After starting in the back, once again, Denny Hamlin allowed the speed of his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Camry and his vast years of experience to just… Go.

Michigan marked Denny’s 63rd career Cup Series victory. The 60th with Toyota, making him the first driver in the OEM’s history to hit that mark. The late Kyle Busch scored 56 of his victories with Toyota.

Denny would struggle with his car’s balance for the first Stage and a half before earning Stage Points in Stage 2. Denny got spun in lap 84 of the caution that ended the afternoon for many drivers, including Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick. That wouldn’t derail Denny, as he would finish 8th in that stage.

It wasn’t until the final Stage that Denny could make his car truly go. He would lead lap 144 before pitting, and on lap 162, he would get out around Daniel Suarez and just wouldn’t look back.

Denny would get 38 laps out front and eventually get to the largest margin of victory on an oval in the NEXT Gen Era, an 11.11-second lead. The longest margin of victory to tie himself for 9th All-Time in NASCAR Cup Series history.

Denny drove his race-winning No. 11 to the Turn 1 end of the front stretch and received something special from one of his crew guys. Just like when Jeff Gordon tied another legend many years ago, Denny received a flag, an “18” using the JGR Font for the 1 and the RCR-styled font for the 8, and then burned it down in front of the sellout Michigan crowd.

The best line he had for us in the Media Center… “Kyle would be pissed.”

Photo by Brett Farmer/Getty Images