RICHMOND, Va. — Denny Hamlin suffered his fair share of heartbreak at Richmond International Raceway, the home track where he so desperately wanted a win.
He finally got it Saturday night, but the victory celebration was muted. Kyle Busch, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, fell eight points short of making the Chase for the championship in the tightest deciding race since the format was launched in 2004.
“We did all we can do. We gave a valiant effort and it was a good night,” Busch said. “We will live to see another day. We’ll go on for the rest of the year.”
Hamlin, with the momentum of his Richmond win, believes he’s the favorite to win the Sprint Cup title. He twice before led the most laps at Richmond, where he sat in the stands as a child rooting on boyhood idol Bill Elliott, only to have late pitfalls sabotage his shot at victory.
Now he’s got his Richmond win, his second of the season, and a ton of confidence headed into the Chase.
“They better watch us,” he vowed. “I am telling you, this team is dangerous.”
Mark Martin, who at 50 is enjoying one of the best seasons of his career, leads the Chase field as the top seed and is followed by Tony Stewart and three-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson.
Hamlin starts the Chase in fourth and is followed by Kasey Kahne, three-time series champion Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch and Brian Vickers, who finished a career-best seventh Saturday night to grab the final qualifying spot.
Carl Edwards will start the Chase in ninth and is followed by Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya and Greg Biffle.
But Matt Kenseth struggled from the drop of the green flag and quickly fell out of contention. Busch and Vickers swapped the final spot multiple times over the 400 laps, setting up a final 14-lap sprint to the finish.
Busch used a flawless final pit stop to beat Vickers off of pit road, but he restarted the race sixth and could only gain one spot on the track. He finished fifth and said he’ll focus now on helping Hamlin win a championship.
“I’ll do my best to help Denny out and bring Joe Gibbs Racing a championship,” Busch said. “I think Denny has got a lot going forward, especially winning here. He’s going to have a big momentum boost next week.”
Skinner wins Truck Series race.
Mike Skinner didn’t start on the pole this week, but the result was the same.
Skinner started ninth and won the Copart 200 in a Camping World Trucks Series race at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., that was marred by late crashes. A week ago, Skinner won the first trucks race at the Iowa Speedway, dominating the field from the pole for his second victory of the year and 27th overall.
With less than 10 laps to go, Todd Bodine spun through the infield after he tried to block Matt Crafton. With just four laps to go, Crafton sent race leader and points leader Ron Hornaday spinning out after the two bumped on the first turn. Crafton was black-flagged and had to restart at the end of the lead line.
Johnny Sauter finished second, 0.285 seconds behind Skinner, followed by Brian Scott. Hornaday still leads the points race with 2,875, followed by Crafton (2,678) and Skinner (2,662).
Hamilton takes F1 pole.
Lewis Hamilton of McLaren will start the Italian Grand Prix from the pole position after leading qualifying, and Giancarlo Fisichella will make his Ferrari debut from 14th on the grid in Monza, Italy.
The defending Formula One champion earned his 15th career pole after setting a leading lap time of 1 minute, 24.066 seconds to edge Force India driver Adrian Sutil.
The Associated Press
Points standings
The leaders in Sprint Cup points (the top 12 make the Chase for the Cup):
1. Tony Stewart, 3,806
2. Jeff Gordon, 3,627
3. Jimmie Johnson, 3,534
4. Denny Hamlin, 3,3491
5. Kurt Busch, 3,322
6. Mark Martin, 3,291
7. Kasey Kahne, 3,280
8. Carl Edwards, 3,280
9. Ryan Newman, 3,272
10. Juan Montoya, 3,251
11. Greg Biffle, 3,249
12. Brian Vickers, 3,203
13. Kyle Busch, 3,195
14. Matt Kenseth, 3,165
15. Clint Bowyer, 3,059
Today’s race
FORMULA ONE Italian Grand Prix
Site: Monza, Italy
TV: Speed, 6 a.m.
Track: Autodromo Nazionale di Monza (road course, 3.6 miles)
Race distance: 190.8 miles, 53 laps
Next race: Singapore Grand Prix on Sept. 27 in Marina Bay, Singapore
On the Net:
