Hamlin dominates Sylvania 300 in Loudon

Denny Hamlin
Getty Images for NASCAR

Denny Hamlin made it plain earlier in the week that he was going to win the Sylvania 300 in Loudon. He did just that in the end, dominating the field in a big way for a Cup-high fifth win.

Denny Hamlin called his shot — and he gave the rest of the field a handicap.

After running out of fuel in the first Chase for the Sprint Cup race last Sunday at Chicagoland, Hamlin promised via his Twitter feed that he would win Sunday's Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

It was no contest. Though he started deep in the field, Hamlin drove his vastly superior car to a 2.675-second victory over runner-up Jimmie Johnson. The victory was Hamlin's fifth of the season and the 22nd of his Cup career.

Pole-sitter Jeff Gordon ran third to keep alive his faint championship hopes. Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski and Tony Stewart ran fourth through seventh, respectively, as Chase drivers swept the top seven spots.

Hamlin started 32nd because of a mistake with tire pressures during Friday's time trials, but before the race had reached Lap 100, the driver of the No. 11 Toyota had the lead. Hamlin passed Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch on Lap 94 and proceeded to dust the field the rest of the way.

Hamlin held a lead of more than 7 seconds over Johnson when NASCAR called the third debris caution of the race, and fourth overall, on Lap 272. The yellow bunched the field, but it didn't matter, as Hamlin sped away after a restart on Lap 278 and easily held off Johnson, who finished second for the second consecutive race and took the Chase lead by one point over Keselowski.

Results

FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR PTS/BNS LAPS STATUS
1 32 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Freight 48/2 300 Running
2 20 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 43/1 300 Running
3 1 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Drive to End Hunger 42/1 300 Running
4 12 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 5-hour Energy 40/0 300 Running
5 6 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet Farmers Insurance 40/1 300 Running
6 15 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge Miller Lite 39/1 300 Running
7 3 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Mobil 1 / Office Depot 38/1 300 Running
8 18 20 Joey Logano Toyota The Home Depot 36/0 300 Running
9 4 55 Brian Vickers Toyota Freightliner / Jet Edge 36/1 300 Running
10 8 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet Aspen Dental 34/0 300 Running
11 16 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Budweiser 33/0 300 Running
12 7 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet Sylvania / Menards 32/0 300 Running
13 14 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet AMP Energy / Diet Mtn. Dew / National Guard 31/0 300 Running
14 25 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Zest 31/1 300 Running
15 11 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Wheaties 29/0 300 Running
16 22 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet Furniture Row / Farm American 28/0 300 Running
17 9 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota NAPA Auto Parts 27/0 300 Running
18 13 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M / GE Appliances 26/0 300 Running
19 5 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac 25/0 300 Running
20 17 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota Bush's Baked Beans 24/0 300 Running
21 22 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Shell / Pennzoil 0 300 Running
22 24 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet Energizer 22/0 300 Running
23 19 43 Aric Almirola Ford Trim Fit 21/0 298 Running
24 21 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford Stanley 20/0 298 Running
25 23 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet Phoenix Construction 19/0 298 Running
26 29 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet LiftMaster 18/0 297 Running
27 28 83 Landon Cassill Toyota Burger King / Dr Pepper 17/0 297 Running
28 2 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M's 17/1 297 Running
29 26 34 David Ragan Ford Shriner's Hospital for Children 15/0 296 Running
30 34 10 David Reutimann Chevrolet Tommy Baldwin Racing 14/0 295 Running
31 33 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota Burger King / Dr Pepper 13/0 295 Running
32 37 38 David Gilliland Ford Taco Bell 12/0 295 Running
33 42 32 Mike Olsen Ford North Country Ford 11/0 288 Running
34 39 33 Stephen Leicht * Chevrolet Little Joes Autos.com 10/0 151 In Pit
35 43 30 David Stremme Toyota Inception Motorsports 9/0 145 In Pit
36 30 13 Casey Mears Ford GEICO 9/1 100 In Pit
37 31 98 Michael McDowell Ford Phil Parsons Racing 7/0 97 In Pit
38 27 195 Scott Speed Ford Jordan Truck Sales 6/0 88 In Pit
39 36 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota AM / FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves 0 78 In Pit
40 41 36 Tony Raines Chevrolet Tommy Baldwin Racing 4/0 68 In Pit
41 40 37 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet MaxQworkforce.com 3/0 29 In Pit
42 35 191 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet Plinker Tactical 0 21 In Pit
43 38 179 Kelly Bires Ford BBI / Bestway 0 20 In Pit


* Denotes Rookie