Denny Hamlin celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway. [Credit: Photo by Matt Sullivan/NASCAR via Getty Images]
By Joe Jennings
Denny Hamlin closed out the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular season with a compelling victory in the Federated Auto Parts 400 at the Richmond International Raceway on a hot Saturday evening.
The Virginia native won for the third time at Richmond, the third time in 2016 and the 29th time in his career.
2016 Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers pose for a photo after the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway. [Credit: Photo by Chris Graythen/NASCAR via Getty Images]
Driving the FedEx Ground Toyota, Hamlin led 189 of the 407 laps and his margin of victory was .609 seconds.
Said the victor, “(Toward the end) I thought we should come in for tires but (crew chief) Mike Wheeler knew we had a good enough buffer. It was hard for me to believe that old tires were going to win the race but the other guys were too far back to catch us. A great call by him. From top to bottom, everyone executed well today.
“On that last restart (with 3 to go), I really concentrated a lot on getting everything as hot as I could because it was going to be a tough restart. We got a good one and got cleared, setting sail from there.”
In the late going, tire usage and availability of tires, scuffed or stickers, became a major contributor to team strategies.
A record 16 caution flags slowed the race for 89 laps, the last of which sent the race into overtime. Also, a 7-car accident on lap 362 stopped the race to allow for track clean-up.
In another major outcome, the field for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field was set with the 13 drivers with one or more wins included, plus the top-three in points. Top seeds are Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski followed by Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson.
The race results did not change the make-up of the field with Chris Buescher (who had one win but needed to finish 30th or better in points; he ended up 29th) advancing and earning one of the coveted Chase spots based on points were Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon and Jamie McMurray.
Drivers Buescher and Elliott became the first rookie contenders to make the Chase field since Hamlin did so in 2006.
“This is pretty special and a crazy race,” Buescher said. “We had a tire go down and just missed one accident – a very eventful day.”
Sophomore sensation Kyle Larson pushed hard in the final laps to earn second place.
Truex dominated the first portion of the event, leading 193 laps, and came home third.
Keselowski took third followed by Harvick.
Seeking a victory and a spot in the Chase field, Kasey Kahne came up short, finishing sixth.
Seventh through 10th were McMurray, Kurt and Kyle Busch and Joey Logano.
In one fender bender, Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman tangled with each pointing fingers at the other.