NSCS Recap: Virginia Native Hamlin Wins Chevy Rock & Roll 400; Chase Field Set

RICHMOND, VA. – The Chase is on.

Twenty-six races into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, there are now 12 drivers with a chance to win the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

The suspense of who would make that field culminated Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.

Local native Denny Hamlin from Chesapeake finally won a NASCAR Sprint Cup race at his home track after coming “oh, so close” so many times before. He also did it in convincing style, battling door-to-door with Jeff Gordon along the way. It was Hamlin’s second win of the season in his FedEx Toyota. He won earlier this year at Pocono.

Hamlin is one of the 12 Chase participants but his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch didn’t make it. Hamlin had locked in a spot before the race but Kyle needed to finish well ahead of Brian Vickers to make it. Kyle finished fifth but Vickers was seventh and wound up grabbing the 12th spot by eight points over Busch.

Continue reading “Hamlin wins Richmond, Vickers makes Chase”

CUP SERIES – POINT STANDINGS
14 Matt Kenseth – out
13 Kyle Busch – out (missed the Chase by 8 points)

These are your TOP 12 drivers that made the chase
12 Greg Biffle
11 Juan Pablo Montoya
10 Ryan Newman
9 Carl Edwards
8 Brian Vickers
7 Kurt Busch
6 Jeff Gordon
5 Kasey Kahne
4 Denny Hamlin
3 Jimmie Johnson
2 Tony Stewart
1 Mark Martin leads the points since he won 4 races during the first 26 races

NOTES

-Stewart-Haas Racing gets both cars in

-Hendrick Motorsports has 3 cars

-Richard Petty Motorsports has 1 car, Roush-Fenway Racing has 2, Joe Gibbs Racing has 1, Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing has 1, Penske has 1, and Red Bull Racing makes their debut in the Chase with Brian Vickers

RACE RECAP | RICHMOND | CUP SERIES

This was the final race for drivers to get themselves into The NASCAR Chase for the Championship. Here’s how the top 10 stacked up…
10 Ryan Newman
9 Kevin Harvick
8 Sam Hornish
7 Brian Vickers makes the Chase
6 Clint Bowyer
5 Kyle Busch misses the chase by 8 points
4 Mark Martin
3 Jeff Gordon
2 Kurt Busch

VICTORY LANE

1 Denny Hamlin takes home the win, at his home race track. Hamlin dominated this race leading 297 laps. It’s Denny’s first career Cup win at Richmond.

OTHER STORIES ON THE DAY

-Scott Speed wrecked for caution #1

-Reed Sorenson and Tony Stewart got together with Tony taking the blame

-Matt Kenseth missed his pit stall, adding to his bad handling race car

-Carl Edwards reports that the motor “missed” around lap 180

-Brad Keselowski did a pit stop backwards thanks to a nudge from David Ragan

-Martin Truex Jr. blew a tire and headed to the garage

-Brad Keselowski blows an engine to bring out a caution for the last pit stop of the night

-Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch are out of The Chase, Brian Vickers raced his way in

-In the past some of the best in the business haven’t made the Chase, like Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jeff Gordon

By Tim Tuttle
Special to the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

MADISON, Ill.—Mike Skinner was the beneficiary of a wild conclusion in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Saturday, winning the Copart 200 in a green-white-checkered finish at Gateway International Raceway.

Matt Crafton was involved in incidents in back-to-back restarts with 10 laps remaining that knocked out the first-place and second-place trucks.

On the first restart, Crafton, running third, jumped inside of Todd Bodine, who restarted second. As they approached Turn 1, Bodine’s Toyota angled toward the inside and contact was made with Crafton’s Chevrolet. Bodine did a quarter-spin on the pit lane exit and went across the track, hit the outside wall and made contact with Colin Braun and Rick Crawford. The race was red flagged.

On the subsequent restart, Crafton lined up second behind Ron Hornaday Jr. When Hornaday turned into the first corner, Crafton was inside him and hit the left-rear of Hornaday’s Chevrolet. Hornaday backed into the outside wall and then was hit by Jason Young.

The race was again red flagged, with Crafton in front. But NASCAR black flagged Crafton for aggressive driving, giving the lead to Skinner. Johnny Sauter moved up to second and Brian Scott to third. Crafton was forced to restart at the back of the field, the 11th and final truck on the lead lap. When Crafton drove down pit lane to serve his penalty, a large number of the crowd applauded.

Continue reading “Mike Skinner takes the win at Gateway”

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

RICHMOND, Va. — Carl Edwards won the race off pit road on Lap 227. Then he won the race.

After his crew got his No. 60 Ford off pit road in the top spot under caution, Edwards ran away from Kevin Harvick over the final 20-lap green-flag run and won the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 Friday night at Richmond International Raceway.

Because of an ignition problem in qualifying, Edwards started from the rear of the field under a penalty for adjustments outside of impound. For the third time this season, Edwards won a race after starting from the back. The win was Edwards’ fourth in the Nationwide Series this season and the 24th of his career, tying him with Tommy Houston for sixth all-time.

Because he broke two bones in his right foot playing Frisbee before last week’s Atlanta race, he couldn’t do his characteristic victory backflip, but he savored the win nonetheless. Second in the Nationwide standings, Edwards trimmed the lead of third-place finisher Kyle Busch to 201 points.

Continue reading “Race Recap: Carl Edwards wins Richmond NNS race”