Denny Hamlin is perfect so far at his home track after winning Friday night’s Bubba Burger 250 Nationwide Series race at Richmond International Raceway.
Hamlin, who hails from nearby Chesterfield, VA, led 199 of 251 laps, but had to hold off a hard-charging Paul Menard in a green-white-checkered finish. Hamlin held a slim lead over Menard when the race ended under caution for an incident involving Derrike Cope on the final lap.
“I’m just proud to give Adam his first win,” Hamlin said. “These guys have been battling to get this team where it needs to be. They definitely showed their performance tonight.” MiamiHerald.com
Menard was second, followed by Allgaier, Elliott Sadler and Brad Keselowski. The five were the only cars still on the lead lap at the finish, in part because Almirola, who crossed the finish line fifth, was penalized for speeding on pit road and dropped to 14th overall.
Sadler, a Virginia native from Emporia who has never run well at the track also considered his home course, credited team owner Kevin Harvick with giving him very helpful advice.
“He said, ‘Look, this is what I want you to do, this is how I want you to run, this is what I want you to concentrate on,’ and he saved my butt. I ran so much better tonight,” Sadler said.
Stenhouse, who shared the points lead with Allgaier coming into the race, wound up 21st. ESPN
FIN CAR DRIVER MAKE 1 20 Denny Hamlin Toyota 2 33 Paul Menard Chevrolet 3 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 4 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 5 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 6 7 Josh Wise Chevrolet 7 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 8 99 Ryan Truex * Toyota 9 70 David Stremme Chevrolet 10 38 Jason Leffler Chevrolet 11 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 12 32 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet 13 9 Kenny Wallace Toyota 14 88 Aric Almirola Chevrolet 15 11 Brian Scott Toyota 16 62 Michael Annett Toyota 17 16 Chris Buescher Ford 18 19 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 19 87 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 20 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Dodge 21 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 22 30 James Buescher Chevrolet 23 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 24 40 Scott Wimmer Chevrolet 25 60 Carl Edwards Ford 26 15 Timmy Hill * Ford 27 81 Blake Koch * Dodge 28 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 29 28 Derrike Cope Dodge 30 18 Kelly Bires Toyota 31 39 Charles Lewandoski * Ford 32 14 Eric McClure Chevrolet 33 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 34 52 Kevin Lepage Chevrolet 35 141 Carl Long Ford 36 79 Tim Andrews Ford 37 174 Mike Harmon Chevrolet 38 49 Dennis Setzer Chevrolet 39 175 Johnny Chapman Ford 40 44 Jeff Green Chevrolet 41 168 Matthew Carter Chevrolet
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