Hamlin Beats Penalty, Dillon and Logano for Hisense 300 Win

Denny Hamlin surged to the lead from sixth in overtime

(CONCORD, NC – MAY 28, 2016 – RIS) Denny Hamlin took advantage of a late race caution, four new tires and a brave call by crew chief Chris Gayle to win the NASCAR XFINITY Series Hisense 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Appropriately enough, Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was sponsored by the race sponsor. A penalty assessed 40 laps from the end of the race for an uncontrolled tire seemed to have put Hamlin's hopes for a race win to and end but an overtime restart after a late yellow flag allowed him to charge from sixth to the victory in just two laps.

Hamlin said that the late caution "was a second opportunity obviously. I was hoping for that caution there at the end and we got it and we were able to get four tires on this Hisense Camry and took off. A little closer than what I thought – I mean, we were just really tight those last couple laps, but what a great day. It's the Hisense 300 here at Charlotte – couldn't be prouder of that whole group being here with (Joe) Gibbs (Racing) and me and we've been in victory lane with them a bunch, but got to thank all my partners – Coca-Cola on the Coca-Cola 600 weekend. Memorial Day – got to thank all the troops for everything they do, those who have served and those that are serving. Coca-Cola, Toyota, the Jordan brand, the Greenbrier Resort. Just it takes so much effort to get these things and I love coming into these things and now I know why Kyle (Busch) wins all the time. This things easy."

Was it your call or your crew chief's call to pit at the end of the race for tires?

"It was a collaborative call. He (Chris Gayle, crew chief) leaned towards staying out, but I thought that I could get around those guys in just two laps even though we were way faster on that last run. I thought tires were the thing. I knew if I could start on the outside that I wanted new tires and it just worked out on pit road where I came out on the outside. It all worked out and it was very exciting in that last corner, a little more exciting than what I expected."

"It was a blast. I always haven't been a fan of running in this series, but it's always a lot of fun when you win them," said Hamlin. "I've had a lot of success over the last couple years of running the XFINITY Series and hopefully we learned something that can get us a little bit better tomorrow."

Runner-up Austin Dillon (No. 2 Rheem Chevrolet) commented: "the car got off pretty good. We figured if we could come out first, we would have a pretty decent shot at it. Restarting third there, that was very good. On the backstretch the 18 (Hamlin) gave us a big shove. He was able to clear Kyle there in three. I thought we might race the 42 (Larson) there, but I’m just proud of my guys for the effort. If we can catch the next group of three or four cars, I think we can get some more wins."

Third place finisher Joey Logano commented that: "I thought it was kind of supposed to be like what the All-Star Race was with old tires and new tires, but the Discount Tire Ford was the fastest it's been all year. We can't hold our heads down about it. We had a car that was capable of winning if circumstances went right. I felt like I was gonna have a good restart next to Kyle. I felt my restarts were a little better than his all day, and I thought, 'OK, if I can clear him,' which we did I was like, 'Alright, we've got a shot,' but it was really hard to hold off those four tires. What a fun race. It got really exciting there at the end. I got passed on the top by Denny, and then Kyle just kept ripping up top and had a big run into the corner, so it was fun to watch that. I was hoping they would get into each other and I would sneak one out, but, overall, I'm proud of what this team has done to get faster – both the 12 and the 22 got a lot faster here. We made good progress. There's still a ways to go for sure, but we're making forward momentum."

TAKE US THROUGH THE END OF THIS ONE. "We definitely had some fun for sure. The Discount Tire Ford is definitely a lot faster than it's been all year, so I'm proud of the effort that the guys have put into making our cars faster. We had a shot and that's the first time we've had a shot to win with this car in a long time, so that felt good. We were sitting out there with 40-lap tires on and you've got a bunch of two tires and four tires behind you, and I knew I had to get a good start at least and get by Larson, and then hope for the best at that point. I was able to execute that plan and get out in front of Larson, and then the next thing you know here comes Denny Hamlin. He was coming like crazy and I went into three thinking I was gonna win the race, and by the time I came off of four he was all over me. I said, 'Oh, boy. I may not win this one.' But overall, we have to look at the silver lining today and say there was a big improvement. We didn't win the race, but we made big improvements from where we were."

No. 6 LoudMouth Exhaust Ford Mustang driver Darrell Wallace Jr. ran consistently until an error dropped him back in the field. "We didn't have the car we wanted," Wallace said. "We were just a little bit tight on the corner exit, but that restart stuff where we slowed down to come down pit road and they put us way back there got under my skin way too much. I let the emotions get the best of me. We were running OK up top and I felt like I got in fine and the next thing you know I was in the fence. It was my mistake and it's just a bummer, especially today at home in front of family and friends."

Ryan Blaney, driving the No. 12 Snap-on Ford Mustang suffered a tire losing air late which cost him a better finish: "we were probably gonna run third there and if we had that restart at the end who knows what could happen. It's just unfortunate. We had a good car and ran third or fourth all race. I thought we were really good on the first run and drove up through the field and got some damage on the left side door on the first stop. We got run into and I thought that kind of hurt our car a little bit. We lost a little speed right there, but not a bad day for Greg Erwin gathering up a bunch of people and going to the race track. They did a good job and my pit crew did really good too, and I learned a lot of stuff for tomorrow."

Unofficial Race Results for the 35Th Annual Hisense 300 - Saturday, May 28, 2016; NASCAR XFINITY Series Race Number 11
Charlotte Motor Speedway - Concord, NC - 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 206 Laps - 309 Miles

Fin) Str, Driver, Car, Laps, Pts, Bns, Status, Tms, Laps Led
1) 3, Denny Hamlin(i), No. 18 Hisense USA Toyota, 206, 0, , Running, 5, 76
2) 4, Austin Dillon(i), No. 2 Rheem Chevrolet, 206, 0, , Running, ,
3) 7, Joey Logano(i), No. 22 Discount Tire Ford, 206, 0, , Running, 4, 58
4) 11, Cole Custer(i), No. 88 Haas Automation Chevrolet, 206, 0, , Running, 1, 1
5) 8, Justin Allgaier, No. 7 Suave Men Chevrolet, 206, 36, , Running, ,
6) 5, Kyle Larson(i), No. 42 ENEOS Chevrolet, 206, 0, , Running, 5, 46
7) 12, Brandon Jones #, No. 33 Barrett-Jackson/Menards Chevrolet, 206, 34, , Running, ,
8) 10, Ty Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet, 206, 33, , Running, ,
9) 14, Brennan Poole #, No. 48 DC Solar Chevrolet, 206, 32, , Running, ,
10) 17, Brendan Gaughan, No. 62 Pit Stops For Hope Chevrolet, 206, 31, , Running, ,
11) 27, Jeb Burton, No. 43 Rocky Ridge Custom Trucks Ford, 206, 30, , Running, ,
12) 2, Daniel Suarez, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota, 206, 30, 1, Running, 1, 2
13) 19, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 360 Tree Stands Chevrolet, 206, 28, , Running, ,
14) 18, Blake Koch, No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 206, 27, , Running, ,
15) 31, Garrett Smithley #, No. 0 Instalco/Hero Box Chevrolet, 206, 26, , Running, ,
16) 13, Ryan Blaney(i), No. 12 Snap-on Ford, 205, 0, , Running, 1, 2
17) 16, Ross Chastain, No. 4 Dream Water Chevrolet, 205, 25, 1, Running, 1, 1
18) 20, Drew Herring, No. 24 JGL Young Guns Toyota, 205, 23, , Running, ,
19) 15, Ryan Reed, No. 16 Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association Ford, 204, 22, , Running, ,
20) 21, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 All South Electric/RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet, 204, 21, , Running, ,
21) 23, Dakoda Armstrong, No. 28 WinField Be Greater Toyota, 204, 20, , Running, ,
22) 26, Ryan Preece #, No. 01 Flex Seal Chevrolet, 203, 19, , Running, ,
23) 25, JJ Yeley, No. 44 Zachry Toyota, 203, 18, , Running, ,
24) 40, Harrison Rhodes, No. 97 NC State Univeristy/Vroom Brands Chevrolet, 203, 17, , Running, ,
25) 30, BJ McLeod #, No. 78 Ford, 202, 16, , Running, ,
26) 35, Martin Roy, No. 90 Gamache Chevrolet, 202, 15, , Running, ,
27) 9, Darrell Wallace Jr., No. 6 LoudMouth Exhaust Ford, 201, 15, 1, Running, 1, 5
28) 6, Elliott Sadler, No. 1 OneMain Chevrolet, 200, 13, , Running, ,
29) 22, Spencer Gallagher(i), No. 21 Water Pulse Chevrolet, 200, 0, , Running, ,
30) 34, Carl Long, No. 13 Chris Kyle Foundation Toyota, 200, 11, , Running, ,
31) 1, Erik Jones #, No. 20 GameStop Toyota, 197, 11, 1, Accident, 2, 14
32) 37, Derrike Cope, No. 70 Ashurst American Honey/Circle Track Warehouse Chevrolet, 183, 9, , Running, ,
33) 36, Timmy Hill(i), No. 25 Sara Balaker Cancer Foundation Chevrolet, 130, 0, , Suspension, ,
34) 29, Jeff Green, No. 14 Toyota, 127, 8, 1, Fuel Pump, 1, 1
35) 38, Mike Harmon, No. 74 truckersfamilies.org Dodge, 91, 6, , Accident, ,
36) 33, Joey Gase, No. 52 Agri Supply Chevrolet, 84, 5, , Transmission, ,
37) 32, Ray Black Jr. #, No. 07 Scuba Life Chevrolet, 27, 4, , Oil Line, ,
38) 39, Cody Ware #, No. 15 JJ Aim Right Gun Shop Ford, 12, 3, , Accident, ,
39) 28, Josh Wise(i), No. 93 RSS Racing Chevrolet, 5, 0, , Rear Gear, ,
40) 24, Matt DiBenedetto(i), No. 10 Toyota, 3, 0, , Vibration, ,

(i) = Ineligible for driver points in this series; # = Rookie

Race Comments: Denny Hamlin won the Hisense 4K TV 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, his 15th career NASCAR XFINITY Series victory. Prior to the start of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reason indicated: No. 25 and No. 43 (unapproved adjustments)

Failed to Qualify: (2) 40 TJ Bell, 89 Morgan Shepherd

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 41 Mins, 54 Secs. Average Speed: 114.515 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.291 Seconds

Caution Flags: 8 for 54 laps: Laps: 15-19 (#15 Spin in Turn 4 [74]); 26-41 (#20, 19 and 1 Accident in Turn 4 [70]); 45-49 (#0 and 90 Accident in Turn 4 [19]); 55-58 (Debris in Turn 2 [14]); 64-71 (#16 Accident in Turn 4 [21]); 116-120 (Debris on pit road [39]); 158-163 (Debris on Turn 4 [0]); 200-204 (#20 Accident in Turn 3 [0])

Lead Changes: 21 among 10 drivers: E. Jones # 1-13; D. Hamlin(i) 14-15; E. Jones # 16; J. Green 17; D. Hamlin(i) 18-49; K. Larson(i) 50-54; D. Wallace Jr. 55-59; R. Chastain 60; D. Hamlin(i) 61-97; K. Larson(i) 98-111; R. Blaney(i) 112-113; C. Custer(i) 114; D. Suarez 115-116; D. Hamlin(i) 117-120; J. Logano(i) 121-147; K. Larson(i) 148-159; J. Logano(i) 160; K. Larson(i) 161-165; J. Logano(i) 166-194; K. Larson(i) 195-204; J. Logano(i) 205; D. Hamlin(i) 206;

Top 10 Driver Points: (1) D. Suarez 376;(2) E. Sadler 362;(3) J. Allgaier 353;(4) T. Dillon 352;(5) B. Gaughan 336;(6) B. Jones # 324;(7) E. Jones # 320;(8) B. Poole  314;(9) D. Wallace Jr. 283;(10) R. Reed 266

Coors Light Pole Award : Erik Jones, 184.546 mph

Duralast Brakes "Brake in the Race" : Denny Hamlin, #18

Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Joe Gibbs Racing Engines - Mark Cronquist, #18 Mobil 1 Driver of the Race : Denny Hamlin, #18

Sunoco Rookie of the Race : Brandon Jones, No 33 Barrett-Jackson/Menards Chevrolet

John Davison

Long-time RIS staffer, beginning in the mid-80s. Charlotte, NC area local contact.

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Volume 2016, Issue 5, Posted 10:37 PM, 05.28.2016