Hamlin holds off Larson to snag Cup win at Dover
DOVER, Del. — Denny Hamlin held off a hard-charging Kyle Larson over the final thrilling laps and wiggled through lapped traffic to win the NASCAR Cup race by about a quarter of a second Sunday at Dover Motor Speedway.
Hamlin’s third win of the season tied William Byron for the most this season in the series. Hamlin also picked up his 54th career Cup win, all with Joe Gibbs Racing. He’s tied with Lee Petty for 12th on the career Cup list.
“It’s just fantastic,” Hamlin said. “I couldn’t hold Lee Petty’s helmet.”
Larson finished second and nipped at Hamlin’s bumper for most of the final 25 laps and seemed on the brink of passing the Toyota. Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet just couldn’t close the deal on the mile concrete track. Hamlin took the lead off a restart with about 79 laps left and never let it go, repeatedly closing off Larson at the top of the track.
“I just couldn’t really do anything,” Larson said. “Nothing could generate enough speed to get close enough to do anything.”
Hamlin was soundly booed as he grabbed the checkered flag — boos louder than usual at the track because of a big crowd. He led 136 of the 400 laps.
After rainouts forced Monday races each of the past two years, the sun came out Sunday — and so did the fans. The grandstands were packed and the track came close to its 54,000 capacity. While NASCAR tracks do not release attendance numbers, the crowd was easily the largest at Dover since before the pandemic.
Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott completed the top five.
THE BIG ONE
There was a multicar wreck with 71 laps left in the race that took out Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace and William Byron.
Coming off a restart, Zane Smith appeared to get into the left rear of Wallace’s Toyota which sent him into traffic and into Byron and Bell. Wallace was running 11th at the time of the wreck. Bell was 16th and Byron 18th.
ALL-STAR SUB
Kevin Harvick, the 2014 NASCAR champion who retired at the end of last season, will drive the No. 5 Chevrolet in place of Kyle Larson in practice and qualifying for the NASCAR All-Star race.
Larson will stay in Indianapolis on May 17 to practice for the Indianapolis 500 rather than travel to North Wilkesboro Speedway to practice and qualify for the NASCAR All-Star race. He will become the fifth driver in history to attempt to complete “The Double” and run 1,100 miles in one day, starting with the Indianapolis 500 in an IndyCar and then flying to Charlotte to drive in the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR’s longest race of the year.
UP NEXT
Kansas Speedway, where Denny Hamlin is the defending race winner.
The San Diego Padres placed right-hander Michael King on the 15-day injured list Thursday because of left knee inflammation.
King (4-2, 2.81 ERA) had just come off the IL on Saturday, allowing two runs in as many innings of a no-decision against the Boston Red Sox.
It was his first start since May 18 as he dealt with shoulder inflammation.
Now, he’s back on the IL with a knee issue in a move retroactive to Monday.
It’s a setback for a red-hot Padres team, who will carry a five-game winning streak into a weekend showdown against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. First-place San Diego is one game ahead of L.A. in the NL West.
King had been scheduled to start the series opener Friday.
In the corresponding roster move, the Padres recalled right-hander Randy Vásquez from Triple-A El Paso.
While the Milwaukee Brewers keep on rolling, another Wisconsin business is stocking up on beef and buns.
For the third time in its history, George Webb Restaurants will make good on its promise of giving away free hamburgers as part of a longstanding promotion to celebrate the Brewers winning 12 consecutive games.
The free burger giveaway will be held Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. CT at all 23 of the restaurant’s locations throughout Wisconsin. Vouchers for a burger at a later date will be available at all locations starting Friday.
“Hungry fans are welcome to stop by any location for a free, juicy burger and some camaraderie with fellow baseball fans,” the restaurant said on its website.
Starting way back in the 1940s, when Milwaukee was home to the minor league Brewers of the old American Association, George Webb promised free burgers if the local baseball team won 17 consecutive games.
The promotion dropped to 13 games by the time the Braves made Milwaukee a big league city in 1953, but that franchise couldn’t make it happen before departing for Atlanta in 1966.
George Webb changed the promotion to 12 games when the Brewers moved from Seattle in 1970. In 1987, the Brewers opened the season with 13 wins in a row, and more than 170,000 burgers were given away to mark the occasion.
The Brewers accomplished the feat a second time in 2018, closing the regular season with eight victories followed by four playoff wins. That streak led to 90,000 free burgers being given away in addition to 100,000 redeemable vouchers.
Prior to reaching the magic mark on Wednesday, the Brewers had come close on a few occasions, including an 11-game winning streak earlier this season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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