He’s back—and just in time.
Denny Hamlin claimed the top seed in the Chase for the Sprint Cup with a convincing victory in Saturday night’s Air Guard 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
Hamlin warded off a strong challenge from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch to win his series-leading sixth race of the season, worth 60 bonus points as the Chase begins on Sept. 19 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Busch rolled home second, followed by Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano and Marcos Ambrose. NASCAR.com
“It was a game of patience,” Hamlin said. “I knew I had to keep the rear tires on. I knew how many we had to go to the finish and if the 18 [Busch] was going to get around us, I knew I had something left for the end.
“It feels great to get this win. Our team has performed like this over the last month or so. We just haven’t had the finishes to go with it.”
Hamlin’s elevation to the top of the standings next week will put him in first place for the first time in his career. He will start the Chase with 5,060 points, while Johnson will have 5,050.
“I feel like this year I’m as prepared as I’ve ever been,” Hamlin said. “We’re winning on tracks we’ve never won on. We’re tough right now.” FOXNews
“My guys on this team gave me great pit stops, and they got us in contention there at the end to get out there and get as close to [Hamlin] as we could,” Busch said. “It was an awesome race trying to chase him down and trying to get the win, and do it clean, and do it like teammates should.”
Clint Bowyer, Juan Pablo Montoya, A.J. Allmendinger, Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards, the pole sitter, finished sixth through 10th, respectively.
Harvick, who ended the regular season as the points leader, will start the Chase in the third seed (5,030). Kurt Busch, the inaugural Chase champion in 2004, secured the fifth position (5,020), followed by Tony Stewart (5,010).
Bowyer and Greg Biffle clinched the final two spots in the 12-driver Chase field at Richmond. Biffle finished five laps behind in 32nd. He needed to finish at least 42nd to lock down his spot. He will head to Loudon, NH in the seventh seed (5,010).
“It was a rough night, but I’m glad next weekend we’re going to Loudon,” Biffle said.
Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon earned the eighth seed, followed by Edwards, Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth and Bowyer. All five drivers have yet to win a race this season. Their points were adjusted to 5,000 each. MiamiHerald.com
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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Air Guard 400 at Richmond - Race Results
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