Hamlin Nets Weekend Sweep With Southern 500 Win
Reid Spencer - SportingNews.com
May 10, 2010
DARLINGTON, S.C.- Denny Hamlin, NASCAR's version of the Bionic Man, proved once again that ACL surgery on his left knee hasn't slowed his stride. In fact, it's arguable that the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota has been stronger since the March 31 operation.
Hamlin ran away from the rest of the field on a restart with 20 laps left and won Saturday night's Showtime Southern 500 Sprint Cup race by 1.908 seconds over polesitter Jamie McMurray.
In winning his third race of the season and the 11th of his career, Hamlin also completed a weekend sweep at 1.366-mile Darlington Raceway, having won the Royal Purple 200 Nationwide Series race on Friday night. It was the first Cup/Nationwide weekend sweep of Hamlin's career.
"Right there at the end, (the car) was the best it had been all day, and that's all you can ask for-when you need it, it's there," Hamlin said. "It was just an unbelievable day for us. We just put ourselves in position to win this race. The pit crew did a phenomenal job getting me off pit road first (on the final pit stop on Lap 343), and that was the key to this win."
Hamlin said his knee felt as good Saturday night as it ever has.
"It really is pretty much a physical therapy session in (the car)," Hamlin said. "You have a little bit of vibration right there on the steering column, so I'd kind of rest my leg against it, and it kinds of acts as a (stimulus), to be honest with you.
"It feels good after racing. It's during the week when I'm laying around that it gets all stiff."
Kurt Busch finished third Saturday, followed by Jeff Gordon and Juan Pablo Montoya. Points leader Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton, Ryan Newman and Brian Vickers completed the top 10.
"I didn't really have anything at the end for the 11 (Hamlin)," McMurray said. "We never could get our car tight enough. We kind of creeped up on it all night long. We never could get the car tight enough to where I could really hustle it. It was always sort of on edge. But all in all, it was a great weekend for us."
Gordon led a race-high 110 laps, but his winning chances evaporated when he missed the entrance to pit road on Lap 340 and returned to the pits on Lap 341, only to be trapped on pit road when Joey Logano spun in Turn 2 to bring out the 11th and final caution of the 367-lap race.
Gordon, however, beat Hamlin, the race leader, to the start/finish line under caution and stayed on the lead lap. He restarted 12th with 20 laps left in the race and recovered to salvage the fourth-place finish.
"Sorry about that, guys," Gordon radioed after the race. "Damn it!"
A brutal night ended early for four-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson, whose No. 48 Chevrolet was annihilated in Turn 3 of Lap 180 by the sliding No. 43 Ford of AJ Allmendinger. Johnson had just regained a lost lap with a free pass as the first car one lap down.
Johnson scraped the wall earlier in the race and rammed the No. 14 Chevrolet of Tony Stewart on Lap 62 when Stewart got into the back of Paul Menard's Ford. On Lap 83, Johnson clipped Martin Truex Jr.'s Toyota, which turned sideways trying to avoid the spinning Ford of Greg Biffle in Turn 4.
Almost miraculously, the No. 48 crew kept Johnson on the lead lap, but the early trouble compelled crew chief Chad Knaus to tell his driver, "If you hit something again, freaking wreck it, so we can stop."
On Lap 180, Johnson obliged, through no fault of his own. Allmendinger's brakes failed, and his car slid backwards into the side of Johnson's, destroying both vehicles.
"All I saw was a green bumper-and it was a hard hit," Johnson said after exiting the infield care center.
Johnson is second in the series standings, but he now trails Harvick by 110 points. Kyle Busch is third, 113 points back.
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