Hamlin beats Johnson at Martinsville

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver emerged as the dominant force in the second half of the race after Johnson looked in control for the first 250 laps.

In the race's longest green-flag run, following the eleventh of 14 caution periods, Hamlin started to close on Johnson until he went by him on lap 363.

The race carried on without incident until the leaders were forced to make a last stop under green. The order remained the same after all the leaders completed their final four-tyre changes, but a further caution would finally bunch up the field again.

Three more restarts would follow, but Hamlin stayed in control in the green-white-chequered finish to claim his third win of the season.

Johnson finished second but still extended his lead in the points to Mark Martin, while Juan Pablo Montoya kept the reigning champion on his toes in the final two laps.

Montoya led the race for 37 laps in the first half, overtaking Johnson on lap 141. He was often beaten in the pits however, and from fourth on the penultimate restart he overtook Gordon for third place driving on his outside - not the usual line to overtake at Martinsville.

Gordon lost to Kyle Busch on the final restart and eventually finished fifth. The Hendrick driver made a great recovery after losing ground halfway through the race, having led early on after starting from the front row.

He also had a couple of exchanges with Montoya during the race while battling for position but in their final battle they gave each other room, the Colombian eventually beating the four-times champion.

Kyle Busch was among a number of drivers taking four new tyres during the penultimate caution, while most stayed out to keep track position. Jamie McMurray made the same strategy work for him as he finished sixth, while Mark Martin didn't gain much from a similar move, finishing eighth.

The veteran has lost more ground in the title battle to Johnson, and he trails him now by 118 points heading into the "wildcard" race of the Chase at Talladega.

Pos  Driver               Car
 1.  Denny Hamlin         Toyota
 2.  Jimmie Johnson       Chevrolet
 3.  Juan Pablo Montoya   Chevrolet
 4.  Kyle Busch           Toyota
 5.  Jeff Gordon          Chevrolet
 6.  Jamie McMurray       Ford
 7.  Ryan Newman          Chevrolet
 8.  Mark Martin          Chevrolet
 9.  Tony Stewart         Chevrolet
10.  Kevin Harvick        Chevrolet
11.  Brian Vickers        Toyota
12.  Joey Logano          Toyota
13.  Bobby Labonte        Ford
14.  Matt Kenseth         Ford
15.  Jeff Burton          Chevrolet
16.  David Reutimann      Toyota
17.  Kurt Busch           Dodge
18.  Casey Mears          Chevrolet
19.  Clint Bowyer         Chevrolet
20.  Carl Edwards         Ford
21.  Elliott Sadler       Dodge
22.  David Ragan          Ford
23.  Paul Menard          Ford
24.  Reed Sorenson        Dodge
25.  Greg Biffle          Ford
26.  John Andretti        Chevrolet
27.  Marcos Ambrose       Toyota
28.  Martin Truex Jr.     Chevrolet
29.  Dale Earnhardt Jr.   Chevrolet
30.  Michael Waltrip      Toyota
31.  Scott Speed          Toyota
32.  Kasey Kahne          Dodge
33.  David Stremme        Dodge
34.  AJ Allmendinger      Dodge
35.  Sterling Marlin      Dodge
36.  Sam Hornish Jr.      Dodge
37.  Robby Gordon         Toyota
38.  Joe Nemechek         Toyota
39.  David Gilliland      Chevrolet
40.  Dave Blaney          Toyota
41.  Michael McDowell     Toyota
42.  Derrike Cope         Toyota
43.  Travis Kvapil        Dodge