The 2017 drought is over for Joe Gibbs Racing. Denny Hamlin took the lead with 33 laps left after a late restart and held off a hard charge from Kyle Larson to take the victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Denny Hamlin ends JGR skid at NHMS
The Joe Gibbs stable of Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Daniel Suarez have come close to victory lane several times this season, but after Martin Truex Jr. was shuffled in traffic on the late restart, Hamlin was able to quickly get past Dale Earnhardt Jr. (who was driving on older tires after electing not to pit) and Kenseth.
Kyle Larson had a spectacular run from the back of the field after his car failed inspection after winning the pole earlier in the week. He was able to get within a couple car lengths of Hamlin in the final laps but just ran out of time to be able to get past him.
Truex earned yet another stage victory by winning Stage 1, while Busch won Stage 2.
With his 30th Monster Energy Cup series victory, Hamlin is locked into a spot in the 16-driver Chase field.
With the winless streak over, JGR looks to make it back-to-back wins next weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Busch dominated the field to win at the track last year.
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