Earnhardt Jr wins at Richmond
Dale Earnhardt Jr took the Crown Royal 400 victory at Richmond International Raceway despite a dominant run by Kevin Harvick
Earnhardt Jr took the lead with 45 laps remaining and held on for his first victory in nearly a year despite a pair of late cautions.
Local hero Denny Hamlin nearly did the unbelievable on his first visit to Richmond in a Nextel Cup car, coming up just one place short of a miracle win as he ended the race in second.
After winning Friday night's Busch race, Kevin Harvick was absolutely dominant for over half of the Nextel Cup race. But a strategy call just before three-quarter distance ended up costing him what was a near-certain victory, and so third was a disappointing result.
Greg Biffle led early in the race before getting caught out by a mid-race caution which saw him go a lap down. He rallied back to finish the race fourth, one place ahead of Kyle Busch.
Several top runners had bad nights, with Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon all going behind the wall for repairs, which saw them finish 34th, 38th and 40th respectively.
Biffle led the early laps before Harvick took over at the front just after lap 70, a lead Harvick held apart from a lap here or there for the next 250 laps through several cautions and pit stops.
A decision by Harvick's team not to pit with just over 110 laps remaining when the rest of the field did so, had repercussions as the race wound down to the finish. Harvick's older tyres cost him the lead on lap 330, quickly falling to fifth.
Kyle Busch led the field as the race restarted with 49 laps remaining but he was soon passed by Earnhardt Jr, a lead he held to the finish despite some late pressure by Hamlin.
Pos Driver Make Laps 1. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet 400 2. Denny Hamlin Chevrolet 400 3. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 400 4. Greg Biffle Ford 400 5. Kyle Busch Chevrolet 400 6. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 400 7. Carl Edwards Ford 400 8. Ryan Newman Dodge 400 9. Sterling Marlin Chevrolet 400 10. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 400 11. Mark Martin Ford 400 12. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 400 13. Elliott Sadler Ford 400 14. Scott Riggs Dodge 400 15. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 399 16. Ken Schrader Ford 399 17. Casey Mears Dodge 399 18. Jeff Green Chevrolet 399 19. Jamie McMurray Ford 399 20. Dave Blaney Dodge 399 21. Dale Jarrett Ford 399 22. J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 399 23. Reed Sorenson Dodge 399 24. Bobby Labonte Dodge 399 25. Kenny Wallace Chevrolet 398 26. Kyle Petty Dodge 398 27. Travis Kvapil Chevrolet 398 28. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 398 29. Kurt Busch Dodge 397 30. Tony Raines Chevrolet 397 31. Michael Waltrip Dodge 397 32. Jeremy Mayfield Dodge 397 33. David Stremme Dodge 397 34. Kasey Kahne Dodge 396 35. Mike Wallace Dodge 395 36. Scott Wimmer Chevrolet 389 37. Brian Vickers Chevrolet 387 38. Matt Kenseth Ford 351 39. Robby Gordon Chevrolet 345 40. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 286 41. Martin Truex Jr Chevrolet 285 42. Kevin Lepage Dodge 90 43. Derrike Cope Dodge 11
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