By Cameron Bebeau, Staff Writer

Denny Hamlin entered Pocono Raceway with a chance to win three consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races for the first time in his career and left having done just that.

Hamlin won Sunday’s Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA at Pocono, beating Tyler Reddick by 1.678 seconds to earn his 64th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, moving him into sole possession of ninth on the all-time wins list. That list is something Hamlin said was important to him as he is focusing more on wins and less on points.

“It’s super special, certainly for a lot of reasons. I’m just at this point in my career, trying to stack as many wins as possible. Points, whatever. Wherever we finish in the championship, whatever. To me, it’s like wins, wins, wins.

“What is your win percentage? That’s what I really, really am trying to continue on a run. I mean, you always have aspirations to win 36 out of 36 races in a given season. You know it’s not going to happen. But we’ve had so many races where we’ve been dominant this year.”

The victory also moved Hamlin into ninth overall among NASCAR’s top-winningest drivers. Last week, at Michigan, his win tied the late Kyle Busch at 63. Hamlin now has 64 total career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series.

William Byron finished third, followed by John Hunter Nemechek and Kyle Larson. The finishing order, however, only told part of the story of a race shaped by pit strategy, track position and a late-race gamble.

Although Hamlin started from the pole and finished in Victory Lane, the afternoon wasn’t a flag-to-flag drive for the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Larson controlled the opening stint, leading the first 24 laps before Hamlin moved to the front. From there, the race cycled through several contenders. Eleven drivers led throughout the 160-lap event, with Nemechek pacing the field for a race-high 42 laps.

Hamlin was never far from the front, though. He won Stage 1, led 28 laps and posted a race-best 4.45 average running position, spending all but one lap inside the top 15.

The final stage became the clearest example of how much the race changed hands. After Todd Gilliland won Stage 2, the lead changed hands several times in short stints. Chase Briscoe led for four laps, Nemechek led nine, then Hamlin led 11 and Reddick followed with 13 laps.

Ryan Blaney briefly cycled to the lead before Christopher Bell stayed out and led from Lap 138 through Lap 155, trying to turn a fuel strategy call into his first victory of the season. Bell ultimately ran out of fuel with two laps to go, dropping from fourth to 26th place.

The late strategy battle came after the race was already shaken up earlier in Stage 2.

Zane Smith brought out the first non-stage caution after an incident in Turn 1 on Lap 42. A few laps later, a multi-car crash on the frontstretch involved Bell, Noah Gragson, Brad Keselowski, Josh Berry, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, Austin Hill, Connor Zilisch and Shane van Gisbergen.

Keselowski took the worst hit in the running order, completing just 46 laps before finishing 38th. The result proved costly as the battle for the 16 Chase spots continues to tighten, dropping Keselowski to 17th in the standings.

Gilliland used strategy to win Stage 2, the first stage win of his career, and led six laps on the day before finishing 19th. Briscoe finished second in Stage 2, followed by Nemechek, Erik Jones and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

While Hamlin’s victory cut into Reddick’s regular-season points lead, Reddick’s runner-up finish helped limit the damage. Reddick left Pocono with a 19-point lead over Hamlin.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the San Diego Street Course on June 21.