Denny Hamlin Wins Overton's 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Denny Hamlin and the trophy for winning the Overton's 301 with his backup car

"Yeah, it’s just a great feeling," Hamlin said. "I know we’ve been getting better and better as the year goes on, but definitely needed a win for the organization and for myself and just kind of get some momentum going with the playoffs coming up—so we’ve got to get going. Really this is awesome.”

Hamlin broke a 20 race drought with this win, stemming all the way back to last season’s playoff event at Texas Motor Speedway. This was his third win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and the 30th win of his career. Hamlin passed teammate Matt Kenseth and had a 2.5-second advantage on Lap-268. Hamlin led twice for 54 laps and received 5 playoff points and 51 points for the win.

“I feel like I have been a good teammate to all my teammates, I like the dynamic that we have now and that we will have later,” Hamlin said when asked about his Joe Gibbs Racing team and what it takes to lead in this sport. “We have some young talent coming in and they will be the future. You just have to lead by example and show the work ethic that it takes to be a winner on a weekly basis and that infectious atmosphere blends in.”

Kyle Larson finished in second place, a remarkable finish considering he started the race from the rear of the field due to an illegal rear decklid fin and his qualifying time wiped out. Larson, who was faster than any car during the race, could not close the gap close enough to really attack Hamlin and finished in second for the seventh time this season.

“Finished second, but another hard-fought race,” Larson said. “You know, this is the third time we've had to start last and drove up to second. I wish we could have been a spot better again, but really proud of my team and proud of the cars that they're bringing for me to drive each and every week.”

“It seems like we have a target on our back,” Larson said. “But that's a good thing, too. It means everybody is paying attention to us. This is my fourth year, and I've never been in the position to where NASCAR and other teams are paying so much attention to our race car. That's a compliment to everybody at our race shop.”

Denny Hamlin celebrating his win at the Overton's 301 with the backup car after a crash in practice

Martin Truex Jr currently sits in first place of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Standings with 758 points and 29 playoff points. Kyle Larson is in second place, 38 points behind Truex with 720 points and 13 playoff points. Kyle Busch is in third place, with 650 points and 5 playoff points.

The next race in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.