Denny Hamlin started from the pole and claimed the second race in the NASCAR Cup Series’ Round of 16 playoffs on Sunday, beating teammate Chase Briscoe in the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois.
Hamlin and Briscoe, teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing, wound up second and third behind leader Brad Keselowski on the final restart with 24 laps to go.
Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota, which led a race-high 75 laps, easily passed Keselowski’s No. 6 Ford on old tires and beat Briscoe by 1.620 seconds for Hamlin’s series-best fifth win and 59th of his career.
Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano were the top-five finishers in the 10-caution race that featured 15 lead changes and 52 caution laps.
JGR and Toyota have won the first two races of the playoffs.
Hungry for a win after last tasting victory on May 11 at Kansas, Kyle Larson swept by Hamlin on Lap 8 and drove off from the Toyota.
Kyle Busch, who last won two years ago in Illinois, looped his No. 8 Chevrolet by himself on Lap 27 for the first caution, bringing Larson and most of the cars to pit road.
With 10 laps remaining, No. 21 driver Josh Berry — 16th in the playoff standings — wrecked in Turn 2 after contact with Elliott and damaged his Wood Brothers Ford terminally.
Leading with four to go in Stage 1, Briscoe and Larson raced each other as if it were the final circuit of the 240-lap, 300-mile race. Briscoe held on to grab the 10 points followed by Larson, Hamlin, William Byron and Blaney.
However, Briscoe locked up his right-front tire on down the frontstretch and punted Daniel Suarez’s No. 99 Chevrolet into the wall. To compound matters, Briscoe’s No. 19 crew had a left-rear hang-up on the pit stop.
Wallace grabbed the point early, less than halfway through 95-lap Stage 2, and paced the way for Logano and Christopher Bell, both just under three seconds behind as the segment neared its end.
Following a spin of Blaney by Larson, Wallace’s 23XI Racing Toyota scored a win in the one-lap shootout to end the stage. Keselowski, Logano, Larson and Bell were the top five. Playoff driver Austin Dillon stayed out on old tires and finished sixth.
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