Denny Hamlin won the 61st Daytona 500 on Sunday night, but not without a marginal assist from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch on the decisive restart.
Hamlin and Busch were running first and second when the No. 11 and No. 18 teams agreed to work together. Hamlin selected the top lane over Busch, who had agreed to let his teammate jump in front of him heading into Turn 1.
Hamlin ultimately held off Busch and Joey Logano to win his second Harley J. Earl trophy, but the entire teamwork process left Busch a little miffed. He said he wanted to execute a similar deal with Logano on a previous restart, a request that was denied.
"First and foremost, we agreed to it to make sure that we at least got a (Joe Gibbs Racing) car to Victory Lane," Busch said. "They didn't want to do it (on) the previous restart, but once he got the lead, he wanted to.
"You know, it is what it is. At least we got a Gibbs car in Victory Lane. That's the big picture. That's what matters, and we move on."
For his part, Hamlin says they had agreed before the race that deals wouldn't be made within 10 laps to go. So when the No. 18 asked on the restart with six laps to go, the No. 11 team said "no, let's just race it out, being on the front row."
Ultimately, Hamlin believes the agreement worked out for both drivers, because even if Busch deferred the top spot to his teammate, they would still be 1-2 coming to the white flag.
Had they not agreed, Hamlin and Busch would have been in a drag race, with some combination of Joey Logano and Michael McDowell behind them.
Hamlin says it was the No. 18 team's idea to work out the deal.
"I think they came over to my spotter and said, 'hey, do you want to drop down in front of us, we're open to do that,' and when I saw him and the 22 lined-up, I was like, 'well, absolutely, sure.' I definitely wanted to do that.
"I thought that was the best move for us. But it still gave him a great opportunity to win because he got a great run on us on the backstretch and we had to block it."
Ultimately, Hamlin believes it would have been worse for Busch to have been in a drag race.
"If he's on the inside of me and I'm right there on his door, there's no offensive play that he can make," Hamlin said. "He made the right move in my opinion to let us do that so he can have the 22 (behind him) and make a run."
Busch indeed got a run and got near Hamlin, but just couldn't complete the pass since Logano and McDowell was unable to get lined-up together. McDowell ended up behind Busch, but couldn't get to the No. 18's rear bumper.
Hamlin, Busch and Erik Jones completed a 1-2-3 finish for Gibbs.
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