Hamlin still has the fire to win and marked himself a title contender with a second straight victory

DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Denny Hamlin's fire to win is still there. He showed that again at Darlington Raceway. At an age when many of his contemporaries for the past two decades are in the broadcast booth, have moved on to other ventures or simply are holding on without much success, the 44-year-old Hamlin appears at the top of his game. Hamlin followed up his victory at Martinsville by winning in overtime at Darlington Raceway on Sunday. It was his 56th career NASCAR win, his fifth at the track nicknamed "Too Tough To Tame" and his first consecutive victories since 2012. He has marked himself as a serious contender for his missing accolade, a Cup Series title that he's watched others at Joe Gibbs Racing accomplish during his 20 years with the organization. And he's done working smarter, not harder. "As I've gotten older, I've realized that I'm not going to win these races on raw talent anymore," Hamlin said. "I'm going to have to outwork people. I'm going to have to look at things that maybe other people aren't looking at." Team owner Joe Gibbs testified to Hamlin's diligence in working the simulator to gain every advantage, not just for his No. 11 team but for all of Gibbs' drivers. Hamlin said that approach led him to victory at Darlington, where he knew midway through the race that he didn't have enough to match up with leader William Byron, who led the first 243 laps. But he, crew chief Chris Gayle and his pit crew took advantage of their stops to keep Hamlin moving forward when the race got flagged toward the end. Hamlin was third on the final caution — a spinout by Kyle Larson that ruined the victory chances of Ryan Blaney, who had just passed for the lead with three laps remaining — entering the pits and got out in first. He chose the outside lane and burst forward on the restart, never challenged for the victory. Hamlin, Gibbs and Gayle praised the pit crew, who no doubt played a major role in the latest JGR victory. "They are just villains. They just want that moment where they can go in there and just rip everybody's hearts out, win the race and walk away," Gayle said. Hamlin has been a bit of a villain, too, for fans. When he said right after getting out of his car that his two favorites at the moment were his pit crew and Kyle Larson for the late caution, those at the finish line at Darlington booed the winner. "I think it's just my personality. I understand that. I bring it upon myself most times. But I love it," he said. "I love the reaction that I get out of people." Hamlin would sure love to hear what they say if he made the championship four and won the final race at Phoenix. He has had opportunities in the past — in 2014, 2019, 2020 and 2021 — without success. Hamlin has watch teammates Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch win titles during his time with Joe Gibbs. The coach believes Hamlin's time is coming — and quickly. "You get somebody that age that still has the drive to get it done, I think Denny has a real drive, and I think we're fortunate to have him," Gibbs said. Michael Jordan, co-owner with Hamlin in 23XI Racing, was on hand at Darlington and told Fox TV before the race that Hamlin deserves to win a title given all he's done and that he believes Hamlin will keep working to accomplish that before he's through driving. Hamlin is grateful he's still a winning driver and confident that will continue this season. "It still feels good from my standpoint that I can at 44 go out here and win back-to-back races, be in contention week in, week out, still be at the top of my game," Hamlin said. "Nothing's dropped off."