Hamlin Captures First Truck Victory

Photo Credit: Tom Whitmore/Getty Images for NASCAR

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(October 29, 2011)

MARTINSVILLE, Va.—Making excellent use of a fresh set of tires, Denny Hamlin drove through the field after a pit stop on Lap 134 and won Saturday’s Kroger 200 Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway in his only start this year.

Ron Hornaday Jr. ran second to make a small dent in the advantage on series points leader Austin Dillon, who finished third. Johnny Sauter ran fourth, followed by rookie Joey Coulter and Kevin Harvick.

The victory was Hamlin’s first in the series in 12 starts, adding the driver of the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota to the list of drivers, now 23 in number, who have won at least one race in each of NASCAR’s top three series.
“It’s a big deal for me, more than what people probably think,” said Hamlin, who has run one truck race per year in 2009, 2010 and 2011. “When they think we go down to these different series—Nationwide and truck—and we’re just going down there to try to get wins, from my standpoint, it’s very, very tough.

“The truck series is more competitive now than what it’s ever been, and it means as lot to myself to win a truck series race, especially running just one a year, usually. … This was just one of those weekends where everything worked out great for us.”
Hamlin passed Hornaday and Dillon moments after a restart on Lap 187, as Dillon slid up the racetrack in Turn 1 but managed to maintain control.

“We gave it to him—I did,” said Dillon, who expanded his points lead to 11 over 10th-place finisher James Buescher. “Just couldn’t make the first turn and ran into Ron. If I could have made it through the first turn, it would have been me (or) Ron in victory lane, I’m pretty sure. We had faster trucks.”
Hornaday said he expected Dillon to slip in the corner and was prepared for it.

“The lap before the (next-to-last) restart, I cleaned my tires off pretty good, and I still shoved my nose pretty good,” said Hornaday, who gained one point on Dillon and now is tied for third in the standings with Sauter, 15 points back. “When I saw Austin not weaving his truck as much as I did on the (last) restart, I knew he was coming up into me.

“I had to make sure his right front tire was at my door, and I could lean on him back a little bit, so we didn’t get up in the marbles. It worked out for both of us, other than Denny Hamlin snuck through the middle of both of us and stole the win—but we’ll take it.”
Dillon passed Harvick for the lead on Lap 141 shortly after a restart that followed the sixth caution of the race, caused by contact between Germain Racing teammates Todd Bodine and Max Papis, who battled until Papis spun off Bodine’s front bumper.
After Papis spun again to bring out the seventh caution, Dillon led the field to the green flag for a restart on Lap 152 and held the top spot until Ryan Sieg’s spin on Lap 172 caused caution No. 8. Moments before the yellow flew, Hornaday passed Harvick for second, setting up a battle between a four-time champion (Hornaday) and a driver seeking his first title (Dillon).

When the field restarted on Lap 179, Dillon and Hornaday held the top two spots, chased by Hamlin and Sauter, both on fresher tires. One caution later, Hamlin powered beneath both Hornaday and Dillon on a Lap 187 restart and pulled away for the win.



2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Kroger 200
Martinsville Speedway
Race Results


3 18 Denny Hamlin Toyota / Traxxas Toyota
2 33 Ron Hornaday Jr. Steak-Umm Steaks / Chastity Baker Chevrolet
10 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet
4 13 Johnny Sauter SafeAuto / Curb Records Chevrolet
12 22 Joey Coulter darrellgwynnfoundation.com / RCR Graphics Chevrolet
6 2 Kevin Harvick Tide / Kroger Chevrolet
13 21 Cale Gale Rheem Heating, Cooling and Water Heating Chevrolet
9 17 Timothy Peters GearWrench / Strutmasters.com Toyota
28 62 Brendan Gaughan South Point Hotel and Casino Toyota
5 31 James Buescher Wolfpack Rentals Chevrolet
7 5 Todd Bodine NTB / Service Central Toyota
1 88 Matt Crafton Roto-Rooter / Menards Chevrolet
18 8 Nelson Piquet Jr. QualComm / AutoTrac Chevrolet
21 70 Jeff Agnew Clarence's Steak House Chevrolet
26 23 Jason White GunBroker.com Chevrolet
11 7 Miguel Paludo Stemco Duroline Toyota
8 6 Justin Lofton CollegeComplete.com Chevrolet
15 9 Max Papis GEICO Toyota
14 24 Elliott Sadler Virginia Lottery Chevrolet
29 36 Grant Enfinger England's Stove Works Dodge
16 29 Parker Kligerman Penske Truck Leasing Dodge
22 81 David Starr Zachry / BYF.org / ASI Limited Toyota
17 39 Ryan Sieg Pull-A-Part Used Auto Parts Chevrolet
20 92 Clay Rogers Tri City Tire / Fleet HQ / BTS Tires & Wheels Chevrolet
24 66 Max Gresham World Crown 300 / Gresham & Associates Chevrolet
36 9 Bryan Silas Rockingham Speedway Ford
19 60 Cole Whitt Fuel Doctor / Red Bull Chevrolet
25 51 Josh Richards Joy Mining Machinery / U.S. Navy Seals Toyota
33 57 Norm Benning Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet
31 65 Tyler Tanner EF-65 Ford
27 97 Matt Lofton Strutmasters.com Toyota
34 32 Blake Feese AccuDoc Solutions Chevrolet
30 20 Johanna Long Panhandle Grading & Paving Toyota
32 7 TJ Duke Merrill Lynch Toyota
23 4 Ricky Carmichael Monster Energy Chevrolet
35 93 Mike Garvey S&W Services Chevrolet

Denny Hamlin Wins Martinsville Amid Bold Late Race Pit Strategy

Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

Suppressing the agony of a season-long knee pain, Denny Hamlin used both a fresh set of tires and some considerable muscle to push past Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon to win the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Rescheduled after a steady rain soaked the Virginia short track event on Sunday, the 500 lap race started noontime Monday running under prominently clear skies. As the green flag fell to the relieved drivers and NASCAR fans, the Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 started with NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader Kevin Harvick leading. Continuing to hold the lead after the race's first caution period between lap 43 to 47, Harvick's #29 Chevrolet would soon develop a critical mechanical problem. Braking issues would force the Richard Childress Racing #29 Chevrolet behind the wall early in the event. Finishing 35th and 100 laps down, Kevin Harvick is dealt a serious blow in the championship points which would not be completely realized until after the Martinsville race.



Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

With the customarily multitude of cautions (13 on this event), the major accident of the afternoon's race occurred on lap 171 when a 4-car mess through turn 3. Elliott Sadler, David Stremme, Paul Menard and AJ Allendinger are involved in the melee. The #26 Ford being driven by David Stremme and well as the #43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford of AJ Allmendinger suffered the worst damage with both vehicle spewing solids.

Through the last half of this Martinsville Speedway NASCAR Sprint Cup race, the first spot was dominated by the #31 CAT Chevrolet of Jeff Burton and the #11 FedEx Toyota driven by Denny Hamlin. Scheduled to have leg surgery on Monday afternoon prior to the Sunday race rain out, Hamlin was experiencing a difficult 2010 Sprint Cup campaign. Before Martinsville, Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin had yet to score a single top 10 finish in 5 previous Sprint Cup races. Having won at Martinsville Speedway fall of 2009, the #11 FedEx Toyota was in full-readiness to gain 2010 momentum.

Through the latter laps, Denny Hamlin was leading but determined Jeff Burton was beginning to lean on the #11 Toyota. With under 20 laps to go, the challenge from the #31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet would fizzle as a right front tire begin to lose pressure forcing Jeff Burton off the pace. Attempting to soldier on, Burton continued to circulate at a slightly reduced speed several laps until the #31 Chevrolet's tire finally began to shredding. As Denny Hamlin appeared to have an drive to take the famous Martinsville Speedway Grandfather Clock trophy with a 2.6 second lead on teammate Kyle Busch, the caution fell for debris from Jeff Burton's tire.

On Denny Hamlin's way to Martinsville Speedway victory lane, his #11 Joe Gibbs Racing crew made a race winning decision which puzzled many. Leading with only a handful of laps remaining, Hamlin's #11 FedEx Toyota came to pit lane with teammate and 2nd place running #18 Toyota of Kyle Busch in tow. Being the only two top 10 cars to make a journey down for four-tire service, the Joe Gibbs Racing cars emerged rejoined the field near the back of the lead lap contenders for a restart just 5 laps to go. With the Martinsville short-track famous for its relatively flat corners and tight quarters racing, it was believed that Hamlin in company with Joe Gibbs Racing threw away victory. With Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas forfeiting their 1st and 2nd places leaving Hendrick Motorsports' #24 Dupont Chevrolet of Jeff Gordon in the lead.

On the lap 496 double-file restart, Gordon masterfully used his front row position to jet out to an uncontested 1st place run. As the #24 Chevrolet skated away, three-wide battles ensued for much of the top 10 positions with the Joe Gibbs Racing #11 and #18 making the hardest charges. While Denny Hamlin was able to push through into 4th by the second last lap, Kyle Busch found himself out of room. Squeezed, Kyle Busch was incidentally clipped by the #98 Ford of Paul Menard through turn 3. Just as Gordon prepared to take the white flag with an well-assured victory, the yellow flag fell as the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was less than 100 feet to the start-finish line.

Within the Green-White-Checker finish, Gordon's challengers were better able to pursue the #24 car taking full advantage of Jeff Gordon misplacing his car into turn one. With the clear and present fight coming from front row restarter #39 Chevrolet of Ryan Newman up high, Matt Kenseth pushed his Roush-Fenway Racing #17 Ford aggressively pass Jeff Gordon taking the lead out of Martinsville's turn 2. However, Kenseth's lead would only last down the backstretch as hard charges from Gordon and Hamlin forced the #17 Crown Royal Ford wide into turn 3 and 4. With the door opened, Hamlin out-powered Gordon through the white flag lap taking his second straight Martinsville Speedway NASCAR Sprint Cup win.



Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

Joey Logano, the youngest of Joe Gibbs Racing young driver lineup, was inspired by Hamlin's push into the lead following his teammate to take 2nd at the finish line. Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman and Michael Waltrip Racing's Martin Truex Jr rounded out the top-5 for the Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500.

Of other notable drivers, Jimmie Johnson finished 9th, Dale Earnhardt Jr came in 15th, Mark Martin finished 21st and the Busch brothers finished together in 22nd and 23rd position with the younger brother Kyle edging Kurt. Having been in prime shape to steal the race through the Green-White-Checker, Matt Kenseth struggled around to finish 18th place. Kenseth has an opportunity to claim the points lead but lost too many positions at the end. Instead, Jimmie Johnson is the current 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader following the Martinsville event 14 points ahead of Greg Biffle.

Taking a week off for Easter, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tour will stop at Phoenix International Raceway on Saturday April 10th for the first point-scoring night race of the 2010 season.


2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Goodys Fast Pain Relief 500
Martinsville Speedway
Race Results

Pos # | Car # | Driver | Sponsor/ Car Make

1) 11 Denny Hamlin     FedEx Freight Toyota
2) 20 Joey Logano      The Home Depot Toyota
3) 24 Jeff Gordon      DuPont Chevrolet
4) 39 Ryan Newman      Haas Automation Chevrolet
5) 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Auto Parts Toyota
6) 83 Brian Vickers     Red Bull Toyota
7) 33 Clint Bowyer     BB&T Chevrolet
8) 99 Carl Edwards     Aflac Ford
9) 48 Jimmie Johnson    Lowe's Chevrolet
10) 16 Greg Biffle      US Census Ford
11) 47 Marcos Ambrose    Little Debbie Toyota
12) 12 Brad Keselowski   Penske Dodge
13) 77 Sam Hornish Jr.   Mobil 1 Dodge
14) 98 Paul Menard      NIBCO / Menards Ford
15) 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy Sgr Fr Lghtng/Ntnl Grd Chevrolet
16) 6 David Ragan      UPS Ford
17) 9 Kasey Kahne      Budweiser Ford
18) 17 Matt Kenseth     Crown Royal Ford
19) 37 David Gilliland    Gander Mountain Ford
20) 31 Jeff Burton      Caterpillar Chevrolet
21) 5 Mark Martin      CARQUEST / GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
22) 18 Kyle Busch       Snickers Toyota
23) 2 Kurt Busch       Miller Lite Dodge
24) 19 Elliott Sadler   Stanley Ford
25) 36 Mike Bliss       Wave Energy Drink Chevrolet
26) 14 Tony Stewart     Old Spice / Office Depot Chevrolet
27) 34 Travis Kvapil    A&W All American Food Ford
28) 00 David Reutimann    TUMS Toyota
29) 71 Bobby Labonte     TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet
30) 1 Jamie McMurray         McDonald's Chevrolet
31) 38 Kevin Conway     Extenze Ford
32) 78 Regan Smith      Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
33) 82 Scott Speed      Red Bull Toyota
34) 7 Robby Gordon     VIPFanExprnce.com/Blake Shelton Toyota
35) 29 Kevin Harvick    Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet
36) 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
37) 26 David Stremme    Air Guard Ford
38) 43 A J Allmendinger Charter Ford
39) 87 Joe Nemechek     NEMCO Motorsports Toyota
40) 13 Max Papis        GEICO Toyota
41) 09 Aric Almirola     Phoenix Racing Chevrolet
42) 66 Dave Blaney      PRISM Motorsports Toyota
43) 55 Michael McDowell PRISM Motorsports Toyota

NASCAR Sprint Cup: Denny Hamlin Wins Ford 400, Johnson Gains 4th Sprint Cup Championship

Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images


Heading into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final race of 2009, there were at least 43 stories of success, despair, and change relating to the past 35 events. Heading into Homestead-Miami Speedway's Ford 400, headlines included the magnificent comeback of Mark Martin, the most recent resurgence of Kurt Busch and Jeff Burton, the dismal year for Dale Earnhardt Jr, as well as the final race for Michael Waltrip in full-time Sprint Cup competition. However, those story lines would serve only as sidebars to the quest of Jimmie Johnson attempt to capture a record-setting 4th straight championship.

Having already asserted himself in qualifying for the Ford 400 by grabbing pole, Jimmie Johnson and the #48 Lowes Chevrolet made is clear that the winner of 3 consecutive Sprint Cup championship chases were by no means willing to play a conservative effort in the 2009 season's finale. Being 108 points ahead of Hendrick Motorsport teammate Mark Martin, Johnson's sole challenger chance for his long-fought championship trophy rested on the slim hopes.

Polesitter Jimmie Johnson used his early race positioning to gain him some additional cushioning in the points by leading the first 9 laps. Adding 5 points for leading the event, Johnson needed only to finish 27th place or better to hold off Martin's best efforts. Taking the front spot from Johnson was the #47 Toyota of Marcus Ambrose. A proven road course ace from Tazmania, this first full season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series displayed better than expected abilities for a rookie driver on ovals. Ambrose's time at the front would be short-lived as a right-rear tire caused Ambrose the first of many headaches in the 400 mile race which resulted in a 35th place finish.

Through the early stages of the Ford 400, JR Nation fans had a reason to cheer as the #88 National Guard Chevrolet inventively used the high line to maneuver from 32nd to 8th by lap 67. By this time in the race, the #14 car of Tony Stewart led the way with Richard Childress Racing's cars Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer running in tow. Stewart, having led NASCAR Sprint Cup points before the chase, saw himself holding onto 5th in the 2009 chase standings entering into Homestead.

The race's first caution came out on lap 82 as Ambrose's #47 spun off turn 4. Setting up the ideal conditions for the full field. Two Hendrick Motorsport cars who had been running well prior to the caution, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jeff Gordon, experienced difficulty keeping pace with the field on the restart. While Gordon was able to recover to 6th in the final running order, Earnhardt Jr's #88 suffered a flat tire just before the half way point. A 28th place finish was the result of the final race of 2009 for the #88 Chevrolet as Earnhardt is certainly ready to put behind him.

Within 35 laps, the caution came out 4 times for single car incidents. In final one of those cautions the lap 117, Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya began what became an incident trilogy past amongst the mid-way point of the Ford 400. Started when the two drivers were jockeying for position out of the Homestead-Miami Speedway's turn 4 a lap prior to caution, Montoya's #42 Chevrolet used the higher groove to gain a faster exit speed. A Stewart's #14 sled up in front of the swifter #42 car, Montoya maintained his momentum as he slammed into the back bumper of Tony Stewart. Suffering no lingering damage from the squarely-targeted shot, Stewart nonetheless felt displeased with the contact. As the pair exited turn 2 side-by-side, Stewart repaid the avoidable contact by shoving into Montoya's passenger side. The impact not only mangled the sheet metal of Montoya's car but cut down a right side tire. The #42 Chevrolet slammed the turn 3 wall hard enough to shatter a brake rotor. Requiring several laps to repair, Montoya lost valuable ground on the once existent opportunity to grab 5th place in the Sprint Cup chase standings. A position held ironically by Tony Stewart leading into Homestead.

Digressing from the Stewart/Montoya clash, that lap 117 caution brought fought one of the race's most chaotic wreck on pit road. In a reaction to an almost stopped #96 car, several cars entering the pits were forced to brake causing four cars to be damaged through the chain reaction accident. The worst damaged cars in the incident were the #19 of Elliott Sadler and the #43 of Reed Sorenson, both belonged to Richard Petty Motorsports.

Eventually returning to the track, Juan Pablo Montoya remained mindful of what caused him to endure some costly repairs. Back on track, the #42 commissioned the three act in the Stewart/Montoya feud. In a move of blatant payback, Montoya turned Stewart around in turn 4 sending the #14 spinning during lap 157. With Montoya receiving a 2 lap penalty for rough driving, the on-track confrontations between the two drivers finally ended.

As the race progressed, the #11 Fed-Ex Toyota of Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch's #2 Dodge fought between themselves for the Ford 400 victory from lap 135 to 198. Following their battle, a new contender emerged after in the #31 CAT Chevrolet. Jeff Burton, who left 19 laps later in the race's running, became the third RCR car to lead on the day.

Burton led as a yellow flag for a debris caution flew. Unknowingly the final caution which would slow the Ford 400, the lead lap cars entered pit road; the majority of those cars took 4 fresh tires in response to the abrasive surface of Homestead-Miami Speedway. In an effort to replace a tight sensation and win track position, the #2 car's crew chief Pat Tryson elected that only two right side tires be changed. Tryson, spending his last race with the Penske Racing team before going to Michael Waltrip Racing for 2010, last decision for the Miller Lite Dodge was not the winning move for Kurt Busch. The two-tire strategy bit the #2 Dodge immediately on the lap 220 restart as he lost 5 positions the time he exited turn 2. Fighting back as the tires equalized against the competition, Busch captured 4th place on the checkered flag.

Starting on the second row for the lap 222 restart, Denny Hamlin #11 Toyota powered by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch (who earlier in the weekend celebrated his first NASCAR Nationwide championship). While Jeff Burton in 2nd place showed pace equal to Hamlin, he was unable to catch the speedy Denny Hamlin who took the Ford 400.


Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images


An impressive win by Denny Hamlin and his #11 Joe Gibbs Racing team, his victory was instantly foreshadowed by the 5th place finisher Jimmie Johnson's effort. Johnson won the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup, the 4th straight year the driver of Hendrick Motorsports' #48 Chevrolet completed the feat. "I am just blown away by the things we've been able to accomplish over the last eight years in the sport. Obviously the last four years have been just unbelievable." Johnson said as he went on the pay thanks to everyone from NASCAR, to long-time crew chief Chad Knauss, and to team owner Rick Hendrick. Due to a family emergency, Mr. Hendrick was unable to be on attendance for the celebration. Wishing the best outcome for Rick Hendrick's emergency, he'll hopefully be celebrating his 9th Cup series championship with Johnson and crew some time before the December 4th Sprint Cup Awards Banquet in Las Vegas.