Denny Hamlin Wins Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway, Joins Byron with 2 Wins in 2024

31 March 2024
By Bob Francis, Managing Editor
Go Full Throttle Racing News

RICHMOND, VA — “This was a team win for sure,” said Hamlin. “Each one of these pit crew members just did an amazing job. They’ve been killing it all year. Such a great feeling when you can come in and have a pit crew like that,” commented Hamlin as he celebrated his overtime win in Sunday night’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway.

After a damp Easter Sunday of off and on rain, starting the race on rain tires, and what looked like a sure Martin Truex Jr. win at 5 laps to — all changed in an instant when contact between Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson and 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace brought out the final yellow flag to force the first overtime for a NASCAR Cup Series race this season.

Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota, pits during the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway on March 31, 2024 in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota, leads Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota, on the restart to win the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway on March 31, 2024 in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

Denny Hamlin’s №11 Joe Gibbs Racing pit crew delivered a clutch pit stop to come off pit road with the lead where Hamlin was able to hold P1 on a two-lap overtime shootout to claim the Toyota Owners 400 win Sunday night at Richmond Raceway. With the win, and his win at Bristol a few weeks ago, Denny Hamlin ties Willam Byron with 2 wins each after 7 regular season races.

Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway on March 31, 2024 in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway on March 31, 2024 in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

GFT NASCAR AI Driver Rankings After Richmond

Go Full Throttle NASCAR AI Driver Rankings following the Toyota Owners 400 on March 31, 2024 at Richmond Raceway (Image Credit: GFT Digital)

Who is up, and who is down after Richmond?

Hamlin’s win moves him onto our GFT preverbal podium at P3. Overall, the biggest move up the rankings was Josh Berry, jumping 7 spots to P22. Ryan Blaney struggled throughout the night and brought home the Menards №12 Ford Mustang in 19th place, dropping him 2 spots to P4. Other falling down the rankings after the GFT algorithms crunched through all the race data were Blaney’s Team Penske teammate Austin Cendric (down 5 spots to P16) and Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman, also down 5 spots to P18. Bowman qualified P4 and looked solid early battling the leaders in Stage 1 and 2 but faded late to finish 17th.

GFT NASCAR BOX SCORE

Go Full Throttle NASCAR BOX SCORES following the Toyota Owners 400 on March 31, 2024 at Richmond Raceway (Image Credit: GFT Digital)

After 7 regular season races, William Byron and Denny Hamlin are tied at 2 wins each, Chevrolet still holds a 1 race lead in the Manufacturers column, and Hendrick Motorsports is tied with Joe Gibbs Racing at 3 wins each.

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