Bowyer Steals Richmond Victory As Hamlin, Then Earnhardt Stumble

RICHMOND, Va. — Heartbreak was the order of the day at Richmond Int’l Raceway on Saturday, for any number of people.
Denny Hamlin, who led 381 of the first 382 laps, cut down a tire with just eight laps remaining to end his chance at a “blowout” victory and a hometown sweep…and then the real action started.
Kyle Busch, who ran second to Hamlin much of the second half of the race, tried to pass leader Dale Earnhardt, Jr. going into turn three on lap 398 and ended up putting Earnhardt into the fence, much to the dismay of another packed house. While Busch was trying to get off Earnhardt, Clint Bowyer sneaked past on the inside to grab the lead and ultimately the victory.
Busch finished second, fending off a last-lap challenge from Mark Martin, while Tony Stewart and Martin Truex, Jr. rounded out the top five.

MONEY MAN: Clint Bowyer celebrates his victory in Saturday night's Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond Int'l Raceway, his second-career Sprint Cup win. (Autostock Photo)

“They were just racing so hard there and you knew it was going to happen,” Bowyer said. “I just took advantage of a misfortune there.”
Misfortune struck Hamlin hard, and then compounded itself when Hamlin stopped his car at the top of turn four with the right front down. The caution waved, and Hamlin took off, prompting NASCAR to hold him in the pits for two laps for intentionally bringing out the yellow.
“You can’t whine about it,” Hamlin said. “It wasn’t meant to be. God didn’t want me to win today, and there’s a better time for us to win, evidently. Today is just not our day.
“You don’t have days like this. Dominating days like this just don’t happen. Usually, when it does, you have an issue at the end. To me, it almost wasn’t that surprising. I’ve had these issues before at Bristol and some other race tracks.”
Hamlin ran over something on the track, which tore a V-shaped puncture in the right front. He immediately radioed his team with the news.

Denny Hamlin (HHP/Alan Marler Photo)

“I definitely felt it,” he said. “I was in complete ride mode all race long. Letting guys get close to me and then just pulling back away from them at leisure. You know, we had the car to beat still after that last pit stop. It was everything we needed. I was just out there riding and I knew right away. I went in one corner and it fell down in the right front, and I knew we had a tire going down. They said the tires looked good, but I knew that we had an issue and it just kept getting worse and worse. There’s nothing we could do there.  Hopefully, it was going to last to the end and it didn’t.”
Up to that point, Hamlin was untouchable. Over the first 300 laps, only A.J. Allmendinger crossed the start/finish line before Hamlin, and that was because he stayed out under caution. Hamlin broke the record for laps led at Richmond with his performance. Bobby Allison formerly held the mark since 1979.
Busch, who ran second to Hamlin much of the night, said there wasn’t any catching his teammate.
“It’s just a bummer deal for him,” Busch said. “He had the field covered. He drove a flawless race and had spectacular pit stops. No mistakes on his part and no mistakes in the pits. Those guys deserved it.”
Bowyer was understandably pleased with his second-career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory.
“You know, the fastest car does not always win, and that was the case with the BB&T Chevrolet tonight,” Bowyer said. “We were fast all night, and once we were up there, we were able to run a lot better. You know, you’ve got to be able to be there for the taking at least, and we were close enough to do just that. It was pretty wild out there.  I think it was bound to happen. I think, you know, I was watching it and Richard (Childress, team owner) was on the radio saying, ‘It’s going to happen,’ and sure enough, it did happen.”
Bowyer said he thought the top two got together in a racing incident.
“They were putting on a show for a while; I thought so, anyway,” Bowyer said. “They were racing hard.  That’s what racing at Richmond is all about in my opinion. It just didn’t work out.
“I told the cops I didn’t know why they were escorting me in here. I told them, they better get on and escort Kyle Busch out of here. It was meant to be, I guess.”