Darlington NASCAR Cup Series winner admits 'loving' rival after huge victory

Denny Hamlin jokingly thanked one of his NASCAR Cup Series rivals after his victory at the Darlington Raceway this Sunday.

The driver of the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing car didn't look in contention to go to victory road until late on, when his pit crew moved him ahead of three other cars.

That stop happened during a caution in the last ten laps which sent the race to overtime, caused by Kyle Larson's second Turn 2 crash of the day, the #5 car spearing into the inside wall for the second time in the race.

The aftermath of Larson's first crash, inside the first five laps, put him behind the pack to the tune of around 160 laps, but he got going again for the late stages of the Goodyear 400.

READ MORE: NASCAR Results Today - Dramatic overtime finish sees record-breaking driver LOSE OUT

Hamlin goes back-to-back in Cup Series

Hamlin spoke immediately after the race, jokingly nodding to the role that the caution had played in his victory. On the Fox broadcast, he said: "There’s two people I really love right now: my pit crew and Kyle Larson. Had a little assist there, so thank you.

"Man, the pit crew just did an amazing job. They won it last week. They won it this week. It’s all about them. Thanks Sport Clips. They have such a big deal here in Darlington, South Carolina. Shout-out to Gordon and the whole team. We’ll see you at Victory Lane."

Hamlin was running a throwback Carl Edwards paint job at the race, paying tribute to his former team-mate and newly minted NASCAR Hall of Famer, who had publicly backed the 23XI co-owner to perform one of Edwards' signature celebratory backflips if he won.

Unfortunately for everyone watching (although possibly fortunately for Hamlin), when asked about the request after the race he declined, saying: "I’ll pass. If Carl is here, he’s more than welcome to jump off the car."

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