TC Daily Pit Stop: Denny Hamlin Masterful in Double Overtime Win at Dover; Dillon, Gibbs Advance in In-Season Tournament

TC Daily Pit Stop: Monday, July 21st, 2025

Jul 21, 2025

Denny Hamlin wins the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway — *Joe Kraus | TobyChristie.com*

Denny Hamlin admits that he wasn’t the best driver when it came to wheeling around the 1-mile concrete Dover Motor Speedway through the first half of his NASCAR Cup Series career, but the 44-year-old continues to age like a fine wine as he took his second consecutive victory at Dover in Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400.

“Winning here at Dover is super special to me. This is a place I had not been very good at in the first half of my career, and then to have back-to-back here the last few years is amazing,” Hamlin explained.

Hamlin, who says he studied some of the greats at Dover including seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr., was masterful as he had to endure a near one-hour red flag for rain on Lap 386, a double-overtime finish, and he had to out duel Chase Briscoe, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, who was on significantly fresher tires over the final restarts of the race.

Ty Dillon Sneaks Through to Final Round of In-Season Tournament

The $1 million prize is now in clear sight for Ty Dillon.

After finishing just inside the top-20 in Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway, the Lewisville, North Carolina-native defeated LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’s John Hunter Nemechek by one spot to get into the final round of the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge.

It was a close-quarters battle throughout the entire afternoon at the one-mile concrete oval, with some instances of Dillon and Nemechek racing side-by-side for position on the racetrack, and at one point even making contact just before getting lapped.

When it came down to crunch time, though, and both Dillon and Nemechek were battling to receive the free pass (awarded to the first driver off the lead lap at every caution), the Kaulig Racing driver was able to take advantage of a late restart to blast ahead of the driver of the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE.