u2019s John Hunter Nemechek \u2013 claiming his first top-five finish of the season. His race best 42 laps out front in the No. 42 Toyota Sunday were more laps than he led in either the entire 2024 or 2025 seasons.<\/p>\n

Hendrick\u2019s Kyle Larson finished fifth and led laps early. Legacy\u2019s Erik Jones was sixth \u2013 his second consecutive top-10 \u2013 followed by Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing\u2019s Chris Buescher, Trackhouse Racing\u2019s Ross Chastain, JGR\u2019s Ty Gibbs and Team Penske\u2019s Ryan Blaney.<\/p>\n

Henrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott finished 11th \u2013 just missing out on a fifth consecutive Pocono top-10. Hamlin won stage one and Front Row Motorsports\u2019 Todd Gilliland claimed the stage two win \u2013 his first career stage victory.<\/p>\n

With the regular season winding down, points positions to determine which 16 drivers will race for the championship are close. Trackhouse Racing\u2019s Shane Van Gisbergen is 14th, 10 points to the clear of 17th place Brad Keselowski. Jones and Austin Cindric are ranked 15th and 16th \u2013 both only four points to the good. Team Penske\u2019s Joey Logano is behind Keselowski, 21 points out of 16th place.<\/p>\n

The NASCAR Cup Series will headline a triple-header weekend in Southern California with next Sunday\u2019s inaugural Anduril 250 (4 p.m. ET on Prime Video, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the Qualcomm Circuit on Naval Base Coronado.<\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series Race \u2013 Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA<\/p>\n

(1)\u00a0 Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 160.
\n(16)\u00a0 Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 160.
\n(9)\u00a0 William Byron, Chevrolet, 160.
\n(8)\u00a0 John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 160.
\n(2)\u00a0 Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 160.
\n(7)\u00a0 Erik Jones, Toyota, 160.
\n(6)\u00a0 Chris Buescher, Ford, 160.
\n(24)\u00a0 Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 160.
\n(4)\u00a0 Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 160.
\n(10)\u00a0 Ryan Blaney, Ford, 160.
\n(23)\u00a0 Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 160.
\n(5)\u00a0 Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 160.
\n(3)\u00a0 Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 160.
\n(17)\u00a0 Austin Cindric, Ford, 160.
\n(21)\u00a0 Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 160.
\n(25)\u00a0 Riley Herbst, Toyota, 160.
\n(13)\u00a0 Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 160.
\n(14)\u00a0 Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 160.
\n(29)\u00a0 Todd Gilliland, Ford, 160.
\n(26)\u00a0 Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 160.
\n(38)\u00a0 Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 160.
\n(19)\u00a0 AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 160.
\n(28)\u00a0 Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, 160.
\n(15)\u00a0 Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 160.
\n(32)\u00a0 Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 160.
\n(22)\u00a0 Christopher Bell, Toyota, 160.
\n(12)\u00a0 Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 160.
\n(35)\u00a0 Ryan Preece, Ford, 159.
\n(34)\u00a0 Daniel Dye(i), Chevrolet, 159.
\n(33)\u00a0 Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 159.
\n(31)\u00a0 Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 158.
\n(27)\u00a0 Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 158.
\n(20)\u00a0 Josh Berry, Ford, 157.
\n(11)\u00a0 Joey Logano, Ford, 156.
\n(30)\u00a0 Noah Gragson, Ford, Handling, 107.
\n(36)\u00a0 Casey Mears, Chevrolet, Accident, 105.
\n(18)\u00a0 Zane Smith, Ford, Handling, 66.
\n(37)\u00a0 Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 46.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:\u00a0 135.9 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:\u00a0 2 Hrs, 56 Mins, 36 Secs. Margin of Victory:\u00a0 1.678 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:\u00a0 5 for 23 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:\u00a0 17 among 11 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:\u00a0\u00a0 K. Larson 1-24;D. Hamlin 25-33;J. Nemechek 34-36;T. Reddick 37-47;J. Nemechek 48-77;E. Jones 78;C. Elliott 79-87;D. Hamlin 88-90;A. Cindric 91;T. Gilliland 92-97;C. Briscoe 98-101;J. Nemechek 102-110;D. Hamlin 111-121;T. Reddick 122-134;R. Blaney 135-137;C. Bell 138-155;D. Hamlin 156-160.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):\u00a0 John Hunter Nemechek 3 times for 42 laps; Denny Hamlin 4 times for 28 laps; Tyler Reddick 2 times for 24 laps; Kyle Larson 1 time for 24 laps; Christopher Bell 1 time for 18 laps; Chase Elliott 1 time for 9 laps; Todd Gilliland 1 time for 6 laps; Chase Briscoe 1 time for 4 laps; Ryan Blaney 1 time for 3 laps; Austin Cindric 1 time for 1 lap; Erik Jones 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 11,5,54,19,17,7,24,43,22,33<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 34,19,42,43,47,1,77,7,11,9<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin hoisted his record eighth NASCAR Cup Series trophy at the iconic 2.5-mile…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":737638,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-737637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=737637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/737638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=737637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=737637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=737637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}