Denny Hamlin wins in wild finish at Watkins Glen

Rea White

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Denny Hamlin wins in wild finish at Watkins Glen image

Denny Hamlin had been in this position on a road course earlier this season, leading on the final lap with a driver right on his bumper. This time, he got the win. 

In Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen, Hamlin was holding off the furious challenge of Martin Truex Jr. on the final lap. As Truex swung out to make his move, he spun after contact from Brad Keselowski. Truex was not pleased with Keselowski after the race. 

Hamlin, however, was celebrating the win. It is his first Sprint Cup win on a road course. 

"It means a lot," he told NBC during the broadcast. "I can't tell you how disappointed I was that we didn't win the first one. I just tried the best I could and overshot the corner and I didn't want to do it this time and so I probably under drove and let those guys get a little closer than I should have."

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Hamlin said that he woke up with back spasms on Sunday morning, and wasn't even sure he would be in the car much less in victory lane. 

“It hits me every three or four months or so, I just wake up and I can’t move," he said. "Really doubted being in the race car today, to be honest with you.”

For the past couple of seasons, road-course races have featured some of the tightest racing in the series. That was no different in Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen International. 

This race had the added pressure of trying to earn a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup for several drivers. So the sense of urgency, combined with running on one of only two road courses the series faces each season, proved difficult for some. 

Jeff Gordon found trouble early. Gordon is in his third race filling in for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who continues to be sidelined with concussion-like symptoms . Gordon came up fast on Austin Dillon and ended up hitting Dillon’s car. As Dillon slid out of line, Gordon’s hood crumpled and he eventually pitted to undergo repairs during the race's opening caution period.

On Lap 11, Tony Stewart wheel-hopped and missed the inner loop. He had to pull past it and stop his car, dropping him from the top 10 to 16th on the track. Stewart is making his final appearance at the track as he has already announced he plans to retire at the end of this season. Kyle Larson would later have the same issue and have to stop. 

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Pit-road penalties also came into play early. Leader Carl Edwards’ team had a tire go to the left of his car as he exited his stall, earning a pass-through penalty after 25 laps at the front of the field. Both Kasey Kahne, who is among those battling for a spot in the Chase, and Aric Almirola had men over the wall too soon on their opening stop. Jimmie Johnson, putting on Lap 22, was penalized for an uncontrolled tire. He then took fuel serving his penalty, which was not allowed, and had to do a second pass-through as a penalty.

AJ Allmendinger needed a win to secure a berth in the Chase. This was viewed as his best shot to do just that. Allmendinger, though, was caught speeding on pit road on his early pit stop as well, costing him much-needed ground. 

With several teams on different pit strategies, Danica Patrick — who had stopped on Lap 13 — took the lead and held it in the middle segment of the race. Patrick led 11 laps before Kyle Busch was able to move past her on Lap 46. She pitted shortly after that. 

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The race's second caution came out on Lap 48 for a loose wheel on pit road. It turned out the wheel belonged to Matt DiBenedetto, who served a penalty as well. 

The race was soon red-flagged following a scary crash involving Johnson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Greg Biffle and Dillon. 

Stenhouse said that his car just got loose and then he spun across the track. He slammed into the guard rail, then as he bounced back toward the track, Dillon and Biffle were caught in the crash. Johnson then slammed into Stenhouse’s car.

“Cars started checking up in front of me and they all moved out of the way and the 17 (of Stenhouse) was sitting there stopped,” Johnson said during the NBC broadcast. “I remember seeing a door number and I was so thankful it was the passenger-side door and not the driver-side door because I plowed him, I really hit the car hard and was afraid that I might have injured him. But thankfully he’s OK and everybody’s all right.”

Shortly after the red-flag period, former race leader Edwards was caught up in another crash that also involved the cars of Clint Bowyer and David Ragan. 

The front four on the restart were on a different fuel strategy than those chasing them as Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Hamlin and Trevor Bayne led the restart. Harvick quickly pitted.

The race’s fifth caution came out for debris on the track after Landon Cassill spun and threw dirt across the track. 

As cars rolled around the track under a later caution with less than 15 laps to go, Allmendinger was penalized for failing to maintain speed and was forced to surrender a position to Larson. For Allmendinger, it was a critical call. 

On the restart, Kyle Busch swung wide to try to go around Keselowski, and both went wide to the left with Hamlin moving into the lead. The caution quickly came out for a spin by Ryan Newman in the pack. 

They tried again. Hamlin had the lead. They were three wide in the first turn, with Busch and Keselowski again going wide. Hamlin, Logano, Truex and Larson leading when Harvick was caught up in a crash with Buescher and Ragan. 

NASCAR red-flagged the race for the second time. Hamlin and Logano led the field to the restart with four to go, with Truex quickly taking second from Logano. 

Rea White