Denny Hamlin completes the weekend sweep winning both the Nationwide and Cup Series races at Darlington, one of NASCAR’s most difficult tracks.  Hamlin led 104 of the 367 laps for his 11th career Cup Series win, and ties Jimmie Johnson with 3 wins this season.

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1 8 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota
2 1 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald’s Chevrolet
3 14 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge
4 2 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont / National Guard Facebook Chevrolet
5 15 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
6 35 29 Kevin Harvick Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet
7 39 18 Kyle Busch Doublemint Toyota
8 11 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet
9 6 39 Ryan Newman Haas Automation Chevrolet
10 3 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota
11 4 00 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota
12 9 12 Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge
13 29 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Black Ford
14 21 6 David Ragan UPS Ford
15 41 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford
16 5 5 Mark Martin GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
17 32 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
18 19 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy / National Guard Chevrolet
19 33 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Auto Parts Toyota
20 10 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Ford
21 38 19 Elliott Sadler Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford
22 17 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford
23 24 14 Tony Stewart Old Spice / Office Depot Chevrolet
24 31 26 David Stremme Air National Guard Ford
25 7 47 Marcos Ambrose Kingsford / Scott Branded Products Toyota
26 40 34 Travis Kvapil A&W Alll American Food Ford
27 13 20 Joey Logano The Home Depot Toyota
28 16 82 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota
29 43 13 Max Papis GEICO Toyota
30 20 98 Paul Menard Turtle Wax / Menards Ford
31 25 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1 Dodge
32 27 33 Clint Bowyer The Hartford Chevrolet
33 42 37 Kevin Conway # Extenze Ford
34 23 71 Bobby Labonte TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet
35 34 38 David Gilliland Taco Bell Ford
36 22 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet
37 12 43 A J Allmendinger Insignia / Best Buy Ford
38 26 7 Robby Gordon BAMVIP.com / James Otto / Whitney Duncan Toyota
39 37 64 Todd Bodine Little Joe’s Auto Sales Toyota
40 18 55 Michael McDowell PRISM Motorsports Toyota
41 30 46 JJ Yeley Whitney Motorsports Dodge
42 28 66 Dave Blaney PRISM Motorsports Toyota
43 36 32 Reed Sorenson Braun Racing Toyota

1 1 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota
2 4 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet
3 7 29 Kevin Harvick Reese’s Chevrolet
4 17 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet
5 28 99 Carl Edwards Scotts EZ Seed Ford
6 19 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
7 26 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Auto Parts Toyota
8 5 39 Ryan Newman Army Medicine Chevrolet
9 20 47 Marcos Ambrose Bush’s Best Baked Beans / Kingsford Toyota
10 3 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s / KOBALT Tools Chevrolet
11 30 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota
12 10 33 Clint Bowyer BB&T Chevrolet
13 21 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Ford
14 6 12 Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge
15 2 00 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota
16 23 20 Joey Logano The Home Depot Toyota
17 15 43 A J Allmendinger Valvoline Ford
18 16 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge
19 8 1 Jamie McMurray Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet
20 9 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota
21 22 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser 25th Anniversary Ford
22 33 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford
23 18 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot / Old Spice Chevrolet
24 35 6 David Ragan UPS Ford
25 14 5 Mark Martin Hendrickcars.com / GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
26 13 36 Casey Mears H.D. Segar Inc. Insurance Chevrolet
27 32 98 Paul Menard Schrock / /Menards Ford
28 37 7 Robby Gordon BAMVIP.com / James Otto / Whitney Duncan Toyota
29 39 26 David Stremme Air National Guard Ford
30 29 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
31 40 37 David Gilliland Taco Bell Ford
32 25 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard / AMP Energy Chevrolet
33 31 71 Bobby Labonte TRG Motorsports Chevrolet
34 38 34 Travis Kvapil Long John Silver’s Ford
35 12 82 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota
36 27 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1 Dodge
37 42 38 Kevin Conway # Extenze Ford
38 24 19 Elliott Sadler Reynolds Ford
39 41 46 Terry Cook # The Atlantic Company Dodge
40 36 09 Mike Bliss Phoenix Construction / Graceway Chevrolet
41 34 32 Reed Sorenson Braun Racing Toyota
42 43 64 Tony Raines Gunselman Motorsports Toyota
43 11 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota

RACE RECAP | DARLINGTON
10 Brian Vickers
9 Ryan Newman
8 Jeff Burton
7 Kyle Busch
6 Kevin Harvick
5 Juan Montoya
4 Jeff Gordon led the most laps at 111 (again)
3 Kurt Busch
2 Jamie McMurray pole sitter laying down a new track record

VICTORY LANE

1 Denny Hamlin completes the weekend sweep winning both the Nationwide and Cup Series races at Darlington, one of NASCAR’s most difficult tracks. Hamlin led 104 of the 367 laps for his 11th career Cup Series win, and ties Jimmie Johnson with 3 wins this season

OTHER STORIES ON THE DAY

-Jimmie Johnson slapped the wall with his right rear early in the race

-Joey Logano spun coming off turn 4 and hit the inside wall

-Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, and Martin Truex Jr. in turn 4. The 16 got loose, and the 48 and 56 checked up and ran into each other

-Clint Bowyer went to the garage with brake problems

-Jimmie Johnson had nowhere to go when his 48 car was pummeled by the 43 of AJ Allmendinger. Johnson finished 36th

-Tony Stewart had a rough day, rear bumper caved in, right rear hit the wall

-Kyle Busch got a flat tire (left rear), right after pitting, while leading

-Pit road mistakes, Jeff Gordon missed the commitment cone, and Jeff Burton ran over his air hose, essentially taking out a couple of the best cars of the race

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(May 7, 2010)

DARLINGTON, S.C.—Talk about a glutton for punishment.

Less than six weeks removed from ACL surgery on his left knee, Denny Hamlin opted for a weekend double at the track he considers one of the most grueling on the NASCAR circuit.

So far, so good. Staying out on old tires while other contenders came to the pits under caution on Lap 123, Hamlin held off teammate Kyle Busch, who also stayed out, to win Friday night’s Royal Purple 200 Nationwide Series race at Darlington Raceway.

Hamlin led the final 63 of 147 laps in winning his 10th race in the series in his second start of the year. On Saturday night, he’ll start eighth in the Showtime Southern 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

“Great race car,” Hamlin said in Victory Lane. “Congratulations to (crew chief) Kevin Kidd. This is his first win with Joe Gibbs Racing after taking over for Dave Rogers. When you have a car that drives as good as this one did today, it makes your job a whole lot easier.”

Busch had a strong car but couldn’t pass Hamlin on a succession of restarts late in the race. Busch pulled even with Hamlin to the inside entering Turn 1 on a restart with five laps to go, but Hamlin had momentum around the outside and gradually inched away to win by .625 seconds.

“If you don’t get out first after the last pit stop, you’re stuck,” Busch said. “You just can’t pass out there. It’s just so aero-sensitive. You fight for track position here. That’s all you can do. Tires don’t mean a whole lot, but track position does.”

All told, Hamlin led 111 laps and Busch 17. Jamie McMurray finished third, followed by Kasey Kahne and Jason Leffler. Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Brian Vickers and Paul Menard completed the top 10.

Hamlin’s Friday schedule included a two-and-a-half-hour Nationwide practice session, starting at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by two 90-minute Cup practices, qualifying in both series and, finally, the race.

“I knew it was going to be a challenge,” Hamlin said. “I knew it was going to be a very, very long day. I tried to conserve as much energy as possible. I didn’t run a ton of laps in Nationwide (practice). I didn’t run a ton of laps in Cup.

“I was just trying to conserve some energy for (Friday night) and then for (Saturday). Having all day to rest tomorrow will help.”

Keselowski holds a 55-point lead over Busch in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings.