2024 Wurth 400: Denny Hamlin and Toyota Take 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 narrowly won and registered the best performance of the 2024 Cup Series season.

It’s safe to say, Chevrolet cars were seen in impressive motion on Sunday. If it weren’t for Hamlin’s impressive 3rd place finish, it could have turned into another great performance for the American manufacturer on Sunday.

Denny Hamlin keeps Kyle Larson from joining Lee Petty on the all-time wins list

It’s no secret that Denny Hamlin has looked like a different driver this campaign. His aggressive and intelligent approach has shown quality and dominance on the track. Having said that, he wasn’t in the lead 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 to be touching well. In the early stages of the race, the Hendrick Motorsports driver moved up six places to P15. In fact, the track seemed to pick up the ball well early on with the drivers picking up good speed.

While it seemed positive for most drivers, it wasn’t for Joey Logano. The Team Penske driver dropped six points to P19. Even Ryan Preece struggled early on with smoke billowing from his car. It looked like the issue was with the rubber on the rocker panel, an issue that was frequently seen with Ford vehicles in the Gen 7 era.

However, good news came for Ford on lap 34 when Ryan Blaney driving P2 passed leader Kyle Busch. With that said, Blaney’s pace took a hit when the race’s first caution came out on lap 39. Todd Gilliland spun in Turn 4 to hit 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 many of the drivers took the opportunity to pit during the caution, Blaney retook the lead from the restart on lap 48.

As the #12 driver continued to lead, Larson continued his amazing run as he jumped to P6 on lap 72. Meanwhile, Ryan Preece had to make a pit stop with smoke still pouring from his car due to a door foam problem.

Then, in an interesting turn of events, William Byron passed Blaney for the lead. Not only that, Martin Truex Jr entered the top five while chasing his fifth win at Dover. It got even more interesting with 10 laps to go in Stage 1 as Larson moved into the top five after passing Kyle Busch.

Having said that, Martin Truex Jr made an amazing run with six laps to go. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver not only passed Tyler Reddick but also took the lead from William Byron. Truex Jr’s pace though was interrupted by a caution when 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 great 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 coming out of his car.

The second stage came and saw an interesting battle for P5 between Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson. The last time they emerged victorious, most were left with 113 laps in Stage 2. Interestingly, with the exception of Corey LaJoie, everyone lapped 189 laps.

During the jump, Larson made a big jump as his stop took just 9.94 seconds compared to Truex Jr.’s 12.74 seconds. While things were going well for the veterans, the same could not be said for Jimmie Johnson. The part-time Cup Series driver was running P32 with the lowest number of wins despite winning 11 times at Dover.

On the other hand, Corey LaJoie led for more than 25 laps as he remained the only driver without a win. Finally, on lap 219, Larson passed LaJoie to regain the lead. However, there was an amazing race from Alex Bowman then as he passed Truex Jr to take P2.

Despite Bowman’s best efforts, Larson went on to win Stage 2. Before the start of the final stage, many drivers chose to pit. Post the restart, Denny Hamlin led the field. While things looked normal, the race saw a caution on lap 321 as Ricky Stenhouse Jr spun on the backstretch.

On the restart, Kyle Larson took the lead with Denny Hamlin right behind him. However, when Bubba Wallace exited Turn 2, another caution came out as the incident involved Christopher Bell and William Byron as well. Following the restart on lap 339, Hamlin took the lead on the outside with Larson right behind him. Despite the constant efforts of driver #5, he was able to close within just 0.45 seconds after the 385th lap.

As the race neared its final lap, Larson pushed harder and hit Hamlin’s bumper for plenty of time. However, Denny Hamlin held on to record his third win of the 2024 Cup Series season. Interestingly, it’s only the second time in his career that a JGR driver has won three of the opening 11 races.

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

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

There is no doubt that Sunday’s race at Dover was an interesting watch. While Denny Hamlin got a well-deserved win, Chevrolet must be disappointed with how things turned out. With Kyle Busch leading at the start of the race, it improved as William Byron took the lead near the end of Stage 1.

If it weren’t for Martin Truex Jr’s amazing late run, Byron could have ended up with another Stage win. While that didn’t happen, Chevrolet was boosted by Kyle Larson’s decisive Stage 2 victory. On the day he started P21, it was an incredible achievement to win the stage.

While Larson nearly pulled off a decisive victory in the closing stages, Denny Hamlin made sure Toyota had the last laugh. Despite having five drivers in the top ten, Chevrolet was unable to capitalize. While all four Hendrick Motorsports teams put in strong performances, Hamlin was too good to win with his performance in Stage 3.

Commenting on his impressive win, the number 11 driver said, “It’s just amazing. I couldn’t hold Lee Petty’s hat.” Meanwhile, Kyle Larson looked miserable as he couldn’t pass Hamlin in the final 79 laps. The HMS driver said, “I really couldn’t do anything. Nothing can generate enough momentum 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 times in the first 11 races. At that time, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch dominated the proceedings. What? Will this incredible run help Denny Hamlin continue this campaign? Well, only time can answer that.