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Denny Hamlin may have won the Virginia campaign with a victory Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, but Jimmie Johnson moved ever closer to a record fourth consecutive Cup Series championship with a runner-up finish at the .526-mile short track.
Hamlin turned a dominant car into a winner at Martinsville Speedway, passing Jimmie Johnson with 138 laps to go Sunday and holding off the Chase leader on a series of late restarts. NASCAR
“It’s the same stuff over and over again,” said Johnson, who widened his lead to 118 points over Mark Martin with a runner-up finish to Hamlin in Sunday’s Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. “I know it gives everybody something to talk about, but I’m tired of talking about all the what-ifs.”
Said Hamlin: “I’m sure on the websites (Monday) there will be 12 stories about … Jimmie, and then mine will be in that little column, ‘Denny Hamlin wins at Martinsville for the second time.’ “
OK, fair enough. Hamlin’s win at Martinsville was significant for several reasons. He set a personal single-season best with his third victory of 2009. He exacted a measure of revenge by leading the final 139 laps after nudging aside Johnson, who had bumped Hamlin for a Martinsville win in March. And the Chesterfield, Va., native won in his home state for the second time this year. USA Today
“It’s a good bounce back,” said Hamlin, who led a race-high 206 laps. “We just had the best car at the end. [Johnson] didn’t do anything that he shouldn’t have and made sure he protected his points lead and gave us a little bit of respect as well.”
NASCAR Sprint Cup: Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville - Race Results
In March, Johnson nudged Hamlin out of the lead with 16 laps remaining to win at Martinsville for the fifth time in the last six races here. Hamlin, who won the 2008 spring race at Martinsville, admitted earlier this weekend he was looking for payback against Johnson.
“I was nervous with those restarts at the end,” Johnson said. “I hoped that I might have a chance to get by Denny, but at the same time being stuck in that outside lane there was so much too lose, I was really nervous about just getting to the bottom and protecting the position I was in.”
Juan Pablo Montoya aggressively ran to a third-place finish. Montoya bumped into Jeff Gordon while the two were battling for a top-five position in the early going.
“It’s just every time we’ve been around racing against him, he runs the hell out of me,” Montoya said. “He moved me out of the way before, and he was starting to do the same here today.” MiamiHerald.com
Kyle Busch finishes third followed by Jeff Gordon. Jamie McMurray, pole-sitter Ryan Newman, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick completed the top 10.
