Denny Hamlin dominated the third stage of the Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway to secure his third win of 2024 and the 54th of his NASCAR Cup Series career.
Hamlin took control of the race by winning the race off pit road during the yellow flag pit stops at the beginning of stage three. According to FOX Sports, the No. 11 crew’s pit stop under that caution was the third-fastest four-tire pit stop in the Cup Series this season as both Hamlin and the team around him continue to perform at a championship-contending level.
Let’s check on the other major pit road storylines from The Monster Mile.
Up and Down Day for Hendrick Pit Crews
On a day at Dover featuring only five cautions and significant tire wear, there was little imagination to each team’s pit strategy, with four-tire calls every time down pit road. That made clean execution on pit stops all the more important. For Hendrick Motorsports, one of its pit crews rose to the occasion while another floundered their way out contention.
During the race’s first green flag pit cycle beginning on lap 183, Kyle Larson and the No. 5 team put together a fast and efficient 9.94-second four-tire stop. Meanwhile, Martin Truex Jr., who was the race leader entering the pit cycle, fell back because of a 12.74-second stop from the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing crew.
As a result of the quick stop, Larson assumed the lead and held all the way to the end of stage two, picking up a playoff point that could be pivotal late in the season. For comparison, the table below shows the pit cycle times for the No. 5, and the No. 19, and two other teams who pitted from the top-five. These times cover pit entry, time in the stall and getting off of pit road and back up to speed.
| Car No./Team | Pit Cycle Time |
| 5 /Hendrick Motorsports | 1:30.63 |
| 19/Joe Gibbs Racing | 1:34.62 |
| 45/23XI Racing | 1:31.49 |
| 24/Hendrick Motorsports | 1:45.91 |
You may notice that the total time for William Byron and the No. 24 team is way higher than the other three. That’s because during the same lap 183 pit cycle Byron, who led 36 laps in stage one and pitted from the top five, fell victim to a pit stop mistake. While changing the left-side tires on the No. 24, the jack fell early before the left-front tire was completely secure, forcing the crew to get the car back up and take 24 seconds to complete the four-tire stop.
Consequently, Byron lost his prime track position, falling back to the late teens after green flag pit stops…
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