There are literally billions of dollars at play in today's NASCAR environment, but for a few laps on Sunday, you could have been watching a good old small-track race in the middle of nowhere.
Well, technically, you were; Martinsville is one of the most remote tracks on the circuit. But you get the idea: for all the money and fame these drivers and race teams accrue, sometimes it comes down to two drivers, two cars, one prize. And on Sunday, it was Denny Hamlin who outlasted Brad Keselowski in the closing laps of the STP 500 to notch his first win of the season and fifth at Martinsville overall.
Hamlin had driven one of the best cars all day, but one by one his top challengers dropped back in the pack, either victimized by bad luck (Joey Logano got collected on a spin by Michael Annett) or their own mistakes (Jeff Gordon suffered a critical pit road speeding penalty with less than 40 laps remaining). As with last week, it then fell to Keselowski to sneak in and challenge Hamlin for the victory. Turn after turn in the closing laps, Keselowski got close enough to touch Hamlin's bumper, but couldn't get inside for a pass.
On the final turn of the final lap, Keselowski took one last shot at Hamlin, hitting him hard directly in the bumper, but Hamlin could hold on for the final stretch to the checkered flag.
"I did everything I could other than wreck him," Keselowski said afterward. "I hit him pretty good a couple times, so he did a good job, and he chose not to wreck, which I'll give him credit for. But it was fun."
Hamlin, for his part, credited team owner Joe Gibbs for getting fiery at a competition meeting earlier this week. "Joe raised his voice, which doesn't happen very often, told us to get off our tails and go to work, and we all did it, and great result for this race team," Hamlin said. "Sometimes you need a leader like that to kind of put things in perspective. Not that people weren't working hard, but it just takes that extra 10 percent out of everyone to get to that next level."
"Everybody is frustrated and kind of expressed their feelings," Gibbs said. "But I will say this: We've kind of charted a course for us to work on."
Early on, it didn't appear Hamlin had much of a chance at victory, not after a loose-tire penalty that buried the 11 car deep in the field. But Hamlin's expertise took him back to the front, and breaks at the right time kept him there,
"I'm just happy that it looks like our short track stuff is starting to turn the corner and kind of hopefully will get back to where its heyday was in 2009 and 2010," Hamlin said.
Kevin Harvick saw his streak of first- and second-place finishes end at 8; he finished eighth. Danica Patrick finished a spot ahead of him, tying her career-best finish. Gordon ended up in ninth. Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who never really got going before wrecks consumed them, ended up 35th and 36th, respectively. Chase Elliott, making his first career Sprint Cup start, ended up 38th.
The series now takes a week off for Easter before reconvening at Texas for the Duck Commander 500.
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