DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Denny Hamlin overcame what he called a rookie mistake to win the Southern 500.
Hamlin has proved time and time again he can overcome mistakes to win races. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has talent, and he certainly has confidence.
So even when he overshot the pit-road entrance with 44 laps remaining, had to dart back onto the track and then slow down and enter the pits for his final stop, few doubted that he could at least challenge for the win.
He needed help, as he earned the victory when leader Martin Truex Jr. blew a tire with Hamlin on his tail and fewer than three laps remaining.
Hamlin celebrated in Victory Lane with his family and friends, many with ties to the throwback paint scheme that paid tribute to his idols at Southside Speedway in Virginia.
The victory marked the 31st of Hamlin's career. Dude knows how to win.
"This is the Southern 500," Hamlin said. "It doesn't get much bigger than this. This is the granddaddy of them all.
"This has so much history. I'm so happy to be in Victory Lane at Darlington. This is where I got my very first start in Joe Gibbs Racing, so this track, these fans, means a lot to me."
And now comes the hard part -- winning a NASCAR Cup title.
Maybe it was appropriate that Mark Martin was one of the stars of the weekend with Darlington's annual throwback theme. Martin won 40 Cup races but never won the title.
If this weekend showed anything, Martin is still revered even without the Cup trophy. People still want their photos taken with Martin. They believe the NASCAR Hall of Famer ranks among the best ever.
Hamlin is getting closer and closer to Martin territory. Hamlin's 31 wins are the most of any active driver without a Cup title. In 15 or 20 years, he very well could follow in Martin's footsteps.
Only three drivers have more wins without a title -- Junior Johnson (50), Martin (40) and Fireball Roberts (33).
So what could make this year different than the others in which Hamlin came close to winning the title but seemed to stumble? He doesn't really have an answer.
"This year is really no different," Hamlin said. "We've been at this point before where we've had wins going into the playoffs."
It is no secret that JGR had a period in the past decade when it seemed quality control was an issue. A part would break at the least opportune time and cost a driver a shot.
"Luck has kept us from championships in the past, and mistakes have kept us from championships in the past," Hamlin said. "Not many times has it been performance. I think you've just got to put those two things together and prepare for anything that can get thrown to you."
Oh, like the time he messes up getting on pit road, as he did Sunday night when he nearly handed the race to Truex on a silver platter? Truex had a stout car as he won the first two stages and clinched the regular-season title despite the eighth-place finish. But Hamlin was turning the fastest laps after the sun went down.
Truex led 76 laps in the race before he hit the wall. Kyle Larson had led 124 before he hit the wall. Hamlin had led 121 until he nearly blew it entering the pits.
"I didn't think once he missed pit road we had a great chance anymore," Hamlin crew chief Mike Wheeler said. "I knew he gave up 10 seconds on the leaders, and ultimately, as much as I was trying to coach him to get mad and get even with everyone else, I knew it was hard to make up 10 seconds over one stint.
"But I'm proud of the fact that the car was that fast."
Hamlin swept the weekend at Darlington, winning the Xfinity race a day earlier. He had accomplished the same feat in 2010.
"Denny is obviously a wheel man here," Wheeler said. "If you don't win here with Denny, you probably didn't have a good enough car.
"Seeing him coming from 10 seconds back in one stint, I was really happy with that effort, and I knew we probably had the fastest car."
While Hamlin can celebrate the victory that nearly wasn't, he can also use it as a sign that he should be in the conversation when it comes to the season finale at Homestead.
"I know Coach [Gibbs] is all about having a game plan, and it's something I've really worked hard on this year is studying notes and coming up with a game plan when I get to the race track of how I'm going to approach things," Hamlin said.
"I think that it's paying off, and hopefully it pays off 11, 12 races from now."