What’s the best rehab regiment following a mid-season knee surgery? Climbing out of a car in victory lane seems to work mighty well.
Denny Hamlin did just that, leading 104 en route to victory in the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
Hamlin battled for the lead much of the evening with the Chevrolets of Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton, but both fell out of contention due to pit-road errors late, leaving Hamlin a clear path to the checkered flag – and his third victory in the last six races.
“You can’t put this in words,” Hamlin said. “Just an unbelievable night. Pit road did a phenomenal job getting me back on the track first, and that’s what led to this win. We went back and forth all night and fine-tuned it to perfection at the end. Right there at the end, it was the best it’s been all night. That’s all you can ask for.”
Gordon led a race-high 110 of 367 laps, but when he attempted to pit early on the final green flag sequence, he had to delay pitting in order to avoid causing a wreck by pitting early. Once did pit, he had to speed back on to the raceway to avoid falling a lap behind the leader after a late caution came out. He restarted 12th on the final restart and never recovered.
Hamlin became the first driver to sweep the Darlington race weekend in 17 years with his victory in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series.
Polesitter Jamie McMurray raced his way back up through the field to finish second, followed by Kurt Busch in third. Gordon was fourth, and Juan Pablo Montoya rounded out the top five.
Kevin Harvick remained the points leader after finishing sixth. Martin Truex Jr. of Mayetta, New Jersey started 33rd and finished 19th.
Nationwide Series: Denny Hamlin dominated the Royal Purple 200 at Darlington Raceway, leading 111 of 147 laps en route to the victory. Kyle Busch was second, followed by Jamie McMurray in third, Kasey Kahne in fourth, and Jason Leffler in fifth.
Coming Up: All three national touring series head to Dover International Speedway for some earlier-than-usual racing action in our area. There are still plenty of tickets available, so be sure not to miss the opportunity to see the nation’s best drivers compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Friday, that Nationwide Series race on Saturday, and the Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday.
Bruce Knoll, 18, of Eldora, can be contacted by email at bknoll jr4cmcherald@yahoo.com
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