BROOKLYN, Mich. (AP) 鈥� There were no boos for Denny Hamlin after this winning burnout at Michigan International Speedway.
Holding a black No. 18 flag out the window, the Joe Gibbs Racing star celebrated his 63rd career victory by smoking the tires of his No. 11 Toyota down the straightaway in honor of , his whom he tied for ninth on the all-time win list in .
鈥淭ruthfully, I had to outlive him to tie him,鈥� said Hamlin who radioed 鈥淲e love you, KB鈥� on his victory lap. 鈥淗e was an amazing teammate. He taught me so much at tracks like this. I just can鈥檛 say enough.鈥�
It was the second consecutive victory for Hamlin and his second consecutive win at Michigan, by taunting fans who booed him.
But there were only raucous cheers from the front-stretch grandstands Sunday as Hamlin jogged up to the flag stand to get the checkered flag while still carrying his Busch tribute flag
Busch drove the No. 18 from 2008-22 for Gibbs, teaming up with Hamlin for a NASCAR-record 523 races. rocked the NASCAR industry, which was already grieving over the offseason deaths o . Hamlin鈥檚 father also died .
Noting that Hall of Famer , Hamlin dedicated his third win this season to Busch and his family.
鈥淭he offseason, it was rough for me, and it was rough for the NASCAR family,鈥� Hamlin said. 鈥淛ust an unbelievable feeling to be able to strap in every week, and I don鈥檛 take it for granted, this opportunity that I鈥檓 in. I just love we鈥檙e making the best of it.鈥�
Just like when the Joe Gibbs Racing car started on the pole position but was penalized for jumping the start, but dropped to the back at the green flag because of a penalty for unapproved adjustments to his No. 11 Toyota.
Hamlin patiently worked his way to the front over 400 miles. He took the lead for good on a three-wide pass during a restart with 38 laps remaining, sweeping into first around Spire Racing teammates Daniel Suarez and Carson Hocevar, .
Hamlin won by 11.110 seconds, his widest margin of victory in Cup and the largest win at Michigan since June 1991.
鈥淭his Joe Gibbs team just keeps giving me amazing race cars,鈥� Hamlin said. 鈥淭his Toyota was just amazing. And at the last run there, it just hammered down. It had a few good restarts, and then once we got to the lead, I was going to lay it out.鈥�
Erik Jones (another Michigan native) finished second after also starting from the rear for unapproved adjustments. Bubba Wallace was a season-best third, followed by Kyle Larson and Hocevar, who notched his best Michigan finish.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anyone was going to contend with Denny at the end,鈥� Larson said. 鈥淗e was flying.鈥�
Crash causes red
The race was stopped with 51 laps remaining to repair a damaged SAFER barrier after a hard crash involving Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott.
During a restart on the 148th lap, the drivers were running side by side for second. Elliott鈥檚 No. 9 Chevrolet bobbled and skidded up the track into Bell鈥檚 No. 20 Toyota, which shot into the outside wall at the 2-mile oval where speeds top 200 mph.
The impact with Bell鈥檚 Camry severely deformed the SAFER barrier, which is comprised of steel and foam to absorb energy in wrecks. A red flag was displayed for 20 minutes to fix the damaged section of the barrier.
Both drivers climbed from their cars and walked to an ambulance for a trip to the track鈥檚 infield care center. Team owner Joe Gibbs said after the race that Bell had wrist and ankle injuries that would need to be evaluated this week.
Elliott patted Bell on the shoulder and apologized for the wreck before they entered the ambulance.
鈥淚鈥檓 fine; it was totally my fault,鈥� Elliott said. 鈥淚 feel really bad for Bell, just taking him out. I was trying to run on the bottom and make use of our fresh tires and at least get to second and hopefully stay side by side with him. I got in there and got free and thought I was going to spin and was committing to spin out, and as soon as I started to commit to spinning, it just hooked up and hooked a right. Unfortunately, it sent Christopher into the wall super hard, and then me shortly there behind.
鈥淛ust racing really hard. I felt like that was kind of a turning point in the race. We needed to make something happen. I stepped over the line again and paid for it. 鈥� I just told him I鈥檓 sorry. Obviously, it was not on purpose.鈥�
Rough rookie season
A nightmarish debut season in the Cup Series continued for Connor Zilisch, who crashed twice in the first eight laps and finished last in the 37-car field. The Trackhouse Racing driver has finished outside the top 30 the past three races and is still seeking the first top 10 of his rookie campaign.
鈥淚 was really loose, but it鈥檚 just unfortunate,鈥� Zilisch said. 鈥淎nother short race for us. We鈥檒l go try and get them at Pocono next week.鈥�
Up next
NASCAR will make its lone trip this season to Pocono Raceway on June 14. Chase Briscoe won last year to earn his first victory with Joe Gibbs Racing.
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