From 1978 to 2000, Darlington race winners finished first or second in the points standings 20 times.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. β While most drivers find the treacherous turns of Darlington Raceway too tough to tame, those who do conquer the track are typically some of NASCAR’s finest.
Of the 36 drivers to win a NASCAR Cup Series title, 26 of them have won a race at Darlington. Among the 10 series champions who haven’t won at the track are active drivers Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott.
Darlington’s demanding presence has been well established in its 75 years of existence. The track’s steep banking, emphasis on running near the wall, and massive effect on tire wear cause many drivers to name it the toughest place to drive.Β
Denny Hamlin is one of the few drivers to find consistent success at the track. Hamlin won Sunday’s Goodyear 400 for his fifth win at Darlington.
A wildly fast pit stop by his No. 11 Toyota crew put Hamlin in front for a late restart. The move sent Hamlin to victory lane on a day that he spent most of the race outside the top 10.Β
“Certainly the pit crew will get their due this week,” Hamlin said in a media conference after the race. “This is truly a team sport. When a pit crew has an opportunity on a green-white-checkered… that is their moment to show out.”
The win was ceremonial for Hamlin for several reasons. It was his second win in a row, his 56th career win, and his fifth win at Darlington. The victory places him 11th on NASCAR’s all-time wins list, breaking a tie with Rusty Wallace.
“When you get out front at this track, it feels like you’re running qualifying speeds,” Hamlin said. “The aerodynamics take over.”
Through all his success at Darlington and his dozens of Cup Series wins, Hamlin is missing one major milestone: a championship. Hamlin has nine top-five points standings finishes in his illustrious career but has never hoisted the Cup Series trophy.
Hamlin’s early season victories lock him into the playoffs, allowing his team to capitalize on playoff points and prepare for the season’s final 10-race stretch.
While choosing a championship winner in April is a daunting task, Hamlin’s Darlington victory gives him good odds to be a contender at the end of the year.Β
In the first 74 years of Darlington, its race winners have finished first or second in the points standings 39 times. Drivers have won the Cup Series title 19 times the same year they won at Darlington. Joey Logano was the most recent driver to do so, parlaying his 2022 Goodyear 400 victory to his second series championship.
The trend has fallen off in recent years but was an almost absolute in previous decades. From 1978 to 2000, drivers that won at Darlington went on to finish first or second in the points battle 20 times. Among this group were 13 champions and seven runner-ups. The only years that a season champion did not win at Darlington were 1980 (Dale Earnhardt) and 1999 (Dale Jarrett).
Since 2000, only two drivers have won the championship after winning at Darlington. Conversely, eight championship runner-ups have won at Darlington since 2004.
Hamlin, 44, will face pressure from younger talent in the likes of William Byron (27), Kyle Larson (32), and Christopher Bell (30) in pursuit of the title, putting him in a similar position to NASCAR legend Bobby Allison, who did not win his first title until 1983 at the age of 45 in his 18th full-time season. Allison won his fifth Darlington race in 1983, similar to Hamlin in 2025.
Other notable drivers to win the championship in the same year they won the title are Joe Weatherly (1963), Richard Petty (1967), Dale Earnhardt (1986-’87, 1990, 1993-’94), Bill Elliott (1988), Jeff Gordon (1995, 1997-’98), Bobby Labonte (2000), and Kevin Harvick (2014).
Hamlin, Larson, Allison, Elliott, Gordon, Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson, and Martin Truex Jr. are among the drivers who finished runner-up in the championship standings after winning at Darlington.
While Darlington has not played the psychic role it once held, perhaps the track can once again serve as a championship proving ground to celebrate its 75th anniversary. The return of the trend would certainly benefit Denny Hamlin.
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