RacingNation.com
Home / NASCAR / Hamlin Rallies For a Thrilling Victory At Charlotte

Hamlin Rallies For a Thrilling Victory At Charlotte

CONCORD, N.C. (May 28, 2016) – Fresh tires topped worn tires in an exciting conclusion to Saturday’s Hisense 4K TV 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, as Denny Hamlin drove the Hisense No. 20 Toyota to victory by passing Joey Logano and Kyle Larson on a green-white-checkered restart.

Hamlin appeared to be out of contention as the race wound to a close, but a caution with two laps left eliminated Larson’s lead over Logano and gave the rest of the field a chance to win. Larson and Logano did not pit for fresh Goodyear tires, while Austin Dillon, Justin Allgaier and rookie Cole Custer opted for two new tires. Hamlin restarted sixth on four fresh tires, and needed only a lap to assume the lead and drive to his first NASCAR XFINITY Series victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Dillon finished second, while Logano, Custer and Allgaier completed the top five. Larson hit the wall in turn four of the final lap while chasing Hamlin and fell to sixth at the finish.

QUOTES:
Hisense 4K TV 300 Winner – Denny Hamlin (No. 18 Hisense USA Toyota): “I felt that realistically, we had the best car all day. That’s really the only time you could pass was on the restarts. The 42 (Larson) had a good long-run car … We needed a caution to get caught back up and we got it. I was willing to do whatever was the opposite of what the guys in front of me were going to do. And that’s the tough spot it puts the leaders in. But, we have a tire that wears out and it gives us an option to come in here and take tires. So, it was obviously a great race for us.”

Hisense 4K TV 300 Runner-Up – Austin Dillon (No. 2 Rheem Chevrolet): “The car got off pretty good. We figured if we could come out first, we would have a pretty decent shot at it. Restarting third there, that was very good. On the backstretch the 18 (Hamlin) gave us a big shove. He was able to clear Kyle there in three. I thought we might race the 42 (Larson) there, but I’m just proud of my guys for the effort. If we can catch the next group of three or four cars, I think we can get some more wins.”

Hisense 4K TV 300 Third-Place Finisher – Joey Logano (No. 22 Discount Tire Ford): “This Discount Tire Ford was the fastest it’s been all year. We had a car that was capable of winning. It’s really hard to hold off those four tires. It was fun racing there. I got passed by Denny (Hamlin) and Kyle (Larson) was eating us up on the top. Overall, I’m proud of what this team has done to get it faster, both the 22 and 12.”

Hisense 4K TV 300 Fourth-Place Finisher – Cole Custer (No. 88 Haas Automation Chevrolet): “I was really happy with where we ended up there today. It was a good call at the end to take on two tires. We brought a great car here. It didn’t start out that good getting some damage on pit road, but we were able to work our way up there and it ended up well.”

TICKETS:
Fans can buy tickets to any Charlotte Motor Speedway event by visiting the speedway’s website or by calling 1-800-455-FANS (3267).

KEEP TRACK:
Keep up with all the latest news from the speedway by liking Charlotte Motor Speedway on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or by downloading the Charlotte Motor Speedway mobile app.

Share Button