The Final Lap with Kerry Murphey

Race Recap | Richmond
10 Brian Vickers
9 Tony Stewart fought a tight race car
8 Jimmie Johnson battles back from a lap down
7 AJ Allmendinger
6 Clint Bowyer
5 Carl Edwards
4 David Ragan
3 Kasey Kahne
2 Denny Hamlin first top 5 since Texas last season

Victory Lane

1 Kyle Busch picks up his 21st Career Cup Series win, 3rd spring Richmond win in a row, second win this season after leading the most laps.

Other Stories on the day

-Pole sitter Juan Montoya found the wall thanks to Ryan Newman

-Kurt Busch had a flat and hit the wall

-Juan Montoya did a little payback move and wrecked Ryan Newman

-Jimmie Johnson sent Joey Logano into the wall

-Brad Keselowski got spun by Landon Cassell

-A big wreck for the 8th caution. Involved were Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Paul Menard, Mark Martin, and others. Bowyer, into Kenseth, spun Gordon who hit the inside wall hard without a safer barrier and came on the radio and said “that one hurt”

1 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet 20.989 128.639
2 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet 21.031 128.382
3 33 Clint Bowyer BB&T Chevrolet 21.049 128.272
4 4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota 21.069 128.150
5 5 Mark Martin GoDaddy.com Chevrolet 21.085 128.053
6 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 21.092 128.011
7 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Dodge 21.092 128.011
8 99 Carl Edwards Scotts eZ Seed Ford 21.093 128.005
9 20 Joey Logano The Home Depot Toyota 21.097 127.980
10 27 Paul Menard Libman / Menards Chevrolet 21.101 127.956
11 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota 21.130 127.780
12 29 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet 21.150 127.660
13 39 Ryan Newman U.S. Army Medicine Chevrolet 21.181 127.473
14 47 Bobby Labonte Kingsford / Bush’s Toyota 21.181 127.473
15 13 Casey Mears GEICO Toyota 21.184 127.455
16 30 David Stremme EchoStor Technologies Chevrolet 21.193 127.401
17 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald’s Chevrolet 21.201 127.352
18 43 A J Allmendinger Nautica Ford 21.204 127.334
19 00 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 21.204 127.334
20 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Pretzel Toyota 21.208 127.310

AUDIO PODCAST: RICHMOND PREVIEW SHOW WITH BRAD KESELOWSKI

21 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 21.209 127.304
22 66 Michael McDowell K Love Toyota 21.210 127.298
23 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 21.238 127.131
24 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard / AMP Energy Chevrolet 21.244 127.095
25 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet 21.252 127.047
26 87 Joe Nemechek(i) AM FM Energy.com Pellet & Wood Stoves 21.256 127.023
27 6 David Ragan UPS Ford 21.257 127.017
28 38 Travis Kvapil(i) Long John Silver’s Ford 21.278 126.892
29 36 Dave Blaney Golden Corral Chevrolet 21.279 126.886
30 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet 21.280 126.880
31 14 Tony Stewart Mobil 1 / Office Depot Chevrolet 21.308 126.713
32 60 Mike Skinner(i) Big Red Toyota 21.330 126.582
33 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Ford 21.362 126.393
34 09 Landon Cassill(i) Security Benefit / Thank a Teacher Today 21.369 126.351
35 9 Marcos Ambrose DeWalt Ford 21.383 126.269
36 22 Kurt Busch Shell / Pennzoil Dodge 21.393 126.210 (WIN A KURT BUSCH DIE-CAST)
37 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 21.397 126.186
38 32 Ken Schrader H&B Railroad / FAS Lane Racing Ford 21.405 126.139
39 34 David Gilliland Gander Mountain Ford 21.443 125.915
40 46 J J Yeley Red Line Oil Chevrolet 21.516 125.488
41 71 Andy Lally # Interstate Moving Services Ford 21.629 124.832
42 7 Robby Gordon Fast Five / Speed Energy Dodge Owner Points
43 37 Tony Raines Front Row Motorsports Ford 21.517 125.482

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

RICHMOND, Va.—With a dominant car that led 199 laps Friday night, Denny Hamlin won the Bubba Burger 250 Nationwide Series race when the third caution of the race slowed the action after Hamlin had taken the white flag to start Lap 251.

A day after winning his own late-model charity race at his hometown .75-mile short track, Hamlin covered the field in his No. 20 Toyota and picked up his first Nationwide Series victory in his second start of the season. The win was the 11th of Hamlin’s career.

With seven laps left, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ran out of gas while running second to bring out the second caution of the evening. That enabled Hamlin to pit for fuel and tires. It also set up a two-lap sprint to the finish that took the race one lap pasted its posted distance.

Paul Menard finished second, followed series points leader Justin Allgaier, Elliott Sadler and Brad Keselowski. Those were the only cars scored on the lead lap.

“Obviously, we knew that this was a big weekend for us, to try to get things back on track on the Cup side,” said Hamlin, who is 17th in the Sprint Cup standings through eight races after finishing second in the series last year. “I needed a few good nights before the Cup race to kind of get the ball rolling.

“It’s been good so far this week. Obviously, the win last night … and then tonight was a little bit bigger. So, hopefully, we just continue that ladder.”

On the final restart on Lap 250, Menard said stayed with Hamlin until he hit fourth gear and lost ground.

“The last restart was wild, for sure,” Menard said. “I figured if I could have gotten a fender on him, I might have been able to roll around to the outside, but he got a better restart than me.”

Hamlin, who started 11th, took the lead from Carl Edwards, the pole winner, on Lap 44 and expanded it through a cycle of green-flag pit stops. By the time Kelly Bires’ spin in Turn 3 caused the first caution of the race on Lap 124, Hamlin held a nine-second lead over Aric Almirola.

Seven cars were on the lead lap at that point. That number doubled for a restart on Lap 131, thanks to a free pass for Keselowski (as the highest-scored lapped car) and wave-arounds for six other drivers who skipped pit stops in exchange for passage back to the lead lap.

Almirola took a short-lived lead on Lap 132, but Hamlin got back by the No. 88 Chevrolet five laps later and stayed out front as Stenhouse and Menard passed Almirola for second and third, respectively.

Notes: Subbing for Trevor Bayne, still hospitalized as doctors diagnose the effects of an apparent insect or tick bite, Chris Buescher finished 17th in his Nationwide Series debut. … Allgaier leads the Nationwide standings by six points over Sadler. … Adam Stevens picked up his first victory as a Nationwide crew chief.

CROWN ROYAL PAYS TRIBUTE TO U.S. MARINE HERO AND FALLEN TWIN BROTHER AT RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

NASCAR Champion Matt Kenseth and Country Music Star Rodney Atkins Among Star Studded Lineup Set to Honor Matthew and Daniel Hansen

RICHMOND, Va. – April 27, 2011 – From Bobby and Donnie Allison to Ward and Jeff Burton, NASCAR has featured its fair share of famous brothers. However, this weekend at Richmond International Raceway, the names of two new siblings will be on the tip of every tongue in the NASCAR garage: Matthew and Daniel Hanson, U.S. Marine twins and grand-prize winners of the Crown Royal “Your Name Here” contest. The contest awarded them with naming rights to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Saturday, April 30, officially titled, “Crown Royal Presents The Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400.”

AUDIO INTERVIEW: Kerry chats Matthew Hansen

Traditionally, the race has donned only the name of the contest winner, but this year’s race will recognize Matthew, as well as his identical twin brother and fellow Marine, Daniel, who was killed in action on Feb. 14, 2009. Matthew Hansen, a San Marcos, Calif. native, was unveiled as the grand-prize winner earlier this year during a ceremony led by country music star Rodney Atkins at Daytona International Speedway. Atkins performed his hit song “These are My People” during an acoustic set and added the Hansen brothers’ names to the lyrics signifying their selection as winners.

“I have a feeling this weekend is going to be full of incredible moments,” said Hansen. “From experiencing the rush of the race to hanging out with stars like Matt Kenseth and Rodney Atkins, I’m really looking forward to getting to Richmond. I wish Daniel could share this with me, but he will definitely be in my heart the entire time.”

This year marked the second year that Crown Royal, a subsidiary of Diageo plc (NYSE: DEO) focused the annual promotion solely on military service members to honor their heroic acts and service to their country. Matthew’s nomination was submitted by his godmother and chronicled his steadfast service during three tours of duty in Iraq, despite losing his twin brother and best friend.

“This weekend we are proud to honor two American heroes in Matthew and Daniel Hansen,” said Yvonne Briese, Crown Royal Brand Director. “The kind of bravery and selflessness these men have displayed are the exact traits Crown Royal sought to highlight through the ‘Your Name Here’ program and we could not ask for two better service members to represent this program.”

Matthew and Daniel joined the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) in 2002. Matthew served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and now works at a military base in San Marcos due to injury. He hopes to return overseas again on duty. Daniel was selected to protect President George W. Bush at Camp David in 2004 and later Lieutenant General Richard C. Zilmer, USMC while in Iraq, before falling victim to a roadside bomb supporting combat operations in the Farah province of Afghanistan. In honor of Matthew, Daniel and troops across the world, LtGen Richard Zilmer, USMC (Ret.) and Major General Ray Fox, USMC Commanding General of Training and Education Command in Quantico, Va., plan to attend this weekend’s race in Richmond.

Matthew Hansen will receive the royal treatment throughout the weekend courtesy of Crown Royal and Richmond International Raceway. His name will be incorporated into the national race broadcast and has been included on all race tickets and event merchandise. He will serve as Grand Marshal, including riding in pace-car laps, watching the race from the No. 17 pit box and delivering the trophy bearing his name to the race winner in Victory Lane. Hansen will be joined by friends and family members throughout the race weekend.

“It is a privilege to host Matthew as he honors his brother at Richmond International Raceway on April 30,” said Richmond International Raceway president Doug Fritz. “We are thrilled to again team up with Crown Royal for the ‘Your Name Here’ program, recognizing members of our Armed Forces. The Crown Royal Presents the Matthew & Daniel Hansen 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race will be a momentous event at America’s Premier Short Track.”

Hansen will also spend time with Atkins, who will continue his partnership with Crown Royal with an hour-long concert prior to the race to salute those who proudly serve. Ticketholders aged 21 and older will be able to view the concert on the frontstretch of America’s Premier Short Track. The concert will also be streamed live on NASCAR.com.

“This weekend’s show in Richmond is going to be a blast,” said Atkins, who has one of the most added singles on country radio this week with “Take A Back Road.” “Not only do I get to perform for thousands of race fans, but I get to do so for a cause I really believe in – honoring American heroes like Matthew and Daniel Hansen.”

Crown Royal, primary sponsor of Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 Ford Fusion, continues to use its NASCAR-related sponsorship to remind fans to “Please Drink Responsibly.” In seven years as a sponsor of the sport, Crown Royal has provided thousands of adult consumers safe and free rides through its “Safe Rides Home” designated driver initiative and strives to continue educating people on the importance of drinking responsibly.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED, THE WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON, THANKS TO ALL THAT PLAYED

WIN A KURT BUSCH DIECAST CAR FROM SHELL/PENNZOIL RACING

Prize for this contest provided by Shell/Pennzoil Racing is:

•        1 (1:24) scale No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Racing Kurt Busch die-cast car

For your chance to win, simply answer the following Kurt Busch trivia question in the comments section of this page.

TRIVIA: WHAT YEAR DID KURT BUSCH WIN THE NASCAR CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP?

Kurt Busch is the driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Dodge for Penske Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL CONTEST RULES.

Contest Ends 11:59 p.m. Eastern on 05/31/2011

Note all comments are hidden until contest ends to protect the trivia question answer