Denny Hamlin explains his ‘job on days like this' as JGR star goes back to back to the victory lane

Denny Hamlin underscored his role in the #11 team after getting back-to-back victories in the Cup Series. While the Joe Gibbs Racing driver credited his pit crew for the win at Darlington Raceway, he believes he did his part by staying within the top five.

Hamlin, who started the Goodyear 400 in third place, had a challenging stage one run but regained positions in stage two to cross the line in third. He kept his #11 Toyota Camry behind William Byron, leader for 243 of 297 laps, before taking the lead off the pit road under caution.

The 44-year-old JGR driver had a strong final restart to pull away from the field and easily take the checkered flag for his second victory of the 2025 season. He finished ahead of William Byron and Christopher Bell, who were in second and third place, respectively.

In a post-race interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on X (formerly Twitter), Denny Hamlin put his #11 team, led by new crew chief Chris Gayle, in the spotlight, saying his job was just to keep the car up front.

"I just continue to work hard. I wish I could take a lot more credit for this one, but the only credit I deserve is keeping us in the game, all race long, keeping us in the top five."

The now 56-time Cup race winner admitted that William Byron and Ryan Blaney were in better form at Darlington, but he had a strong drive and a solid pit crew to stay in contention for the victory.

"We still didn't have anything for the #24 (William Byron) or the #12 (Ryan Blaney). I thought they were kind of a standout little better than what we were. But my job on days like this is just keep us in the game," he said. [0:16]

Denny Hamlin concluded:

"This is all about the team. This is certainly one of those moments that it doesn't happen often, but the pit crew is the one who gets to hoist the trophy." [0:43]

After the Darlington race, Denny Hamlin moved to second in the standings between leader William Byron and JGR teammate Christopher Bell. Moreover, the race win gave the team and Toyota their fifth victory of the year.

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Denny Hamlin expresses "love" for Kyle Larson for the win at Darlington

Aside from the #11 team, Denny Hamlin acknowledged Kyle Larson for his 56th NASCAR Cup Series win earned at Darlington Raceway. Hamlin capitalized on Larson's crash on lap 290, allowing him to take the lead from Ryan Blaney off the pit road.

To recall, Kyle Larson, who was down multiple laps following an early wreck on lap four, hit the wall after making contact with Bubba Wallace. With the caution out, all lead lap cars, including then-race leader Blaney, and Denny Hamlin, had to pit. The #11 Toyota had a good stop to exit the pit road in first place.

Speaking about the race-winning pit stop at the Track Too Tough to Tame, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said:

"There's two people I really love right now. My pit crew and Kyle Larson. Had a little assist there so thank you." [0:16]

"The pit crew just did an amazing job. They won it last week, they won it this week, it's all about them," he added.

Denny Hamlin walks out of Darlington Raceway as the 11th-winningest Cup driver in NASCAR's history, beating Rusty Wallace, who has 55 career victories.