Auto racing: Hamlin wins Carfax 250
Denny Hamlin fought off a mid-race challenge from Matt Kenseth, then drove away for a dominating victory Saturday in the Carfax 250 NASCAR Busch Series race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich.
Hamlin, who will also race here in today’s 3M Performance 400 Nextel Cup event, picked up his second Busch win of the season and the fourth of his career. His victory gave Cup regulars 22 victories in 25 tries on the Busch circuit this season.
A crash in Friday’s practice forced Hamlin’s crew to scramble to get his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet back in shape for racing. But it was ready for the start of the 125-lap race and so was Hamlin.
Kenseth swapped leads with him a couple of times before the 26-year-old took control, turning the race on Michigan’s 2-mile oval into a snoozer. Hamlin led four times for 69 laps, including the last 40 laps.
Kenseth was disappointed he couldn’t stay with Hamlin.
“We were having a lot of fun and a heck of a battle with Denny in the middle of the race, going back and forth. But we just got a little too tight when it got overcast later in the race. I got a little behind on that (last) green flag pit stop and could never catch up.”
There were three caution flags, all during the first 36 laps, and Hamlin took advantage of the green flag racing the rest of the way. He steadily pulled away, beating Kenseth to the finish line by 6.988 seconds – the length of the front straightaway.
Mark Martin, who had just taken fourth place away from Greg Biffle, ran out of gas on the final lap and wound up 14th.
Cup drivers took the top seven places, with Kevin Harvick, who had won the last two Busch races, third, followed by Jeff Burton, Biffle, Brian Vickers and Paul Menard. Todd Bodine in eighth was the top non-Cup finisher.
Runaway series leader Carl Edwards spun after being hit from behind by Reed Sorenson and wound up 28th, a lap behind the leaders.
Suspensions over
After finishing a six-week NASCAR suspension, crew chief Steve Letarte and fellow Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Chad Knaus were back at the track.
“I’m not going to lie to you, it’s tough,” Knaus said Friday after rejoining reigning Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and his No. 48 team at Michigan International Speedway to prepare for today’s 3M Performance 400.
Knaus and Letarte, who works with the No. 24 of four-time Cup champion Gordon, were banned from attending six races after NASCAR technical inspectors found front fenders that were not approved on their entries before a June 24 race.
Earnhardt wants No. 8
Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he figured all along his stepmother, Teresa Earnhardt, wouldn’t let him have the No.8 when he goes to Hendrick Motorsports.
“I knew that this was the way it was going to be,” Earnhardt Jr. told NASCAR Scene. “I’ve been in these negotiations with the same person before and they never work out in your favor.”
Speaking to a small group of reporters after practice at Michigan International Speedway, Earnhardt Jr. said his sister and business manager, Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, and Dale Earnhardt Inc. President Max Siegel worked hard to make a deal for the number he’s used throughout his 277-race Cup career.