CP MOTORSPORTS - HAMLIN GOES FROM SPIN TO WIN; ADVANCES IN CHASE

 

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(Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)
(Photo by Josh Hedges/Getty Images)

Denny Hamlin didn't dominate Sunday's MyAFIBRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway but he came out on top when it mattered the most. But before Hamlin was celebrating in victory lane he was on pit lane trying to stay on the lead lap.

Hamlin, who is racing with torn ACL suffered in a non-racing accident, spun after he appeared to make contact with the No. 47 car of A.J. Allmendinger on lap three of the 267 lap affair. His big break, however, came on lap 259 when the race's final caution came out and when the race restarted with five to go in the race. 

The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota passed then leader Kurt Busch to continue Joe Gibbs Racing's reign of dominance.

"This is a great day for us," Hamlin said. "We obviously came back from adversity and did a lot of great things throughout the day, with the exception of lap two. I will tell you, it's just amazing that we were able to come back the way we were and do the things that we were able to do. I knew we had a really fast car. I didn't think starting in the second row with old tires we were going to have a chance.  But the opportunity came in turn one to make a move, and we capitalized and our car took off."

The win for Hamlin is the second on the season but more importantly advances his team to the next round of the Chase. Hamlin, who led just 9 laps, currently sits second place in the Chase standings.

Hamlin believes the Chase is setup for him to emerge victorious.

(Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

"I've been telling people, look at our finishes going into the Chase; we've been strong," Hamlin explained. "Everyone else gets the headlines, but we have been chipping away at some really good finishes here lately and doing a lot of great things. Our Toyotas have been really fast. Joe Gibbs Racing has given us some really good cars here lately. This is no exception. Obviously we just were very fortunate with the late-race restart and we were able to capitalize on it. I honestly didn't like our chances when I saw two cars had stayed out versus one.  But we made the best of the situation.

"So I think we can make a run. I've told everyone these Chase tracks set up better for nobody than it does for me as the Chase goes on. I think the next round is the most challenging for us personally. You just get us to that final eight round and I'm pretty confident we'll be at Homestead with a chance."

Joe Gibbs Racing as a whole recovered from what appeared to be a bleek run in the beginning to reasserting their muscle in the Sprint Cup. Carl Edwards also recovered from being a lap down early to grab the runner up spot, the finish puts Edwards in third in the Chase standings.

Edwards gained confidence from watching teammate Kyle Busch, who led a race-high 121 laps.

"I didn't see in the front for a while, but looked like Kyle (Busch) was fast," Edwards said. "He had a really fast car there for a long time. That gave us a lot of hope. We knew if we maybe we get our lap back, get back up there, we'd be all right. I had a speeding penalty. I set us back there. Overall we planned on the racetrack changing a lot. I felt like my guys did a great job getting the car tuned in for the end. I felt like all of us as a group at JGR worked great together this weekend."

(Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

Kurt Busch, who led 37 laps, challenged Edwards for the second position late in the race but was forced to settle for a third place finish. Ryan Newman, who made it to the final round of last season's Chase, grabbed a fourth place finish. 

Matt Kenseth gave JGR another car inside the top five with his fifth place finish. With the bonus points from his four regular season wins, Kenseth sits atop the Chase points standings.

Kenseth thought his team was marginal at best but knows overachieving is a recipe for success in the Chase.

"We really struggled," Kenseth said. "We had probably a 15th-place car at best and barely hung onto the lead lap all day and got the right line on the restart.  Jason made some good adjustments, guys never quit.  We were in the right line at the restart.  Everybody got bottled up.  I think passed seven or eight of them in the first corner, another two or three the next set of corners.

"Somehow we wound up fifth. We definitely finished way better than we deserved today. But that's what you've have to do in these things, you have to try to take your days and try to make them the best you can."

Joey Logano grabbed a sixth place finish with Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola rounding out the top ten finishers.

Hendrick Motorsports Dale Earnhardt, Jr, and Jimmie Johnson finished 11th and 12th respectively.

The remains of Kevin Harvick's heavily damaged race car after a flat tire following what appeared to be heavy contact from six time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson's car. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Getty Images)

Kevin Harvick, who entered the Chase in a secure position, leaves in the opposite standing. Harvick appeared to receive a flat tire from contact with Jimmie Johnson on a lap 134 restart. The driver of the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet now sits 22 points out of the 12th place elimination spot heading into next week's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 27
Unofficial Race Results for the 15Th Annual Myafibrisk.Com 400 - Sunday, 
September 20, 2015
Chicagoland Speedway - Joliet, IL - 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 267 Laps - 400.5 Miles - Purse: $6,144,256
Leader
Fin    Str    Car    Driver    Team    Laps    Pts    Bns    Driver Rating    Winnings    Status    Tms    Laps
1    29    11    Denny Hamlin    FedEx Ground Toyota    267    47    4    111.8    $306,315    Running    2    9
2    14    19    Carl Edwards    Stanley Toyota    267    43    1    99.9    $213,655    Running    1    6
3    9    41    Kurt Busch    Haas Automation Chevrolet    267    42    1    125.6    $195,005    Running    3    37
4    6    31    Ryan Newman    Caterprillar Chevrolet    267    40        98.8    $180,280    Running        
5    12    20    Matt Kenseth    Dollar General Toyota    267    40    1    89.4    $170,641    Running    1    1
6    2    22    Joey Logano    Shell Pennzoil Ford    267    39    1    110.9    $162,903    Running    1    1
7    18    42    Kyle Larson    Clorox Chevrolet    267    38    1    90.8    $144,478    Running    1    2
8    3    2    Brad Keselowski    Miller Lite Ford    267    36        89.6    $158,111    Running        
9    7    18    Kyle Busch    M&M Crispy Toyota    267    37    2    130.6    $163,361    Running    4    121
10    20    43    Aric Almirola    Eckrich Ford    267    34        89.7    $146,381    Running        
11    11    48    Jimmie Johnson    Lowe's Chevrolet    267    33        99.7    $152,321    Running        
12    19    88    Dale Earnhardt Jr.    Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet    267    32        92.7    $122,025    Running        
13    4    78    Martin Truex Jr.    Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet    267    32    1    110.9    $131,670    Running    1    39
14    10    24    Jeff Gordon    AXALTA Chevrolet    267    31    1    109.9    $148,986    Running    2    41
15    28    55    David Ragan    Aaron's Partners of the Year Toyota    267    29        76.3    $131,664    Running        
16    13    1    Jamie McMurray    McDonald's/Cessna Chevrolet    266    28        75.1    $138,141    Running        
17    16    27    Paul Menard    Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet    266    27        72.2    $110,350    Running        
18    27    17    Ricky Stenhouse Jr.    Fastenal Ford    265    26        69.3    $110,250    Running        
19    26    15    Clint Bowyer    PEAK Anti-Freeze & Coolant Toyota    265    25        63.2    $135,108    Running        
20    24    13    Casey Mears    GEICO Chevrolet    265    24        58.8    $126,903    Running        
21    17    16    Greg Biffle    Safety-Kleen Ford    265    23        63.2    $131,078    Running        
22    21    33    Brian Scott(i)    Jewel-Osco Chevrolet    265    0        66.4    $115,003    Running        
23    31    51    Justin Allgaier    Brandt Chevrolet    265    21        57.0    $120,278    Running        
24    8    5    Kasey Kahne    Great Clips Chevrolet    264    20        67.8    $112,320    Running        
25    23    14    Tony Stewart    Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet    264    19        67.0    $124,034    Running        
26    25    10    Danica Patrick    Aspen Dental Chevrolet    264    18        62.8    $104,095    Running        
27    36    40    Landon Cassill(i)    CRC Knock'er Loose Chevrolet    263    0        51.3    $95,495    Running        
28    30    6    Trevor Bayne    AdvoCare Ford    263    16        52.5    $136,470    Running        
29    33    35    Cole Whitt    MDS Ford    263    15        46.7    $105,853    Running        
30    22    9    Sam Hornish Jr.    SlimFast/Natrol Ford    262    14        44.0    $119,290    Running        
31    38    34    Brett Moffitt #    CSX Play It Safe Ford    262    13        39.2    $92,745    Running        
32    35    38    David Gilliland    Love's Travel Stops/Children's Miracle Network Ford    262    12        39.0    $108,592    Running        
33    40    32    Josh Wise    BeerFrost.com Ford    261    11        38.2    $90,845    Running        
34    37    46    Michael Annett    Allstate Peterbilt Group Chevrolet    261    10        38.5    $90,645    Running        
35    34    26    JJ Yeley(i)    Dr Pepper Toyota    261    0        32.8    $90,410    Running        
36    15    47    AJ Allmendinger    Food 4 Less/Scott Products Chevrolet    260    8        43.6    $108,220    Running        
37    32    7    Alex Bowman    Jewel-Osco Chevrolet    259    7        44.4    $89,953    Running        
38    41    23    Jeb Burton #    Estes/Draft Kings Toyota    259    6        28.3    $84,528    Running        
39    39    83    Matt DiBenedetto #    Cosmo Motors Toyota    258    5        30.3    $80,465    Running        
40    42    98    Reed Sorenson    Premium Motorsports Ford    258    4        27.3    $76,465    Running        
41    43    62    Timmy Hill(i)    ChampionMachinery.com Chevrolet    255    0        24.2    $72,465    Running        
42    1    4    Kevin Harvick    Jimmy John's/Budweiser Chevrolet    209    3    1    90.1    $126,690    Running    2    10
43    5    3    Austin Dillon    American Ethanol Chevrolet    198    1        78.0    $101,901    Running        
 Race Comments:    Denny Hamlin won the myAFibRisk.com 400, his 26th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to the start of the race, the following car dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: No. 34 (transmission change). 
 Failed to Qualify:    (3) 21, 95, 30.
 Time of Race:    2 Hrs, 51 Mins, 30 Secs.    Average Speed:    140.117 MPH    Margin of Victory:    0.962 Seconds
 Caution Flags:    6 for 28 laps: Laps: 3-6 (#11, 47 accident turn 3 and 4 [None]); 124-128 (Debris on backstretch [42]); 131-134 (#3 accident turn 2 [55]); 139-144 (#4 accident turn 3 [1]); 192-196 (Debris turn 4 [78]); 259-262 (Debris turns 1 and 2 [55]).
 Lead Changes:    17 among 10 drivers: K. Harvick 1-5; J. Logano 6; M. Truex Jr. 7-45; Kyle Busch 46-128; K. Harvick 129-133; Kyle Busch 134-143; J. Gordon 144-183; Kurt Busch 184; Kyle Busch 185; K. Larson 186-187; C. Edwards 188-193; Kyle Busch 194-220; Kurt Busch 221-239; D. Hamlin 240-243; M. Kenseth 244; Kurt Busch 245-261; J. Gordon 262; D. Hamlin 263-267.
Top 16 Driver Points:     (1) M. Kenseth 2,052;(2) D. Hamlin 2,050;(3) C. Edwards 2,049;(4) Kyle Busch 2,049;(5) Kurt Busch 2,048;(6) J. Logano 2,048;(7) J. Johnson 2,045;(8) R. Newman 2,040;(9) B. Keselowski 2,039;(10) D. Earnhardt Jr. 2,038;(11) M. Truex Jr. 2,035;(12) J. Gordon 2,031;(13) J. Mcmurray 2,028;(14) P. Menard 2,027;(15) C. Bowyer 2,025;(16) K. Harvick 2,009.
3M Lap Leader    : Kyle Busch, #18 121 Laps    American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award    : Matt Kenseth, #20 
Coors Light Pole Award    : Not awarded, #     Duralast Brakes "Brake in the Race"    : Kevin Harvick, #4 
Ingersoll Rand Power Move    : Jamie McMurray, #1 6 positions    Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race    : Toyota Racing Development (TRD), #11 
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race    : Denny Hamlin, #11     Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race    : Kurt Busch, #41 crew chief Tony Gibson, 0.519 seconds
Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap    : Kyle Busch, #18     Sunoco Rookie of the Race    : Brett Moffitt, #34 
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race:    Sep. 27, 2015 - New Hampshire Motor Speedway
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