Denny Hamlin has mastered the secrets of the ‘Black lady’. With 50 race wins registered in the Cup series, the Joe Gibbs driver competed in the Xfinity series this weekend. He ended his 6 winless Xfinity years with a flourishing win at Darlington Raceway.

Expectedly, Hamlin’s #19 Toyota suffered the wrath of the treacherous track.

Denny Hamlin’s Crew Hard at Work after Flawless Xfinity Win

Interestingly, Hamlin started 2nd in the line-up and kept his card close to himself till the tail end of the race. He overtook teammate and pole winner John Hunter Nemechek to lead 14 laps as the race carried into overtime. The moment of truth came with the 7th caution as the race restarted for a 2 laps showdown.

Eventually, he raced past #21 Austin Hill toward the checkered leaps ahead of the other drivers. The Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 marked his 18th race win in the Xfinity series. However, his racing car suffered the consequences of his impressive performance.

Hamlin posted a story of his bruised Toyota on his social media page. One of his crew members tried to clean up and repair the extensive scruff marks in the shared video clip. The damage was inevitable on the unforgiving track of Darlington. There is very little grip for the wheels to hold on to the surface. The corners are sharp and narrow, repeatedly forcing the drivers to come into close quarters together. Racers often end up driving within an inch’s distance to the wall. That proved to be fatal for racers Bobby Meyers and Buren Skeen in 1957 and 1965, respectively.

Luckily, Hamlin’s car took the brunt of the track’s torment, and he won the race in good shape. Moreover, he was confident his crew would work their magic to regain its former shine as he simply captioned the story “That’ll buff out”. For now, Hamlin is keeping his attention focused on his beloved #11 with a plan to reconquer Darlington twice in 24 hours.

Denny Hamlin’s Unparalleled Darlington Victories Would Prove to be a Boon Before Gibbs-Hendrick Faceoff

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Denny Hamlin has a phenomenal history with the menacing lanes of Darlington Raceway. He has won an unbelievable 5 races on the track. Out of which, 3 wins were at the Southern 500 Cup race, most recently in 2021. With his 6th win after the Xfinity race, Hamlin has left an indelible print on the racetrack through his car’s triumphant tires.

Read More: HMS Legend Publicly Calls Out “Big Mouth” Denny Hamlin as He Finally Gets a Championship in 2023

Saturday’s experience would come in handy for the first Cup Series playoff race on Sunday. With this year’s Cook Out Southern 500, Hamlin would race back-to-back through those threatening corners.

Remarkably, the present season’s playoffs can boast of multiple drivers with one or more wins on the racetrack. William Byron, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, and Kyle Larson would all be competing against Hamlin.

Points leader Byron won a Cup race there earlier this year. He would certainly have Hamlin’s prowess on the track in his mind before going into the race. The #24 driver for Hendrick Motorsports was asked about his thoughts on Hamlin during the pre-race interview. “I mean it’s a Gibbs-Hendrick kind of battle…about the #11, I think they’re one of the strongest teams. So yeah I anticipate him being really good at Darlington.”

After all, for Denny Hamlin, this famous track is not too tough to tame.

Watch this story: Even if Joe Gibbs Wins the Series 2023 With #11, Denny Hamlin, Known For his Big Mouth, May Not Win Another Championship