Denny Hamlin closed the deal he couldn’t at Sonoma on Sunday at Watkins Glen, holding off Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski for his first Sprint Cup Series road course win.
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Denny Hamlin (11) celebrates in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Watkins Glen International, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016, in Watkins Glen, N.Y. Stewart, speaking after Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen, did not sound promising about Clauson’s recovery.
Brad Keselowski (2) leads a group through the esses during a NASCAR Sprint Cup.
For the full unofficial Sprint Cup points standings after Watkins Glen, see below.
“I saw them shoot forward and lunge into the corner and I knew there was no possible way to get out with any sensible speed”, Hamlin said. “Should’ve won both road courses [Hamlin was second to Stewart at Sonoma], which is something we never would’ve predicted going into the year”. It’s all good, just hard racing. “I only made one mistake at Sonoma, and I didn’t win”.
Running second, Busch had to pit during the race’s first caution for repairs to his splitter, which was damaged running over the track’s new curbing, and dropped far back in the field.
“It means a lot”, Hamlin said of his first road course triumph.
“We will need to continue to build on what we’ve built up to this point”, Stewart said. “That allowed us to make it on fuel”. He was in pain when he awoke. “If I felt like we were a contender to win every race right now, then maybe I would want the Chase to begin now”. If Buescher makes it into the top 30, Larson would be the bubble driver who would get knocked out of the Chase.
Keselowski, who ended up leading the most laps in the race (28), ended up third while Truex was credited with a seventh-place finish. He finished second three straight times from 2011-13, losing in late-race duels with Marcos Ambrose and Kyle Busch each time.
Defending race victor Joey Logano ended up second after Brad Keselowski tapped Martin Truex Jr. from behind on the final turn as Hamlin took the checkered flag. Hamlin had taken the lead three laps earlier when Keselowski and Kyle Busch drove too hard and went wide into Turn 1 on a restart.
“Knew I was in pretty big trouble”, said Hamlin, who has had two knee surgeries in his career. “It was my opportunity”. Keselowski spun Truex in the last turn and Hamlin coasted to the victory.
Defending race victor Joey Logano took advantage of the melee to finish second ahead of Keselowski and 2014 Watkins Glen victor AJ Allmendinger, who knocked Kyle Larson off the track and into the inside barrier on the way to a fourth-place finish. “I’ve finally won at all of the (types of) race tracks, so it’s a great accomplishment for us”.
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After the race, Keselowski went over and apologized to Truex and the two appeared fine with one another. Earnhardt visited Watkins Glen on Friday and is recovering from a concussion.
