Denny Hamlin added another memorable chapter to his Hall of Fame career on Sunday, winning the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway and collecting the event’s $1 million prize.

Starting from the pole, Hamlin passed Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe with 29 laps remaining and pulled away to secure his second career All-Star Race victory. The win came in the event’s debut at Dover’s famed “Monster Mile,” where Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota proved dominant during the race’s long green-flag runs.

Hamlin crossed the finish line 0.887 seconds ahead of Briscoe after leading 103 laps in the final 200-lap segment of the non-points exhibition race.

“Makes it a lot easier when you have a car this fast,” Hamlin said. “Hats off to this whole Progressive team.

“We strive to be number one and we did it today. I just knew the game-changer for us was long runs and obviously the ability to pass when behind someone.”

Asked what he planned to do with the $1 million prize, Hamlin gave an emotional answer.

“I’ll probably give it to Mama,” he said.

The moment carried extra meaning for Hamlin after his father passed away in December following a fire that destroyed his parents’ home.

The race itself turned into a battle of survival for many of NASCAR’s biggest stars. Two separate nine-car crashes during the opening 75-lap stages eliminated or damaged several contenders, including former All-Star winners Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Blaney.

Toyota drivers controlled much of the event. Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick, both drivers for Hamlin and Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing team, won the opening two stages before Hamlin and Briscoe took over during the closing run.

Briscoe led 61 laps and delivered his best All-Star Race finish despite battling illness throughout the weekend.

“It was obviously a really fast car and just proud of our group,” Briscoe said. “I knocked the wall down in practice and we basically rebuilt the whole car. So, for them to be able to get the car back to where it’s competitive says a lot about the guys.

“Wish it were a points race because we definitely need the points. But it was a hard-fought day.”

Erik Jones finished third for Legacy Motor Club, earning his best result of the season. Austin Dillon came home fourth, while rookie Connor Zilisch impressed with a fifth-place finish for Trackhouse Racing.

The 19-year-old Zilisch overcame a pit road penalty midway through the race and charged back through the field during the closing laps.

“It would have taken a lot to beat the 11 and 19; they were both really good,” Zilisch said. “Regardless, it was a really good day for Trackhouse and this 88 team. We needed a day like this where we had contending speed.

“It was cool to be on offense for once, have good restarts and not feel like a fish out of water.”

Austin Cindric, William Byron, Michael McDowell, Alex Bowman, and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top 10. Keselowski’s finish was especially impressive after being involved in one of the race’s major accidents earlier in the night.

The victory marked Hamlin’s second All-Star Race win in 20 appearances and made him just the third driver in NASCAR history to win the event at multiple tracks. His first All-Star victory came at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2015.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to points racing next weekend with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.