Hamlin hangs on in rain-drenched NASCAR Cup race at Dover
DOVER, Del. — Two cautions for rain, plus a red flag, turned out to be exactly what Denny Hamlin needed Sunday at Dover Motor Speedway.
Hamlin survived double overtime and ferocious challenges from his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates to earn his third Cup Series win at Dover.
“I learned from the greats, especially having a teammate like Martin Truex Jr.,” Hamlin told TNT.
On two different restarts, with 64 laps to go and eight laps to go, teammate Christopher Bell challenged Hamlin for the lead on the inside lane with fresher tires. Exiting turn four, coming to get seven to go, Bell had deja vu to an incident earlier in the race. He spun and set off a crash that also collected William Byron and Noah Gragson and sent the race into overtime.
After a crash collected Zane Smith and Ryan Preece in the first overtime, Chase Briscoe took his turn to try and dethrone Denny as the JGR juggernaut.
Briscoe had a strong restart and nearly cleared Hamlin exiting turn one on the first lap of the second overtime. Briscoe raced his teammate fairly, which allowed Hamlin to get a run and recover. They raced side-by-side down the backstretch and exiting turn four, beating and banging as Briscoe broke loose, before Hamlin secured a winning advantage entering turn one.
A year after Hamlin tied Lee Petty on the all-time wins list, at 54 career wins, Hamlin celebrated his 58th career win and his fourth on the season, the most since 2020. He’s three away from his 2020 mark and two away from win No. 60.
“We got a lot left,” Hamlin said in response to a TNT question about the 60-win milestone.
Hamlin led the final 67 laps to get the win. As a plus, he earned a bonus point for running the fastest lap of the race — 23.088 seconds on lap 407.
TOP-10 FINISHERS (LAP 407): Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Brad Keselowski.
Chase Briscoe came within three tenths of a second of getting his second win for Joe Gibbs Racing. Briscoe mounted such a strong challenge on the strength of new tires he took while the top eight stayed out for the restart eight laps to go.
Despite not winning, Briscoe replicated his Sonoma effort, scoring back-to-back runner-up finishes for the first time in his Cup career.
“I thought I did everything I needed to. I wish the Camry was three inches shorter to clear. Wanted to race him fair as a teammate. We were a fifth to tenth-place car but I would’ve loved to have won. Still, it’s a dream come true to come to the track and have a shot to win every week,” Briscoe said.
Briscoe has a win, eight top-five finishes, 10 top-10 finishes, four poles and an average finish of 14.1 — all career-high marks for Briscoe in a single season with 15 races left in the 2025 season.
Chase Elliott led three times for 238 laps but came up sixth after tire strategies shuffled the running order late in the race. Elliott was among the top-eight drivers who stayed out after the red flag. Before that, when Bell took on four fresh tires, Elliott took on two.
Through the field, Ross Chastain finished 33rd after crashing with 16 laps to go. That triggered a caution and a subsequent 56-minute, 23-second red flag.
Byron finished 31st after the post-red-flag crash. Chase Elliott took the points lead from Byron by 16 points. Elliott leads Kyle Larson by 38, Denny Hamlin by 39, Tyler Reddick by 62 and Christopher Bell by 67 with five regular-season races to go.
Bell finished 18th. He led three times for 67 laps before crashing.
Reddick finished 12th, just behind Kyle Busch who lost two points to the playoff cutline. Ryan Preece also lost points to the cutline after an overtime crash knocked him back to a 19th-place finish.
Here is the playoff cutline after Dover:
- Alex Bowman +63 points to the cutline
- Chris Buescher +44
- Bubba Wallace +16
- Ryan Preece -16
- Kyle Busch -39
- Ty Gibbs -52
Next is Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 2 p.m. ET, July 27 on TNT.
Below is an archive of the live race updates from Dover.
FINAL STAGE
Zane Smith crashes, giving Chase Briscoe a chance to face teammate Denny Hamlin on the front row for the second overtime.
This is the first time a NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover has had more than one overtime. Only two other Cup races at Dover have had one overtime… Spring 2015, Spring 2017 (37 Dover Cup races have had overtime in play).
Ty Dillon received the free pass, giving him a huge advantage to advance in the in-season tournament over John Hunter Nemechek.
Bell spins from racing Hamlin for the lead! Gragson and Byron nail the inside wall with seven laps to go… Another restart coming.
Top 10 is Hamlin, Larson, Elliott, Briscoe, Bowman, Wallace, Gibbs, Reddick, Austin Dillon, Blaney. Briscoe, Gibbs, Reddick and Blaney have fresher tires.
Elliott will take the points lead from Byron. After the wreck, Elliott was 15 points ahead of him.
Hamlin, Bell, Elliott, Larson, Bowman, Byron, Austin Dillon, Gragson stayed out. Everyone else is on two tires until you get to Zane Smith in 17th. Eight to go.
Officials, at 6:29 p.m. ET: “Drivers, fire up the engines.” They’re going to open pit road the first time by.
Officials, at 6:17 p.m. ET: “Drivers to their cars.”
The predetermined finishing time, when the race must finish by, is 8:10 p.m. ET. As of this posting, it is 5:42 p.m. Track drying could take at least an hour, meaning the race could certainly restart.
TOP 10, LAP 385: Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe. Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace, Michael McDowell, Noah Gragson, Brad Keselowski and Zane Smith run 11th through 16th.
Ross Chastain has crashed and brought out a caution with 17 laps to go. Window net is down. He ran 13th before having an issue, hitting the wall and crashing.
Chase Elliott is closing in on Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell after they warmed up their tires with their battle. Kyle Larson is also closing on all of them.
Christopher Bell is all over Denny Hamlin for the lead, lap 357.
Austin Dillon for third on Chase Elliott who has just two fresh tires compared to Dillon’s four. Dillon loses third, lap 349. Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Dillon, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe and Ryan Blaney comprise the top 10.
Christopher Bell, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman pit under caution, lap 341. William Byron pitted a lap later, leaving Denny Hamlin as the only lead lap car on the track with 11 green flag-lap old tires. 15 cars took the wave around.
Caution for rain! Christopher Bell and Austin Dillon will benefit big time from this, they hadn’t pitted and were among the six drivers on the lead lap when the caution flew on lap 336. William Byron free pass.
TOP-10 (LAP 336): Bell, Dillon, Elliott, Hamlin, Larson, Bowman, Byron, Gibbs, Reddick, Briscoe.
Joey Logano and Josh Berry get nabbed for speeding penalties, lap 328.
Kyle Busch is “wrecking loose” and has dropped to 18th after running inside the top-10… Here comes Chase Briscoe to pit road, lap 325.
Officials report the track is “all clear” and “no drops.” Lap 319. Kyle Larson goes to fourth.
As Chase Elliott is getting into lap traffic, his gap to second-place Denny Hamlin has been cut from about 3.5 seconds to 2.3… Lap 316.
Noah Gragson sits 14th, lap 302. He finished 27th and 21st in the first two stages. He goes to 13th, lap 313.
Alex Bowman loses second to Denny Hamlin. Bowman has remarkable long run speed but just can’t fire off very well in the opening laps of a stage… 36 laps into the third stage, at lap 286, as of now.
According to RaceWeather, rain may impact the finish of the race:
Logano with the bump and run to Chastain for 12th. Remember, they have that history from Chicago… Lap 269.
LAP 265: Green flag with Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin leading. Bowman takes second from Hamlin.
Wow… Christopher Bell spins from the lead but he didn’t hit the wall and no one hit him. That was remarkable! Lap 261.
Off pit road: Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace. Big stop for Elliott who will finally get to battle Bell heads-up. Elliott commanded the race from laps 14 to 184 before a pit stop issue gave control to Bell.
STAGE TWO WINNER: Christopher Bell
Christopher Bell wins Stage 2 at Dover, his second stage win of 2025. Top-10: Bell, Bowman, Hamlin, Elliott, Larson, Byron, Briscoe, Gibbs, Blaney, Wallace.
Alex Bowman to second, lap 244. If the race continues to go green like it has been all day, he could take the fight for the win to Christopher Bell.
Ryan Blaney has entered the top 10 for the first time today, lap 241. He runs behind Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, William Byron, Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs and Bubba Wallace.
Carson Hocevar is behind the wall in the DVP area after hitting the wall and getting damage. Chase Elliott challenges William Byron for fourth, lap 235.
A.J. Allmendinger pits with brake issues, lap 219. He has no right-rear brakes and brakes went straight to the floor.
During green flag pit stops, Chase Elliott had the jack drop. He dropped back to fifth after that.
Denny Hamlin lost four seconds to Christopher Bell after getting stuck behind lap car Ty Dillon.
TOP-10 (LAP 200): Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch.
Before pit stops, it was Elliott, Bell, Hamlin, Bowman, Byron, Briscoe, Larson, Gibbs, Wallace and Busch.
Carson Hocevar had a pass-through penalty for a fuel can going outside of the box.
Byron pits and starts green flag stops, lap 184.
Chase Elliott leads Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace and Kyle Busch. The top-eight positions all belong to Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports.
Daniel Suarez is back on the lead lap after his fierce defense of Chase Elliott at the end of the first stage. Stage two is 130 laps, set to end on lap 250.
STAGE ONE WINNER: Chase Elliott
STAGE ONE TOP 10 (LAP 120): Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson. Elliott claimed his first stage win of 2025.
A.J. Allmendinger had a tire issue that cost him points. Erik Jones and Cody Ware had issues.
Chase Elliott finally gets around Daniel Suarez. Kyle Larson is up to 11th, lap 116.
Ty Gibbs takes seventh from Kyle Busch, lap 113.
LAP 109: Chase Elliott is losing time trying to lap Daniel Suarez. Suarez aero-blocked Elliott, forced him up the track and got him loose. Christopher Bell is on Elliott’s bumper for the lead. A.J. Allmendinger takes ninth from Joey Logano.
Allmendinger takes 10th from Bubba Wallace. He is running lap times comparable with others in the top-10. Wallace and 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick are 11th and 12th. Reddick is loose.
Chase Briscoe drops to fifth, Joey Logano to 10th. Going forward is Alex Bowman in seventh. He can run high on the track, get momentum and maneuver when someone aero-blocks him.
Ryan Blaney gets 20th. Alex Bowman passes Joey Logano for ninth, lap 64.
Christopher Bell to second over Chase Briscoe, lap 60.
LAP 54: Chase Elliott leads Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano and Alex Bowman. Michael McDowell 12th, Chris Buescher 16th, Kyle Larson 18th, Ryan Blaney 21st, Austin Cindric 23rd. Buescher reported cool suit issues.
Green flag, lap 43. Chase Elliott launches to the lead.
Off pit road: Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch (+3), William Byron, Tyler Reddick (-2), Denny Hamlin (+2), Ty Gibbs, Joey Logano (-3), Michael McDowell.
TOP-10 (LAP 35): Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin, Michael McDowell.
Hamlin started 13th. Kyle Larson moved from 25th to 19th while Ryan Blaney moved from 31st to 26th.
Chase Elliott took the lead from Chase Briscoe after lap 15 after Elliott started on pole.
Shane van Gisbergen had a tire issue that dropped him from sixth to 37th.
RACE START
Chase Elliott and Chase Briscoe are on the pole after rain canceled practice and qualifying.
AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 Info:
Broadcast: TNT Sports, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 400 laps / 400 miles
Stages: 120 / 250 / 400
Average time of race: 3:32:48
Pit road speed: 35 mph
Caution car speed: 45 mph
Fuel Window: 100 laps
Competition Caution: Lap 35
MORE: The ‘Chase’ is on at Dover: Rain puts Elliott, Briscoe on NASCAR Cup front row
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com