Hamlin joins in bumping for Martinsville win

MARTINSVILLE, Va.

The fans that waited for the rain-delayed Goody’s 500 witnessed a “Boys have at it” romp in earnest Monday at Martinsville Speedway.

Denny Hamlin scored his second consecutive win at the 0.526-miler, his third victory in the last five Martinsville starts.

But given the obstacles Hamlin faced along the way, including early problems in the pits and battling for 508 laps with a torn ACL, the Virginia native called the accomplishment the “most gratifying win” of his career.

“We came through adversity so many times, whether it be because of pit road or that dash at the end,” Hamlin said. “We just flat out drove through ‘em at the end and got the win. I’m not sure we’ve had a win like this before.”

There was no restraint among competitors when using the chrome horn throughout the race. And the No. 11 car was not immune from the tactic as he was certainly not afraid to use his front bumper to gain position.

When the race went to a green-white-checker finish after Kyle Busch's spin, Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman led the pack to the restart — but their positions were far from secure.

Before the competitors made it through Turn 2, Matt Kenseth punted Gordon out of the way. Hamlin, who had led 171 laps to that point and valiantly battled from ninth to fourth place in four laps with fresh tires, nudged Newman out of the way with one lap remaining.

“The 11 (of Hamlin) drilled me from behind,” Newman said. “I was lucky to get to the start-finish line.”

While Gordon retaliated with Kenseth on the backstretch, sending the No. 17 into the wall, Hamlin blew by and took the lead at the white flag with teammate Joey Logano in tow for the money lap.

Gordon and Martin Truex Jr., rounded out the top five.

Hamlin admits that Kenseth did him a favor.

“I wasn’t going to catch the 24 (of Gordon) unless the 17 got into the back of him on the last lap,” Hamlin said.

Gordon, who appeared destined to stop his 34-race losing streak prior to Busch’s spin, wasn’t feeling nearly as charitable towards Kenseth.

“I'm not exactly sure what happened on the restart, that last restart,“ said Gordon. “I got an okay restart. Spun the tires a little bit, got going. I looked at my mirror, 17 was pretty far behind me. Made sure I didn't drive in too deep.

“Next thing I know, I got nailed. I don't know who got into me. I thought it was the 17. If it wasn't, I apologize to him. I made sure he didn't win the race down the straightaway.”

Gordon made the greatest gains in the points standings, moving up four positions to seventh with his third-place finish. Hamlin also advanced four spots but remains outside the Chase Zone.

While Jimmie Johnson took the points lead from Kevin Harvick, who experienced brake issues throughout the day and finished 35th, his No. 48 was never a factor. Johnson finished ninth but never led a lap at Martinsville, ending an eight-race streak.

With 24 lead changes among eight drivers — one short of the track record — the competition didn’t have to rely on the four-time champ to be a player on Monday.

And perhaps in the essence of March Madness, the sanctioning body was far from caution happy. Unless cars were stuck against the wall, in the mud or completely blocking the track, the tower allowed damaged cars to fend for themselves while exiting the race surface for the pits.

There were no needless yellow flags used to slow the competition. Monday’s race maintained a game on mentality that flowed naturally and provided the fans that stayed the best action the sport has to offer.

Winners and losers

Jeff Burton led 140 laps and was challenging Denny Hamlin for the lead with 15 laps remaining when his right front tire was cut. Although Burton tried desperately to finish the race, the No. 31 Chevrolet let loose in Turn 3 and brought out the 12th caution.

Greg Biffle received a speeding penalty on Lap 236 and was forced to restart at the tail end of the longest line in 27th. But with all the late race cautions and casualties, Biffle salvaged a 10th-place finish -- just his second top 10 in 15 Martinsville starts. The No. 16 team vaulted from fourth to second in the points standings with its sixth top 10 in six starts this season.

Kevin Harvick was running second on Lap 106 when he experienced brake issues the first time. Brake problems recurred for the No. 29 car and Harvick had to settle for 35th. He’s now fourth in the standings, 61 points behind Johnson.

Three Richard Petty Motorsports cars were involved in a four-car wreck on Lap 172. Elliott Sadler, Paul Menard and AJ Allmendinger collided in Turn 4 to bring out the fourth caution.

Numbers game

Paul Menard pitted 17 times on Monday but refused to be a back-marker punching bag. He took on some of the biggest names at Martinsville including Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski and still salvaged a 14th-place finish. He remains 11th in the points standings.

Put that in your arsenal

If there was a weapon on the racetrack Monday, it had to be Marcos Ambrose. He used the bumpers of the Nos. 6 (David Ragan), 16 (Biffle), 38 (Kevin Conway), and 98 (Menard) for target practice. Ragan returned the favor on Lap 316.

Say what?

Kurt Busch conceded Martinsville during his post-race speech at Bristol Motor Speedway. Busch, who finished 23rd, was prophetic saying he’d be lucky to finish in the top 10 at Martinsville and after tire issues, the driver of the blue deuce uttered dejectedly:

“I don‘t know why I even bother at this track."