Hamlin Tops Competition For Sprint Unlimited Victory

Even a damaged right side door couldn’t slow down Denny Hamlin on Saturday night.

Hamlin scored his third career Sprint Unlimited win at Daytona International Speedway when a multi-car crash in turn one on the final lap during overtime brought out the caution. Hamlin had held off a furious charge by Joey Logano and Paul Menard just before the caution flew.

“I’ve gotten better at speedway racing over the last few years and really learned a lot from my teammates,” Hamlin said. “But realistically you can go back and look at this race a million times, and had my teammates not stuck with me at the right times, we wouldn’t have been able to stay up front.”

Earlier in the race, Hamlin had taken a shot in the driver’s side door when Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. spun due to a cut tire. After his Joe Gibbs Racing crew repaired his No. 11 under caution, Hamlin worked his way back into contention for his third win in the non-points race for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

“What it is about this race that we’ve had success at, I don’t know, but the last time we did win this, we had a great Speedweeks in 2014 and finished second in the 500,” said Hamlin. “Looking forward to it. Obviously our cars are very, very fast, and if you put them in the right situations, obviously you saw tonight what they can do.”

The race came down to an overtime finish, an occurrence that has become common at Daytona. As the field entered the final lap, Hamlin held off a challenge from Logano, the defending Daytona 500 champion, on the outside, and then had to block an attempt by Menard to go three wide on the inside in the first turn. Logano’s car slid wide, with Kyle Larson’s car getting loose behind him.

Behind the leaders, Jamie McMurray made contact with Matt Kenseth, sending Kenseth’s car up the track and into Martin Truex, Jr. That triggered a crash that gathered up McMurray, Brad Keselowski and Danica Patrick.

When the caution flag flew, ending the race, Hamlin had his third Sprint Unlimited win, while for Joe Gibbs Racing, it was the third straight and eighth overall event victory.

“If I was able to get that push from Larson before he got really loose, that may have gave me enough to push out in front of the 11 possibly, or at least to stay next to him for another lap and try to be door to door to cross the line,” Logano said afterwards. “But you know, overall, speedway racing sometimes it’s hard to pass for the lead for sure. I thought the restart was going to be a good opportunity to start next to the leader and try to jump out in front of him, and just didn’t line up perfectly tonight.”

Early on, it looked like Keselowski might play the spoiler in the 75-lap event, as he put his No. 2 Penske Ford up front and appeared to have one of the strongest cars on the track.

He suffered a setback when a piece of plastic kicked up by the wind stuck to the air inlet on the front of his car. With his engine temperature on the rise and his car pushing out water and steam, the 2012 Sprint Cup champion had to drop back in an attempt to cool his car.

A caution on lap 2 saved Keselowski’s race, but proved to be a setback for Hamlin. It occurred when Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. cut a tire and spun in turn two, making contact with Hamlin’s right side door.

Under the caution, Hamlin’s team was able to make repairs to his car, while Keselowski’s crew removed the obstruction from the air intake, allowing his car to cool down.

Back under green, McMurray and Larson would battle for the lead. The action would be broken up again for a multi-car crash on lap 23 that was set off when Brian Vickers suffered a cut tire, sending him out of control and into Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Vickers, who was substituting for the injured Tony Stewart, struck the outside wall hard driver’s side first. Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, A.J. Allmendinger, Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch were also involved. No one was injured.

The caution was took the race to the scheduled lap 25 competition caution, with most of the field hitting pit road. Hamlin made the call to stay out instead, moving him to the lead, with Keselowski also staying out to inherit second.

On the restart, Hamlin jumped out to the advantage, working to hold off Keselowski and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Carl Edwards.

On lap 44, the night went south for six time series champion Jimmie Johnson, who spun on the backstretch after contact from Menard. Johnson’s Chevy slid down into the grass, where the front end dug in and ripped away much of the sheet metal on the front of the car. Johnson’s night was over.

Back under green, Hamlin continued to hold off Keselowski, while Kenseth and Logano moved up into the mix.

Kasey Kahne brought out the next two cautions. The first occurred when he spun off McMurray’s bumper. The second flew when the engine in Kahne’s car went up in smoke.

On the following restart, Hamlin felt the heat from Edwards and Logano, but still held the point while the pack scrambled behind him.

The caution would fly again with three laps to go when Edwards tried to squeeze in front of Keselowski, setting up a crash that included Kyle Busch, Casey Mears, Aric Almirola and Kurt Busch.

That set up the overtime restart and the final lap that saw one more multi-car crash and the win for Hamlin.

The treatment option includes medications, testosterone replacements, surgical prosthesis, and also vacuum pump equipment. steal here cialis prices However, most people leading a very hectic professional and personal life hardly have the time to visit a doctor is high on the list in order for figuring out what causes ED for ruling out pharma-bi.com cheapest viagra price serious underlying health condition, which could be contributing to ED. Nitric oxide is a muscle relaxant and manages to relax the muscles that are found in the viagra samples uk corpus cavernosum of the penis to relax which consequently causes the blood vessels to dilate. If you have any chronic medical condition, super cialis cheap talk to the doctor beforehand. “I always used to say the cliché that probably 80 percent of the drivers will say is that Daytona and Talladega is a crapshoot,” said Hamlin. “I mean, but if it’s a crap shoot, Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. is the luckiest guy in Vegas, because he finds a way to stay up front and win these races on a consistent basis, and I feel like I’m working my way to being able to say that, as well.”

Logano finished in second, with Menard third, Larson fourth and Mears in fifth.

Stenhouse, Jr., Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon, Keselowski and Biffle rounded out the top 10.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, FL
Sprint Unlimited – Feb. 13, 2016

1. Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 79
2. Joey Logano, Ford, 79
3. Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 79
4. Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 79
5. Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 79
6. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ford, 79
7. Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 79
8. Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 79
9. Brad Keselowski, Ford, 79
10. Greg Biffle, Ford, 79
11. Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 79
12. Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 79
13. Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota, 78
14. Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 78
15. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Chevrolet, 75
16. Carl Edwards, Toyota, 72, Accident
17. Kyle Busch, Toyota, 72, Accident
18. Aric Almirola, Ford, 72, Accident
19. Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 69, Accident
20. Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 64, Accident
21. A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 56, Accident
22. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 43, Accident
23. Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 23, Accident
24. Brian Vickers, Chevrolet, 22, Accident
25. Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 22, Accident

Average Speed: 128.432 MPH.

Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 32 Mins, 16 Secs.  Margin of Victory: Caution.

Caution Flags: 7 for 25 laps.

Lead Changes: 12 among 3 drivers.

Lap Leaders: 0; B. Keselowski 1-10; J. McMurray 11-24; B. Keselowski 25; D. Hamlin 26-32; B. Keselowski 33; D. Hamlin 34-35; B. Keselowski 36-47; D. Hamlin 48-51; B. Keselowski 52; D. Hamlin 53-62; B. Keselowski 63; D. Hamlin 64-79.