Denny Hamlin scored his second win of the season (Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Denny Hamlin took his first victory at Kansas Speedway after beating the dominant Martin Truex Jr. to the chequered flag, with Jimmie Johnson a distant third.
The sun shone favourably upon Hamlin, who broke to the front as soon as the dark looming clouds dispersed during the final cycle of green-flag pit-stops, snatching the lead from Truex Jr who had led almost all the way until that point. In the last few laps Truex Jr raced back up to the rear of the #11 but after a few lunges could not find a way past the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and had to settle for second.
“I know Martin was driving his heart out,” Hamlin said. “I know it’s disappointing not to win when you have a dominant car.”
Truex Jr. was left rueing the final stint of the race, which cost him a potential first Sprint Cup victory since 2007.
“I was a little bit faster than Denny at the end, but he was running against the wall right where I needed to be, and I was just trying to gain a little bit of ground,” he said. “It was desperation – last-ditch effort – just trying something. There was no chance to make it work.”
The second place finish did move him up to second in the championship though, behind fifth placed finisher Greg Biffle, who in turn finished behind Roush team-mate Matt Kenseth.
Polesitter A.J. Allmendinger had a nightmare race, his car suffering engine problems that slowed him down and dropped him several laps back. Jeff Gordon also suffered mechanical woes, his engine dying near the end of the race. Yet more engine problems blighted Toyota as well, with the Camry’s of Mark Martin, Clint Bowyer and Bobby Labonte all succumbing to failure and forcing them to park in the garage.
Results - 267 laps:
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Denny Hamlin Gibbs Toyota 2h46m44.000s
2. Martin Truex Jr Waltrip Toyota + 0.700s
3. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet + 3.324s
4. Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Ford + 8.017s
5. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford + 14.317s
6. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet + 14.498s
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet + 18.621s
8. Kasey Kahne Hendrick Chevrolet + 21.953s
9. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford + 24.049s
10. Kyle Busch Gibbs Toyota + 24.433s
11. Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge + 27.615s
12. Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt-Ganassi Chevrolet + 28.404s
13. Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Chevrolet + 30.714s
14. Jamie McMurray Earnhardt-Ganassi Chevrolet + 1 lap
15. Joey Logano Gibbs Toyota + 1 lap
16. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford + 1 lap
17. Kurt Busch Phoenix Chevrolet + 1 lap
18. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet + 1 lap
19. Sam Hornish Jr Penske Dodge + 1 lap
20. Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Chevrolet + 2 laps
21. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet + 3 laps
22. Jeff Burton Childress Chevrolet + 3 laps
23. Aric Almirola Petty Ford + 3 laps
24. Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet + 4 laps
25. Travis Kvapil BK Toyota + 4 laps
26. Casey Mears Germain Ford + 4 laps
27. David Gilliland Front Row Ford + 4 laps
28. Reed Sorenson FAS Lane Ford + 4 laps
29. David Reutimann Baldwin Chevrolet + 5 laps
30. David Ragan Front Row Ford + 5 laps
31. JJ Yeley Robinson-Blakeney Toyota + 6 laps
32. AJ Allmendinger Penske Dodge + 10 laps
Retirements:
Mark Martin Waltrip Toyota 255 laps
Landon Cassill BK Toyota 214 laps
Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Toyota 132 laps
Clint Bowyer Waltrip Toyota 125 laps
Dave Blaney Balwin Chevrolet 82 laps
David Stremme Inception Toyota 80 laps
Josh Wise Front Row Ford 65 laps
Michael McDowell Parsons Ford 58 laps
Joe Nemechek NEMCO Toyota 47 laps
Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Toyota 27 laps
Scott Riggs R3 Chevrolet 18 laps
