Hamlin wins Texas with "a car that can overtake anyone"

Denny Hamlin had a lot of trouble during the 334-lap Texas Motor Speedway race or, as he said, multiple ways to give the race.

But he did not do it.

Hamlin won for the second time in 2019 after repeatedly recovering from misfortune at the 23rd O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 annual tournament, then refueled only at his last stop, while others took tires. who won.

It was Hamlin's 33rd win in the NASCAR Cup Series and his third place in Texas, where he won his last victory in the fall of 2010.

What happened to the driver of the Gibbs Gibson Racing Toyota on Sunday afternoon?

Speed ​​on the turn 63.

An uncontrolled tire penalty on lap 173 after winning the second leg.

He even missed the pit road at some point in green flag conditions, which cost him a few more seconds.

Hamlin: "It was a car that could really overtake anyone on the ground." Picture of Jarrett / LAT

"Just a fast car," said Hamlin in his interview before. "He [crew chief Chris Gabehart] I gave a fast car, a car that could really overtake anyone on the field, so that meant a lot. It was really a different type of race, trying to fish, trying to get out of everyone's wake.

"Proud of all the FedEx Office team here: Toyota, Coca-Cola, Jordan Brand, Little Big Burger, all who help put this race car on the track. Joe Gibbs, J.D. Gibbs – always thinking about him and his legacy. I must say hello to Jordan [Fish, girlfriend] and the children at home. Hope we all have fun tonight.

JGR's teammate, Hamlin's winner Jones, bounced back from the first spin to a late lead. Picture of Thacker / LAT

JGR's Hamlin teammate, Erik Jones, bounced back from a solo turn at the start of the race to take the lead with 59 laps to go when Texas Trucks and Xfinity winner Kyle Busch, looking for a sweep for the weekend, escaped in turn 2 and slipped on the track.

Jones kept first place until his last pit stop with 32 laps to go, where his No. 20 team put two tires. This confided Hamlin 's head until he found gasoline 15 laps from the finish, then came back to the race with 11 laps to go.

Bowyer's Stewart-Haas Racing Mustang finished second. Picture of Jarrett / LAT

Hamlin got a 2.7s lead over Clint Bowyer at the checkered flag. His Ford teammate, Stewart-Haas Ford Racing, Daniel Suarez was third and Jones fourth.

Jimmie Johnson was fifth at the checkered flag – his first of the top five since May of last year – having started in pole position and led 60 laps.

Polewinner Johnson finished fifth – his first top five in almost a year. Miller / LAT image

William Byron, Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch complete the top 10. Byron led 15 laps in the first leg, while Kyle Busch led 66 laps, a high point in the race.

Joey Logano finished 17th after winning the first stage. Team # 22 was late after having to repair Team Penske Ford Mustang's hood in the second stage when it fell.

Logano's teammates Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney were equally lucky. Keselowski finished 36th after spending time in the garage for mechanical repairs, while Blaney finished 37th after falling ahead of the race, also with a mechanical problem.

There were 27 lead changes among the 13 leaders of the Texas Speedway Cup race, with five warning flags.

RESULTS