Joe Gibbs Racing rules behind Denny Hamlin

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida – Denny Hamlin continued the worst season of his career in the NASCAR Cup series by making a trip down the track of victories in the biggest race of the season for a particularly moving victory.

After finishing the 2018 season without a win – a first for veteran Joe Gibbs Racing – Toyota's # 11 driver began its 14th full-time season by surviving the last wild and wreck-filled laps for win his second career title at Daytona 500 Sunday.

"This year is a brand new wax ball, it's a complete reset," said Hamlin after his victory for the 32nd career Cup. "There was no doubt, whether it was last year's package or this year's, we will succeed and win some races."

But for the 38-year-old, this victory was "extra special".

J.D. Gibbs, co-founder of JGR and eldest son of Joe Gibbs, died in January at the age of 49 years following a degenerative neurological disease, and the team dedicated him victory on Twitter.

For his first Daytona 500 win in 2016, Hamlin won by the narrowest margin in the race history, beating Martin Truex Jr by 0.01 seconds. But on Sunday, he beat his teammate Kyle Busch in an extension on lap 205 to become the 12th driver to win several Daytona 500s.

Although Truex, who had joined Joe Gibbs Racing after the 2018 season, had turned round 190, three cars were still used at the end of the match. And they took the opportunity, with Hamlin, Busch and Erik Jones finishing 1-2-3. This is the second time in Daytona 500 history that a team finishes with the top three places after Hendrick Motorsports in 1997.

"This is the most moving and the biggest victory of my life – in everything," said team owner Joe Gibbs, who led the Washington Redskins to three Super Bowl wins.

"It was just an amazing night, an incredible crowd. All this was for me only a special memory, it is a memory that I will never forget, and it is the most important night of my professional life. "

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Although number 11 was Hamlin's car number, it was also J.D. Gibbs' favorite number, said Joe, and the one he wore while playing football. So in the 11th round of the Daytona 500, the team members of the four teams lined up in their stands to honor the late co-founder.

Hamlin also ran with a sticker honoring J.D. just outside his window on the car.

"I know (Joe Gibbs) would have been happy to see any of his cars win," said Hamlin. "But obviously, with the name and number of his son on the door, it's probably a little more special."

Jones called this a "nice storybook" and the team's Twitter account dedicated the victory to J.D.

Even the fourth, Joey Logano – the champion of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series of Monster Energy who has driven for the Gibbs organization from 2009 to 2012 – had to admit that the end of the race was something special .

"I'm a good driver, but what J.D. has done for my career is why I'm sitting here today," Logano said after the race.

"As bad as I want to win, it's pretty cool than the first race after his win – to see these cars (finish) 1-2-3 – that says he's there to watch and maybe to be giving you an extra boost there at the end. "

Follow Michelle R. Martinelli on Twitter @ MMartinelli4.