In one of the most exciting and eventful races of the season, Denny Hamlin won at the Talladega Superspeedway. He edged Matt DiBenedetto in a photo-finish for his 7th win of the season. Hamlin won the race in a triple-overtime finish and joins Kurt Busch in the Round of 8 of the playoffs.
‘Wreck after wreck’ forced the race into triple overtime, where Hamlin won in a truly thrilling finish. Hamlin crossed the finish line just 0.023 seconds ahead of DiBenedetto.
However, in more drama after the race, DiBenedetto was pushed behind to 21st place. The post-race review showed that the No. 21 driver forced William Byron below the yellow line. Chase Elliott got the same penalty. He too was pushed behind.
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A PHOTO FINISH!@DennyHamlin beats Matt DiBenedetto to WIN at @TalladegaSuperS! #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/3iFQPPInUx
— #NASCARPlayoffs on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 4, 2020
Final lap drama as Denny Hamlin wins at Talladega
A review of Hamlin’s finish found that he was forced below the yellow line and did not deliberately do so.
After DiBenedetto’s penalty, Erik Jones earned second place. He was 0.086 seconds behind Hamlin. After the race, Hamlin spoke about going below the yellow line and towards the chequered flag.
“Really excited about this win. This is unexpected for sure. Obviously, I got forced down there just like the 21 and others did. So there was a bunch of us that crashed down there,” Hamlin said.
Now a two-time Talladega winner, @DennyHamlin parks it in @Gatorade Victory Lane. #YellaWood500 | @JoeGibbsRacing pic.twitter.com/Mwof1JhptN
— Talladega Superspeedway (@TalladegaSuperS) October 4, 2020
Hamlin’s strategy works perfectly
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Denny Hamlin spent most of the race riding well behind the rest of the field. Hamlin saw as the others wrecked multiple times, and moved to the front right in time. His strategy paid off perfectly on the night.
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The final overtime started after Ryan Preece and Bubba Wallace wrecked, sending Wallace into the wall. The second overtime started after a multi-car wreck involving Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex Jr.
Hamlin won his 44th career NASCAR Cup Series race. This ties Hamlin with Bill Elliott on the 18th spot in the list of all-time race winners. This is also Hamlin’s second career win at Talladega.
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Earlier in the race, there were multiple wrecks. This included a horrific incident where Kurt Busch went airborne. Many other wrecks and crashes caused a chaotic race. Luckily, Busch was fine afterward. His brother Kyle Busch also wrecked multiple times that damaged his car completely.
Read more – WATCH: Kurt Busch Goes Flying in Horrific Multi-Car Wreck in NASCAR Cup Series Race at Talladega