Martinsvile NASCAR: Denny Hamlin resists Brad Keselowski for win
Denny Hamlin earned his 25th career NASCAR Sprint Cup victory at Martinsville, after holding off last week's Fontana winner Brad Keselowski
Keselowski punted Hamlin on the last lap, but it wasn't enough to deny the Joe Gibbs driver his fifth Martinsville victory.
Hamlin suffered from a pitlane penalty for an uncontrolled tyre before the halfway point, but he slowly recovered with the help of some calming words from crew chief Dave Rogers as he fought his way through the field.
Keselowski produced a brilliant drive, coming to the fore at the perfect time to challenge for the lead, but he ultimately fell short.
His Penske team-mate Joey Logano managed third, after he had contact with Michael Annett, sending him into a spin and forcing him to the back.
Joe Gibbs duo Matt Kenseth and David Ragan rounded out the top five, while Martin Truex Jr had an eventful day, but managed sixth and his sixth top 10 finish of 2015.
Kevin Harvick's string of eight top-two finishes came to an end as he fell back in the last 100 laps, despite leading a race-high 154 laps, and came home eighth.
Hendrick Motorsports had a tough day, with three cars in the garage at one point during the race.
Jimmie Johnson had a multitude of issues, while Dale Earnhardt Jr ruined the front end of his car by ploughing into the back of Paul Menard as he avoided an incident up front and Chase Elliott had trouble with the radiator on his Cup debut.
Jeff Gordon took the lead for the first time with less than 50 of the 500 laps remaining, but then sped in the pitlane. He did manage to fight back to finish ninth.
RESULTS - 500 LAPS:
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3h49m13.s |
2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 0.186s |
3 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 1.610s |
4 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4.627s |
5 | David Ragan | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4.810s |
6 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet | 5.682s |
7 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 6.925s |
8 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 7.205s |
9 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7.610s |
10 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 8.955s |
11 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9.260s |
12 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 9.389s |
13 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 10.404s |
14 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 11.651s |
15 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Chevrolet | 12.465s |
16 | Regan Smith | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 12.654s |
17 | Carl Edwards | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 13.490s |
18 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 13.840s |
19 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 15.254s |
20 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet | 16.158s |
21 | Landon Cassill | Hillman Smith Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.853s |
22 | Cole Whitt | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 1 Lap |
23 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1 Lap |
24 | Chris Buescher | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 1 Lap |
25 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 1 Lap |
26 | J.J. Yeley | BK Racing | Toyota | 3 Laps |
27 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 4 Laps |
28 | Brett Moffitt | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 4 Laps |
29 | Jeb Burton | BK Racing | Toyota | 5 Laps |
30 | Josh Wise | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford | 5 Laps |
31 | Matt DiBenedetto | BK Racing | Toyota | 6 Laps |
32 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford | 7 Laps |
33 | Alex Kennedy | Circle Sport | Chevrolet | 8 Laps |
34 | Mike Bliss | Go FAS Racing | Ford | 9 Laps |
35 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 32 Laps |
36 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 47 Laps |
37 | Alex Bowman | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet | 56 Laps |
38 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 73 Laps |
39 | Michael Annett | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 111 Laps |
40 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 136 Laps |
41 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Electrical |
42 | Justin Allgaier | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet | 172 Laps |
43 | A.J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | Oil leak |
- | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | Withdrawn |
LEADING CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
Pos | Driver | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Kevin Harvick | 263 |
2 | Joey Logano | 239 |
3 | Martin Truex Jr. | 231 |
4 | Brad Keselowski | 206 |
5 | Kasey Kahne | 193 |
6 | Paul Menard | 173 |
7 | Denny Hamlin | 172 |
8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 172 |
9 | Aric Almirola | 170 |
10 | Jimmie Johnson | 168 |
11 | Matt Kenseth | 168 |
12 | David Ragan | 163 |
13 | Casey Mears | 161 |
14 | Jamie McMurray | 154 |
15 | Danica Patrick | 148 |
16 | Jeff Gordon | 148 |
17 | Carl Edwards | 148 |
18 | Clint Bowyer | 146 |
19 | A.J. Allmendinger | 138 |
20 | Greg Biffle | 138 |
21 | Ryan Newman | 130 |
22 | David Gilliland | 120 |
23 | Austin Dillon | 119 |
24 | Kyle Larson | 116 |
25 | Kurt Busch | 113 |
Chase places provisionally secured: Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin
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