Denny Hamlin wins Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in double OT

Denny Hamlin won an attrition-filled Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday night.

Hamlin secured his first win in the crown jewel event in double overtime after two late crashes at the front of the field pushed the race late.

The final restart saw Hamlin fire off to the left of Ross Chastain‘s battered No. 1 Chevrolet. Hamlin shot to the lead while his teammate, Kyle Busch, followed through and charged to Hamlin’s right.

On the last lap, Hamlin cleared Busch in Turn 2 after forcing Busch high, sending the No. 11 Toyota to its second win of the year. Sam McAuley was atop the pit box serving as the team’s interim crew chief while Chris Gabehart served the first of a four-race suspension following a loose wheel that detached at Dover on May 2.

The first overtime period began when Chase Briscoe, running second dove to leader Kyle Larson‘s left with two laps to go and lost control of his No. 14 Ford, sliding through Turn 2 and bringing out the final caution.

On the penultimate restart, Austin Dillon rocketed from sixth at the start/finish line to Larson’s left for the lead in Turn 3. He slid high, both drivers lost momentum, and after battling four-wide for the lead, Dillon crashed with Larson, Chastain and Joey Logano.

Hamlin scooted through with Busch in tow, putting themselves in prime position to capitalize on the final race to the finish.

Seventeen of the 37 starters failed to finish the race, 16 of whom exited due to crash damage. The yellow flag waved 18 times Sunday night, the most cautions at the Charlotte oval since a record 22 yellows appeared in the 2005 rendition of the race.

A vicious crash at Lap 346 brought the race to a halt after Chris Buescher tumbled side over side down the front straightaway