Atlanta NASCAR: Denny Hamlin takes second straight win

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver led 106 laps, more than any of his rivals during the night. It was Hamlin's last pitstop that proved key, allowing him to lead the final restart.

In the green-white-chequered finish, Hamlin came under attack from Gordon's Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. The former champion tried to drive around the outside of the #11 Toyota into Turn 3 but could not find enough grip to keep his run for the lead alive into the final turn.

Hamlin's win clinched his spot in the Chase. He currently leads the series for wins with four, potentially making him the play-off leader in two weeks' time.

"We just had such a strong car for three quarters of the race," said Hamlin. "The line I was running, I knew there was a price to pay if I kept going down there and it took its toll on our car by wearing the splitter out. That really hurt us at the end. Other than that I feel like we had the best car.

"Circumstances just fell our way in the end and when you start to falter and you start to fade you've got to have another aspect of the team that picks you up and today it was the pit crew that won us this race."

Gordon's second place allows him to remain in contention for the final Chase wildcard spot. Hamlin's team-mate Kyle Busch currently holds it following a sixth-place finish on Sunday night.

Penske's Brad Keselowski finished third and mathematically secured a Chase spot, as did Martin Truex Jr who was leading the race and looking on course for his first win for Michael Waltrip Racing before the final caution came out. Although he would resume in second, a poor restart put him out of contention for victory.

Kevin Harvick led 101 laps, having one of his best races of the season but his car lost its edge when running in dirty air. However, he also clinched a Chase seeding along with Clint Bowyer and reigning champion Tony Stewart, the latter thanks to his three wins.

Stewart started from pole for the first time this season but then struggled all night, finishing down in 22nd place and one lap behind the winner.

Carl Edwards' Chase hopes took a hit when he had to pit with an engine issue, which ultimately caused him to retire.

Stewart-Haas' Ryan Newman was involved in an incident caused by contact between Jimmie Johnson and Sam Hornish Jr and would not see the chequered flag either, losing massive ground in the battle for the final wildcard spot.

Results - 327 laps:

Pos  Driver              Team/Car                         Time/Gap
 1.  Denny Hamlin        Gibbs Toyota                 3h32m45.000s
 2.  Jeff Gordon         Hendrick Chevrolet               + 0.378s
 3.  Brad Keselowski     Penske Dodge                     + 0.568s
 4.  Martin Truex Jr     Waltrip Toyota                   + 1.414s
 5.  Kevin Harvick       Childress Chevrolet              + 1.713s
 6.  Kyle Busch          Gibbs Toyota                     + 1.916s
 7.  Dale Earnhardt Jr   Hendrick Chevrolet               + 2.314s
 8.  Paul Menard         Childress Chevrolet              + 2.531s
 9.  Matt Kenseth        Roush Fenway Ford                + 2.733s
10.  Mark Martin         Waltrip Toyota                   + 2.807s
11.  Sam Hornish Jr      Penske Dodge                     + 3.149s
12.  Jeff Burton         Childress Chevrolet              + 3.396s
13.  Kurt Busch          Phoenix Chevrolet                + 3.578s
14.  Regan Smith         Furniture Row Chevrolet          + 3.982s
15.  Greg Biffle         Roush Fenway Ford                + 6.535s
16.  Trevor Bayne        Wood Brothers Ford               + 6.800s
17.  Marcos Ambrose      Petty Ford                       + 7.519s
18.  Joey Logano         Gibbs Toyota                     + 7.763s
19.  Bobby Labonte       JTG Daugherty Toyota             + 8.413s
20.  Landon Cassill      BK Toyota                         + 1 lap
21.  Juan Pablo Montoya  Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet       + 1 lap
22.  Tony Stewart        Stewart-Haas Chevrolet            + 1 lap
23.  Kasey Kahne         Hendrick Chevrolet               + 2 laps
24.  Jamie McMurray      Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet      + 2 laps
25.  Dave Blaney         Baldwin Chevrolet                + 3 laps
26.  Travis Kvapil       BK Toyota                        + 3 laps
27.  Clint Bowyer        Waltrip Toyota                   + 3 laps
28.  David Ragan         Front Row Ford                   + 4 laps
29.  Danica Patrick      Stewart-Haas Chevrolet           + 6 laps
30.  TJ Bell             FAS Lane Ford                    + 8 laps
31.  David Gilliland     Front Row Ford                  + 29 laps
32.  Aric Almirola       Petty Ford                      + 30 laps

Retirements:

     Casey Mears         Germain Ford                     291 laps
     Jimmie Johnson      Hendrick Chevrolet               269 laps
     Ryan Newman         Stewart-Haas Chevrolet           268 laps
     Carl Edwards        Roush Fenway Ford                264 laps
     Scott Speed         Leavine Ford                     196 laps
     Jason Leffler       Robinson-Blakeney Toyota          77 laps
     David Stremme       Inception Toyota                  54 laps
     Scott Riggs         R3 Chevrolet                      43 laps
     JJ Yeley            Baldwin Chevrolet                 32 laps
     Reed Sorenson       Humphrey Smith Chevrolet          24 laps
     Joe Nemechek        NEMCO Toyota                      22 laps