Denny Hamlin wins for fifth time at Pocono Raceway

Denny Hamlin was 10/1 to win at Pocono.

NOTES AND QUOTES – DENNY HAMLIN WINS THE NASCAR CUP SERIES GANDER RV 400 FROM POCONO RACEWAY ON NBCSN

“It was a fuel mileage race, it was a strategy call, it was the skill of the driver. Save, save, save.” – Rick Allen on Hamlin’s win

“This is a track he’s real good with. He looks like he can come here and win any time.” – Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Hamlin

“I feel like he was sitting back there playing coy, saving gas, and now he figures with 15 laps to go, he’s gas on.” – Steve Letarte on Hamlin’s strategy

LONG POND, Pa. – July 28, 2019 – Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin won the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Gander RV 400 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., this afternoon on NBCSN, registering his third win of the 2019 season and fifth career win at the “Tricky Triangle.”

NBC Sports presented today’s race “Radio Style,” with announcers positioned from vantage points around the track. Today’s assignments were:

• Main broadcast booth – Rick Allen and Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte
• Turn 1 – Veteran MRN and Sirius XM announcer Mike Bagley
• Tunnel Turn – Racing legend and two-time Daytona 500 Champion Dale Earnhardt Jr.
• Turn 3 – Twenty-one-time Cup Series race winner Jeff Burton

Serving in their customary race day roles, NASCAR on NBC pit reporters Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast, and Dave Burns contributed coverage from pit road.

RACE RESULTS

Position	Driver	Car#
1	Denny Hamlin	11
2	Erik Jones	20
3	Martin Truex Jr.	19
4	William Byron	24
5	Kyle Larson	42

The following are highlights from this afternoon’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race coverage on NBCSN:

Allen: “It was a fuel mileage race, it was a strategy call, it was the skill of the driver. Save, save, save. Then we saw Denny Hamlin put the hammer down. Able to get by Martin Truex Jr., able to get by Erik Jones. He was out front, he was controlling the race from Pocono, and now he’s going to celebrate on victory lane.”

Earnhardt Jr. on impact of PJ1 compound: “I know we really talk about it a lot, but it really did make this race a lot more interesting, giving guys options. We saw it come into play and be used in Turns 1 and 2, even in the long run, not just on restarts. We heard William Byron talk about how he was using it in the Tunnel Turn…good job by NASCAR, the tracks, the teams, the drivers even, giving them that input as to how put this stuff down and make these races more exciting.”

Hamlin to Letarte from Victory Lane: “I was in fuel save mode and still trying to get around those guys. Once I knew I got around them, then I really went into conservation mode instead of stretching the lead out there.”

Hamlin on fuel mileage: “I was really worried. We just did a great job. Once we lost the track position there to the 19 and the 20, I thought it’s over, we weren’t able to pass them, and then I started to thank Pocono for putting in this PJ1, because I was able to use it there and get around those guys.”

Hamlin crew chief Chris Gabehart to Burns prior to overtime: “There was no reason for him to worry about overtime, right? We weren’t there. We had already talked about. I think we’re good for another lap or two, but it’s hard to say, and anyone that says they know for sure right now is guessing. You guys love that, right? So, you’re having a good time.”

Letarte on fuel strategy prior to overtime: “If you were close enough, these cautions should get you there. If you really weren’t close enough, your hand of poker has just been called. The chips have been pushed on. Do you dare stay on the racetrack and get it wrong if you are one of the playoff bubble drivers?”

Snyder on Kevin Harvick late in the Final Stage: “Here on pit road, there’s a lot of poker being played. Rodney Childress has told Kevin Harvick, ‘You don’t have to worry about fuel, to go as hard as you want to go. Those three cars in front of you are all saving...we are good ‘til the end.’”

Letarte on Hamlin with 15 laps to go: “I just have this feeling – Jeff Burton, you and I were having conversation during the break – I feel like the 11 [Denny Hamlin] was sitting back there playing coy, saving gas, and now he figures with 15 laps to go, he’s gas on.”

Letarte: “There is no manual for how to win a race. I know people get upset with that, they want the fastest car to go out and dominate. There is no manual. Sometimes it’s a pass for the lead, sometimes it’s great fuel economy, sometimes it’s great pit stop, sometimes it’s a timely rain shower -- we’ve seen lightning in Daytona. There is no manual.”

Earnhardt Jr. on Denny Hamlin at lap 107: “He’s way out front comfortably. This is a track he’s real good with, he’s got a lot of wins here. He looks like he can come here and win any time.”

Rick Allen on Jimmie Johnson winning Stage 2: “Not only wins the second stage, but this is only his second-career stage win.”

Letarte on Jimmie Johnson: “Check that stat. That can’t be right.”

Burton on Chase Elliott wreck in Turn 3 on lap 84: “Really, really hard impact for Chase Elliott. Hard damage to the right side. It’s crazy the impact, the sound, what it felt like - this stand actually shook a little bit when he made contact.”