On the final lap of the race, Denny Hamlin wrested away the lead from Matt Kenseth, and claimed victory. After taking the lead on lap 306, Hamlin lost it again on lap 332. He caught it back on 333 and wound up winning 1st one mere lap later.
Polesitter Elliott Sadler led out the field to grab Green and Go! for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday in Fort Worth, Texas.
In the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage at Texas Motor Speedway, crew chiefs Todd Berrier and Steve Addington traded friendly-foe pleasantries.
Except for at the finish line, Greg Biffle dominated much of Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. He led 11 times during the contest, for a total of 224 laps, and finished fifth behind Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin and Joey Logano.
No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet crew chief Chad Knaus on the Hendrick Motorsports Jimmie Johnson entry studies times as over-the-wall crew members of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet moved over to the pit area after the seventh caution on lap 191 to perform pit stops for the remainder of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500.
One lap into the restart, it appeared that Matt Kenseth was going to perform a near NASCAR racing miracle, by coming back from a lap down to grab the win. But, on lap 333 of 334 in turn 2, Kenseth ran out of room and narrowly missed scraping the right side of his racecar clear off, as Hamlin zoomed past on the inside to take the final lap of the contest and sprint away to victory.
While Hamlin and Kenseth were doing their best racecar driver heroics to capture the checkered flag, four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup championship holder Jimmie Johnson was attempting to limit his losses and finish as high as he could, so the points’ gap between him and Hamlin wouldn’t be insurmountable. In the end, Johnson finished in 9th place and now trails new series leader Hamlin by 33 points, with two races to go, which starts next weekend in Phoenix.
Hendrick Motorsports drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon showed some true teamwork for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500. When Gordon’s #24 DuPont Chevrolet was wrecked out of the race on lap 190 under caution by Jeff Burton, Jimmie Johnson’s Crew Chief, Chad Knaus was so disgusted by his pit crew’s slow work for several pit stops; he sent his team over the wall and utilized Jeff Gordon’s pit crew for the remainder of the race. This move made for some more efficient pit stops for Johnson and helped him finish within the Top 10. Jimmie’s still in the hunt to win a fifth championship, but has just two races to get back to first position. Will he do it? He has a skillful team behind him, and Johnson has proven four years running that he’s a superlative racer. The action should be exhilarating here on out. Find out all the latest from Phoenix next week right here on Redline Review, where It’s All About Speed.
The battle was fierce between Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth during the final laps of Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
After winning Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin moved into first place and past four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson in the race for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. With 6,325 points, Hamlin is 33 points ahead of Johnson (6,292) and 59 points over Kevin Harvick.
