Hamlin narrows Johnson's lead with win at Martinsville

Hamlin narrows Johnson's lead with win at Martinsville


Dead heat.
Well, almost.
Denny Hamlin won Sunday’s Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville and trimmed fifth-place finisher Jimmie Johnson’s lead in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup to six points with four races left in the season.
Kevin Harvick, third in the standings, stayed within striking distance—62 points back—with a third-place run at the .526-mile short track, as the top three drivers continued to separate themselves from the rest of the Chase field.
The victory was Hamlin’s third straight at Martinsville—fourth overall—his series-best seventh of the season and the 15th of his career.
Mark Martin rallied from a lap down to finish second, followed by Harvick, Kyle Busch and Johnson. Joey Logano, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Jeff Burton and Brad Keselowski completed the top 10.
Earnhardt briefly gave Junior Nation something to cheer about. Before Earnhardt restarted third on Lap 247, crew chief Chad Knaus radioed to Johnson, “If you hear a great scream and roar (inside) the car, you’ll know that Dale took the lead in the race.”
Knaus didn’t have to be a prophet to predict that. When Earnhardt passed Jeff Gordon for the top spot on Lap 285, the crowd stood en masse and cheered lustily. Earnhardt held the lead for 90 laps, 19 more than he had led previously this year, but his handling tightened up in the late going, dropping him to seventh at the finish.
During prerace inspection, NASCAR required Johnson’s crew to replace the drive shaft cover on the No. 48 Chevrolet, a minor issue in the sanctioning body’s view, though the specific reason for the change wasn’t stated. If there is a penalty forthcoming, it will be announced during the coming week.