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Hamlin, Logano back at Fontana

Hamlin
Hamlin
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The last time Denny Hamlin drove on California’s venerable 2-mile oval, he had to be airlifted from the track. The wreck was on his mind the first time he drove into that fateful third turn again this weekend.

“The next time I came around, it was an afterthought,” Hamlin said. “And I haven’t thought about it since.”

That last-lap crash with bitter rival Joey Logano cost both men a chance to win at Fontana, Calif., last March, and Kyle Busch slipped between them for NASCAR’s most spectacular finish of last season.

“It was a bad weekend for us, for sure, and obviously affected the rest of our season and beyond,” said Hamlin, who broke a vertebra when he smashed into the inside wall.

Hamlin and Logano are among several cars to watch as NASCAR’s new season gets into gear at one of the drivers’ favorite tracks today, but there’s probably no driver who wants a win in Fontana more than Hamlin.

“My engineer always asks me to send three tracks where I would most like to win, and maybe they will spend a little bit more extra effort on that particular race track,” said Hamlin, who starts 13th. “For me, California is No. 1 because we never made it to the finish last year. We had a great shot to win it, but we never made it. It would feel like we do have to get some redemption, and it would make a great story.”

Hamlin still hasn’t recaptured top form after the crash, which cost him nearly five full races and left him in back pain for months.

Larson wins Nationwide

Kyle Larson won his first Nationwide Series race Saturday, holding off Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch in a thrilling finish at Fontana, Calif.

The 21-year-old Larson became the first California native to win a Nationwide race at the 2-mile oval, surviving a three-man derby in the final laps that had the fans on their feet.

After Harvick’s final attempt to pass him failed, Larson celebrated with a burnout in Victory Lane, but only after detaching his steering wheel and holding it out the window.

Harvick finished just 0.342 seconds behind after barely missing on repeated attempts to slip underneath Larson’s Chevy for the lead.