By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: Chris Graythen – Getty Images
Joe Gibbs Racing driver and co-owner of 23XI Racing, Denny Hamlin, wins the Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday.
The 44-year-old continues to stack up more wins in one of the best seasons of his career. He advanced to the Round of 12 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. It’s his fifth win of the year.
The Toyota family is very proud of Hamlin. What a weekend for the entire team. It’s the 200th victory for Toyota. Hamlin earned his first victory at the 1.25-mile track.
“It was definitely harder to win today,” Hamlin said in a post-race interview. “I felt like I didn’t do a great job on restarts early in the day. It got a little better towards the end, and we also improved our car as the day went on. So Chris and the whole team did a great job to make adjustments, give me what I need, especially that last run, the second to run last when I was holding off the 22.”
Chase Briscoe, last week’s winner and also a Toyota driver, finished second, accumulating 45 points. Briscoe won Stage One. Chase Elliot, Ryan Blaney, and Joey Logano finished 3rd, 4th, and 5th, respectively.
Christopher Bell finished seventh. Hendrick Motorsports drivers Kyle Larson and William Byron were 11th and 12th.
Actor and comedian Bill Murray, the grand marshal, brought out the best in the crowd in Illinois. Murray is one of the most likely and respected comedians. His body of work speaks for itself, and he loves to participate in sporting events. Murray was born and raised in Illinois.
The NASCAR Cup Series’ next race is Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. On this occasion, four drivers will be eliminated from playoff contention.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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