The checkered flag was the perfect tonic for the ailing Denny Hamlin.
Feeling weak and needing intravenous fluids before the race, Hamlin nearly threw in the towel. Good thing he held on, or else he would have missed out on bringing home a trophy.
Hamlin shook off an illness and found the energy to dominate and win the caution-filled Busch Series race at Dover (Del.) International Speedway on Saturday, his third win of the season.
“I need a nap,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin can sleep on this: With the yellow flag seemingly dropping every few laps and full-time Cup drivers nipping at his bumper, Hamlin parked himself in Victory Lane.
Swig that soda? No thanks, he sprayed the drink on his crew. He needed water.
Winning sure has a way of curing the nastiest symptoms.
“It takes your mind away from it, for sure,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin complained of a tender throat, had trouble breathing and dizzy spells. Then he got in the car for a 200-lap race.
“I get hot. I get cold,” he said. “I feel inadequate, really.”
The results looked like they could have come straight out of the Cup race. Martin Truex Jr., who won the Cup race on the Monster Mile in June, was second. Matt Kenseth finished third. Hamlin, Truex and Kenseth are part of the 12-driver field for the Chase for the Nextel Cup championship.
“We just didn’t have the car all day long,” Truex said. “We almost pulled one off on the 20 (car). He was really strong all day.”
Mike Bliss and Reed Sorenson round out the top five. Series points leader Carl Edwards, another Chase driver, was sixth.
NHRA: Funny car points leader Robert Hight failed to qualify for the O’Reilly Fall Nationals in Ennis, Texas, while top fuel driver Doug Herbert also dropped out to all but end his season title hopes.
Three of Friday’s four qualifying leaders remained intact with J.R. Todd leading top fuel with a 4.541-second run, Tim Wilkerson topping funny car with a 4.787 and Greg Anderson fronting pro stock with a 6.668.
The only change among the front-runners was Chip Ellis sneaking around Andrew Hines in pro stock motorcycle with a double-track record pass of 6.976 seconds at 191.32 mph.
Despite his DNQ, Hight remained in the points lead, but could suffer if Jack Beckman, Ron Capps or Gary Scelzi do well today.
Trucks: Polesitter Travis Kvapil broke away from a tight pack with four laps to go and held on to win the Smith’s Las Vegas 350, while former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve finished 21st in his Craftsman Series debut.
Kvapil pulled away from Johnny Benson and Jon Wood at the end to match Mike Skinner and Ron Hornaday for the series lead with his fourth victory of the year.
