2024 Wurth 400: Denny Hamlin & Toyota Take Over Victory Lane as Chevrolet Falls Short at Dover

The NASCAR Cup Series returned to Dover for the first time since 2021 on Sunday. It all started well for Chevrolet, with Kyle Busch taking the pole position. However, his former teammate and Toyota driver Denny Hamlin clinched a narrow win and registered another dominating performance in the 2024 Cup Series season.

It is safe to say that the Chevrolet cars looked impressive on Sunday. Had it not been for Hamlin’s impressive Stage 3 run, it could have turned into another stellar performance for the American-based manufacturer on Sunday.

Denny Hamlin holds off Kyle Larson to tie with Lee Petty on the all-time wins list

It is no secret that Denny Hamlin has looked like a different driver this campaign. His aggressive and tactical approach has displayed excellence and dominance on the track. Having said that, he wasn’t quite in the leading pack despite starting P6 early on Sunday.

Kyle Busch led the pack on Sunday after winning his first pole in 2024. While Rowdy dominated the opening stages, Kyle Larson looked in fine touch. In the early phase of the race, the Hendrick Motorsports driver moved up six spots to P15. In fact, the track looked to be taking rubber nicely early on, with drivers picking up good speed.

While it looked positive for many drivers, it wasn’t the case for Joey Logano. The Team Penske driver dropped six spots to P19. Even Ryan Preece struggled early on as smoke emerged from his car. It seemed like the issue was with rubber building up in the rocker panel, an issue frequently seen with Ford cars in the Gen 7 era.

However, good news came in for Ford in the 34th lap when P2-running Ryan Blaney passed the leader, Kyle Busch. Having said that, Blaney’s momentum took a hit when the race’s first caution came out on the 39th lap. Todd Gilliland spun off Turn 4 to crash into the inside wall.

Before the caution came out, Tyler Reddick passed Busch for P2. Interestingly, Larson continued his impressive run as he jumped to P13 despite starting P21. While the majority of the drivers took the opportunity to pit during the caution, Blaney resumed with the lead from the restart in the 48th lap.

While the #12 driver continued to lead, Larson carried on having an amazing run as he jumped to P6 in the 72nd lap. Parallely, Ryan Preece was forced to visit the garage as smoke continued emerging out of his car because of a door foam issue.

Then, in an interesting change of events, William Byron passed Blaney for the lead. Not only that, Martin Truex Jr entered the top five as he hunted for his fifth victory at Dover. It only got more interesting with 10 laps remaining in Stage 1 as Larson entered the top five after passing Kyle Busch.

Having said that, Martin Truex Jr made a stunning run with six laps remaining. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver not only passed Tyler Reddick but also overtook the lead from William Byron. Truex Jr’s momentum was interrupted with caution as Brad Keselowski spun in Turn 2 with a flat rear tire.

However, that didn’t stop Truex Jr from winning Stage 1. Indeed, it was a stunning run from the #19 driver, who won the stage after starting P15. Interestingly, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers finished in the top ten after Stage 1. Unfortunately for Ryan Preece, his race ended with smoke emerging from his car.

On came the second stage, and it witnessed an interesting battle for P5 between Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson. While the latter came out victorious, a lot was left to come with 113 laps in Stage 2. Interestingly, except for Corey LaJoie, everyone pitted around the 189th lap.

During pitting, Larson managed to make a significant jump as his stop consumed only 9.94 seconds in comparison to Truex Jr’s 12.74 seconds. While it was going well for the veterans, the same could not be said for Jimmie Johnson. The part-time Cup Series driver was running P32 being multiple laps down despite winning 11 times at Dover.

On the other hand, Corey LaJoie led for over 25 laps as he remained the only driver to not pit. Eventually, in the 219th lap, Larson passed LaJoie to regain the leading position. However, there was some amazing racing from Alex Bowman then as he passed Truex Jr to take the P2 position.

During pitting, Larson managed to make a significant jump, as his stop consumed only 9.94 seconds in comparison to Truex Jr.’s 12.74 seconds. While it was going well for the veterans, the same could not be said for Jimmie Johnson. The part-time Cup Series driver was running P32 multiple laps down despite winning 11 times at Dover.

On the other hand, Corey LaJoie led for over 25 laps as he remained the only driver to not pit. Eventually, in the 219th lap, Larson passed LaJoie to regain the leading position. However, there was some amazing racing from Alex Bowman as he passed Truex Jr to take the P2 position.

At the restart, Kyle Larson took the lead, with Denny Hamlin behind him. However, as Bubba Wallace spun off Turn 2, another caution came out, as the incident involved Christopher Bell and William Byron as well. Following the restart in the 339th lap, Hamlin led outside with Larson behind him. Despite the #5 driver’s constant efforts, he was able to close in on only 0.45 seconds after the 385th lap.

Hamlin’s 54th Cup Series career win on Sunday tied him with Lee Petty at 12th on the all-time win list. Unfortunately for Chevrolet, what started off as a promising day ended in disappointment.

Chevrolet failed to capitalize on a positive start at Dover on Sunday

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There is no doubt that the race on Sunday at Dover was an interesting watch. While Denny Hamlin clinched a well-deserving victory, Chevrolet must be disappointed with how things went. With Kyle Busch leading at the start of the race, it only got better with William Byron leading almost at the end of Stage 1.

Had it not been for Martin Truex Jr’s impressive late run, Byron could have ended up with another stage win. While that didn’t happen, Chevrolet was boosted by Kyle Larson’s terrific Stage 2 victory. On a day when he started P21, it was a phenomenal achievement to clinch a stage win.

While Larson almost pulled off a stunning victory in the final stages, Denny Hamlin ensured Toyota had the final laugh. Despite having five drivers in the top ten, Chevrolet just couldn’t capitalize. While all four Hendrick Motorsports teams displayed a fine performance, Hamlin was too good to beat with his performance in Stage 3.

Speaking on his impressive win, the #11 driver said, “It’s just fantastic. I couldn’t hold Lee Petty’s helmet.” At the same time, Kyle Larson looked quite dejected, as he couldn’t pass Hamlin in the final 79 laps. The HMS driver said, “I just couldn’t really do anything. Nothing could generate enough speed to get close enough to do anything.”

Hamlin is now tied for three wins this season with Chevrolet’s William Byron. Interestingly, this is the first season since 2018 that two drivers have each won three of the first 11 races. Back then, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch dominated the proceedings. Will this amazing run help Denny Hamlin go all the way with this campaign? Well, only time can answer that.