GFT Race Report: Darlington — Hamlin wins Goodyear 400 while Byron holds P1 in GFT AI Rankings
6 April 2025
By Bob Francis, Managing Editor
Go Full Throttle Racing News
DARLINGTON, SC — Denny Hamlin makes back-2-back appearances in victory lane as he follows up his Martinsville win a week ago with another win Sunday in the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway — to cap off NASCAR’s throwback weekend.
GFT NASCAR AI Driver Rankings after the Goodyear 400 at Darlington
William Byron’s dominant performance through most of the race delivered at 56 point day by winning Stages 1 & 2 and finishing 2nd. Ryan Blaney moved into P2 with a 5th place finish while Kyle Larson’s challenging day and 37th place finish dropped him 2 spots to P4 in the GFT NASCAR AI Driver Rankings. Hamlin and Bell (winner and P3) both moved up 4 spots in the ranking models.
RACE SUMMARY:
Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron earned the pole position with a blistering lap in Saturday’s qualifying session for the Goodyear 400. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, fresh off a win last week at Martinsville, also emerged as a favorite after a solid qualifying run, joined by drivers like Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, and Bubba Wallace, who all posted impressive speeds. The stage was set for a classic Darlington showdown.
LARSON OUT EARLY
One of the favorites was Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson, but a spin and heavy contact with the inside wall put the №5 team in the garage to make repairs at lap 5. Larson would eventually return to the race to try and salvage any points — of which he earned 1 point for finishing 37th ahead of another damaged car, the 44 of JJ Yeley.
As the race neared the final 50 laps, tire wear and pit strategy played pivotal roles as did a series of caution flags that cost Byron the lead. The №45 of Tyler Reddick looked to have played the tire strategy and built a extensive lead in the closing laps. They the best “long-run” car of Ryan Blaney took the lead away from Reddick and he looked to be in control of the race.
A late caution with just seven laps remaining forced teams to make critical decisions as the race extended into overtime after a wreck in the closing laps. Hamlin’s №11 team executed a flawless final pit stop, vaulting him to the lead exiting pit road. Hamlin, a Darlington veteran, held firm against a hard-charging Byron, crossing the finish line to claim his second consecutive Cup Series win of 2025. His victory, punctuated by a celebratory burnout on the front stretch, moved him to 11th on NASCAR’s all-time wins list with 54 career triumphs.
Byron settled for second, capping a strong weekend, while drivers like Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick also posted notable finishes of 3rd and 4th respectively.
Top 10 Finishers:
