NASCAR NATION – 10-27

Denny Hamlin entered the weekend at Martinsville Speedway 41 points behind four-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson, halfway through the 2010 installment of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ Chase for the Sprint Cup.
When he arrived Friday morning, he made a bold statement to media on hand at the weekly top-12 drivers press conference: “We’re going to go out, we’re going to take the pole, we’re going to lead laps, and we’re going to win the race.”
After Hamlin’s performance in the TUMS Fast Relief 500, you can call him a man of his word.
Hamlin started the race on the pole position, and rebounded from early struggles to pass Kevin Harvick with 29 laps remaining, holding off a late charge by Mark Martin to win his series-high seventh race of 2010.
Hamlin fell as low as 15th early on in the race, as he struggled to maintain control of his ill-handling race car after leading the opening 10 laps. But through a series of pit stops on several of the race’s 15 cautions, which accounted for over 90 laps under caution, Hamlin’s team was able to make the adjustments he needed to get the No. 11 Toyota back up front.
“It was a great fight by our race team,” Hamlin said. “This is probably the most gratifying win I’ve had so far simply because we didn’t have the best car all day. We just fought and fought and fought and kept working on it.”
Hamlin may have been feeling gratified in victory lane, but he was clearly ecstatic as he crossed the finish line to take the checkered flag, yelling over his team’s radio “Who said it was over? I told you it wasn’t over.”
The victory moves Hamlin within six points of leader Johnson, who had a strong car early but faded late to settle for a fifth-place finish.
Martin, meanwhile, charged through the field in the race’s late stages, moving from outside the top-20 with 100 laps to go to finish second. Harvick was third, followed by Kyle Busch in fourth, leaving both drivers in contention for the Chase run late.
Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Joey Logano, finished sixth, giving JGR three cars inside the top six finishers. Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a strong showing, leading 90 laps before finishing seventh. Carl Edwards was eighth, while Jeff Burton, who led a race-high 134 of 500 laps, was ninth. Brad Keselowski rounded out the top 10.
Matt Kenseth was the final driver on the lead lap and finished 15th in his No. 17 Ford. Chasers Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon provided some late race drama when the two made contact late, sending Gordon slamming into the outside wall and knocking the No. 24 out of contention after running in the top-five for much of the race. Busch finished 16th while Gordon was 20th.
The remaining chasers struggled, all but ending their chances at the 2010 title. Tony Stewart was 24th, Greg Biffle 35th, and Clint Bowyer 38th. Mayetta, New Jersey native Martin Truex Jr. struggled much of the day after starting 16th, and finished 29th, 27 laps down.
Chase for the Sprint Cup Standings (After 6 of 10 races): 1. Jimmie Johnson (5598 points); 2. Denny Hamlin (-6); 3. Kevin Harvick (-62); 4. Kyle Busch (-172); 5. Jeff Gordon (-203); 6. Carl Edwards (-203); 7. Tony Stewart (-236); 8. Jeff Burton (-246); 9. Kurt Busch (-277); 10. Matt Kenseth (-293); 11. Greg Biffle (-316); 12. Clint Bowyer (-406).
Nationwide Series: Brad Keselowski passed Reed Sorenson with two laps remaining to win the five-hour Energy 250 at Gateway International Raceway last Saturday. The win was Keselowski’s sixth of 2010, and all but clinched the Nationwide Series title for the points leader, who now holds a 485 point lead over Carl Edwards with just three races remaining.
Mike Bliss finished second, followed by pole sitter Justin Allgaier in third, Jason Leffler in fourth, and Edwards in fifth.
Camping World Truck Series: Ron Hornaday passed Kyle Busch late and held off the No. 18 Toyota on the final restart to win for the first time at Martinsville Speedway. The victory was Hornaday’s second of 2010. Busch was second, followed by points leader Todd Bodine in third, races just hours after the death of his mother. Jason White was fourth and Aric Almirola was fifth.
Bodine leads Almirola by 282 points with just four events remaining.
Coming Up: The Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series teams head to Talladega Superspeedway for the final restrictor-plate racing of 2010.
Bruce Knoll, 18, of Eldora, can be contacted by email at bknoll jr4cmcherald@yahoo.com