Denny Hamlin battled back from two penalties on pit road to win the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, earning his second victory of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, and 33rd career victory in NASCAR’s top series.
Hamlin’s win in Texas marks the fourth win of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing, with two wins for both Hamlin and teammate Kyle Busch. After seven races, JGR and Team Penske continue to be the only two teams to reach victory lane.
Race Recap: O’Reilly Auto Parts 500
It was an eventful race for many drivers throughout the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. After starting from the pole, Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports looked strong throughout the race. Johnson and his teammates William Byron and Chase Elliott ran within the Top 5 and led a combined 111 laps. While Elliott would lose track position late in the race, Johnson and Byron would go on to finish 5th and 6th respectively.
Joey Logano ultimately passed Johnson for the lead to win Stage 1. However, all three Team Penske race teams would find trouble as the race progressed. After struggling early, a mechanical failure would send Brad Keselowski to the garage for repairs. After leading 45 laps, Ryan Blaney’s day concluded after engine trouble took the Glass Case of Emotion co-host out of the race. Logano faded in the later portion of the race, finishing 17th one lap down.
After winning Stage 2, Hamlin was penalized for an uncontrolled tire and was sent to the back of the field along with Kevin Harvick. While battling back from the penalty, a late-race spin by Daniel Hemric bunched the field together for a final restart. This put Hamlin in a position to take fuel only on his final pitstop and take the lead for the final time. Two wins in seven races, including a Daytona 500 victory, is exactly what the Fedex 11 team needed to rebound after a winless 2018 MENCS season.
Fantasy NASCAR Results
Scott883 earned the fantasy NASCAR victory in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 with a score of 145. The win moved Scott into 42 overall in points with two Top 10s early in the season. Here is your Top 10 fantasy finishers from Texas Motor Speedway.
Up Next: Bristol Motor Speedway
Next week the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series takes to the high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 500 on Sunday. Last year, Kyle Busch led 117 laps en route to a victory at the half-mile racetrack. Kyle Larson barely missed out of the victory after leading 200 laps in the Spring 2018 race.
The last driver to win at Bristol not named Kyle Busch or Kurt Busch was Jimmie Johnson, who won the Spring 2017 race. Joe Gibbs Racing figures to be in contention once again next week, while Chip Ganassi Racing may be a strong sleeper pick with Kurt Busch now driving the number 1 car and with Kyle Larson’s recent success at Bristol. The Food City 500 will get underway this Sunday, April 7th at 2:14pm EDT.
