(WOMR file photo)
Denny Hamlin did himself a favor, and one for Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch in the process.
Outrunning Jeff Gordon on a two-lap dash to the finish in Sunday night’s AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hamlin scored his second consecutive Sprint Cup Series victory, his series-best fourth of the season and the 21st of his career.
Hamlin also preserved KyBu’s status as the second provisional wild card in the Chase for the Sprint Cup by keeping Jeff Gordon out of Victory Lane.
Hamlin beat Gordon to the finish line by .378 seconds after a caution spoiled a probable victory for Martin Truex Jr., who was leading by two seconds when Jamie McMurray wrecked on the frontstretch on Lap 320 of 327.
After the midpoint of the race, Harvick and Hamlin established themselves as the class of the field, running away from the pack after a restart on Lap 135. Hamlin’s team opted to stretch fuel mileage, intending to finish the race on one more stop after coming to pit road under green on Lap 221.
Harvick had pitted for fuel and four tires on Lap 216 and would have needed two more stops to make it to the end of the race. The tradeoff was that the extra five laps on new tires had given Harvick an 8.4-second lead over Hamlin after the cycle of stops.
Hamlin, however, trimmed a second per lap from Harvick’s advantage and had pulled up to the bumper of the No. 29 Chevrolet when caution for Juan Pablo Montoya’s brush with the outside wall on Lap 241 made all the fuel calculations moot.
Hamlin beat Harvick off pit road under the yellow and held the top spot after a restart on Lap 248. Truex moved past Harvick into the second position one lap later and kept Hamlin in his sights during the ensuing green flag run.
Running a higher line than Hamlin, Truex was moments away from taking the lead when the engine in Carl Edwards’ No. 99 Ford blew on Lap 264, causing the fourth caution of the night. The early end to Edwards’ night forces last year’s Chase runner-up to win next Saturday at Richmond to have a chance at a wild-card spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Pit stops on Lap 266 put fuel strategy back into play. Hamlin, for instance, left pit road needing to save four laps worth of fuel to get to the checkered flag. On the restart on Lap 270, though, the entire tenor of the race changed when Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman and Sam Hornish Jr. wrecked on the backstretch.
With the final yellow, and the ensuing pits stops, the JGR FedEx #11 Toyota exited the pits as the new leader. As the green flag flew on the restart, Hamlin blasted into the lead and never looked back till the checkered flag waved.
With just one race to go, Richmond, before the Chase starts, the tension is building up to a crescendo. The fight for the two coveted wild card spots is on!
Check out the unofficial results of the AdvoCare 500.
Here is the 2012 Sprint Cup standings.
TIL NEXT TIME,I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
