Hamlin, who earned pole for the non-points exhibition race earlier on Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, fell back into the field during the race but rallied to the front with 10 laps remaining.
He then held off Kyle Busch in a two-lap overtime contest as those behind Hamlin bumped and banged off each other battling for position.
“A lot of it was what happened in front of me with (Ty Gibbs) and (Joey Logano). You just never know what was going to happen there,” Hamlin said.
“But I got a really good run off of Turn 2 and got position and was able to hang on from there.
“It’s so chaotic with the restarts with everyone just bumping and banging but it feels good to win here in L.A.”
Hamlin called the win a “big momentum boost.”
“It doesn’t do much more than that,” he said. “I clean off all the trophies every 1 January and now we get to add one pretty quick.”
As the crowd on hand started showering Hamlin with boos, he retorted, “You know I beat your favorite driver again, right?”
The win was an impromptu one for Hamlin as Saturday night’s race was originally scheduled for Sunday, but impending severe weather that could last several days prompted NASCAR to attempt to run the event a day early.
A multiple-day delay, combined with dangerous flooding conditions predicted for the area, would likely have caused NASCAR to eventually cancel the race.
Reigning Cup champion Ryan Blaney, who started last in the 23-car field, ended up third, Joey Logano was fourth and Kyle Larson rounded out the top-five.
Source: Autosport