Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart tied on wins list

With his victory Sunday in the Advent Health 400 at Kansas Speedway, Denny Hamlin is now tied with Tony Stewart with 49 points-awarding victories in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Leading the 400-mile race on eight occasions, Hamlin’s last-lap pass with contact on race leader Kyle Larson enabled the Joe Gibbs Racing driver to pick up his first win in nearly a year.

“It’s big,” Hamlin said of tying Stewart. “Certainly that’s why I want to get at least 11 more, is that it just puts you up there with some of the really, really big names of the sport.

“But again, being matched with Tony is unbelievable. I don’t know what to say. I certainly didn’t think I’d ever have won, much less that many.”

The two drivers are now tied for 15th all-time.

Stewart and Hamlin were teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing from 2005 to 2008.

Stewart, a three-time series champion, earned two of his titles and 33 of his victories with JGR. Hamlin has earned all 49 of his with JGR.

Ahead of Hamlin and Stewart on the wins list are Ned Jarrett (50), Junior Johnson (50), Lee Petty (54), Rusty Wallace (55) and Kevin Harvick (60).

Of active drivers, Hamlin has the fourth-most wins, only behind Harvick (60), Kyle Busch (62), and Jimmie Johnson (84).