Denny Hamlin wins at Darlington

The “Southern 500” at Darlington saw the victory of Denny Hamlin, who is having a very good start to the season with Gibbs Racing. After winning the Nationwide event, the No. 11 driver repeated the feat during the 500 miles at the North Carolina oval, leading 104 of the 367 laps. The podium is completed by Jamie McMurray and Kurt Busch, while Jeff Gordon falls short of the podium followed closely by Juan Pablo Montoya. The terrible No. 48 Jimmie Johnson is not as usual in the top positions following an accident with Allmendinger.

« We had the car to make a Top 2, » declared the winner of the weekend. “ We, Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton were really strong today. It?s so simple this season! ". But crew chief Mike Ford remains more humble in his remarks. “ I'll be honest with you, I'm surprised we got such satisfactory results, » commented the crew chief of Gibbs Racing. “ I don't want to be too optimistic but we need to focus on the Chase now. I'm so amazed that we are so fast! »

Hamlin, who is recovering from knee surgery a month ago, is also thinking about the Chase but knows there is still more to do. “ We still have a lot of racing to do before the Chase starts. Drivers who are in a comfortable position allow themselves to test things to be better prepared for what comes next. I am convinced that none of them gives in to pressure, » commented the Gibbs Racing driver. “ We're just looking to win races. That's all I can say. »

Denny Hamlin now finds himself in 6th place in the drivers' standings just behind Matt Kenseth (5th). Kevin Harvick (1st) increases his lead over Jimmie Johnson (2nd) after his retirement following a crash with Allmendinger, who lost control of his Ford Fusion and crashed into Johnson?s Chevrolet Impala.