Denny Hamlin Wins Sprint, Nationwide at Darlington

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin continues his winning spree in the Sprint Cup series, clinching the win at the Darlington Raceway, after on Friday night he took the Nationwide race. The achievement makes Hamlin the first driver to do so since Mark Martin’s similar achievement back in 1993.

"We had a top-two car all day," Hamlin said according to NASCAR. "Us, Jeff and the other Jeff were really strong."

"You can't put this in words,” he added. "Just an unbelievable night. Pit road did a phenomenal job getting me back on the track first, and that's what led to this win. We went back and forth all night and fine-tuned it to perfection at the end. Right there at the end, it was the best it's been all night. That's all you can ask for."

In the Nationwide race on Friday, Hamlin led the final 63 of 147 laps, with a total of 111 laps in front for the duration of the race. By comparison, the runner-up, Kyle Busch, only led 17. Jamie McMurray finished third, followed by Kasey Kahne and Jason Leffler. Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Brian Vickers and Paul Menard completed the top 10.

"Great race car," Hamlin said after Royal Purple 200. "Congratulations to [crew chief] Kevin Kidd. This is his first win with Joe Gibbs Racing after taking over for Dave Rogers. When you have a car that drives as good as this one did [Friday], it makes your job a whole lot easier."

In the Sprint race Hamlin led 104 of the 367 laps, managing to finish in front of Jamie McMurray, Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon and Juan Montoya.