NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Hamlin Rallies To Win At Kansas
Denny Hamlin wins STP 400 after dominant Martin Truex Jr. falters in closing laps...
Mike Hembree  |  Posted April 22, 2012   Kansas City, KN
Denny Hamlin grabbed the lead from an otherwise-dominant Martin Truex Jr. with 31 laps to go and won Sunday’s STP 400 Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway.

Hamlin had the best car at the best time, but Truex was dominant much of the day. He led 173 of the 267 laps. Hamlin led the final 31 and one other lap during a pit-stop round early in the race.

Truex lost the handle on his car after the day’s last pit stop, saying it was too loose. Despite the fact that Hamlin had a solid grasp on the lead, Truex made several valiant efforts to return to first place in the final few laps, sliding his car through the turns several times and almost losing control.

“We put on that last set of tires, and it wasn’t anything like it was all day long,” Truex said. “I was bad, bad loose for the first 20 laps of that run. I know we’re going to get a win. I just hate giving them away like that.”

After the race, Truex apologized to his crew for letting the win slip away, but he later admitted he did virtually all he could do to stay in first. He was seeking his first win since June 2007 at Dover.

The win was Hamlin’s second of the season, helping to re-establish the strength of Joe Gibbs Racing and underline the fact that the new driver-crew chief pairing of Hamlin and Darian Grubb is working.

The race, the last contested on Kansas Speedway’s current surface and design, was a mostly follow-the-leader affair, although there was spirited racing at the front following restarts – and at the end of the race as Hamlin and Truex dueled.

The track will be repaved and reconfigured – with higher turn banking – for the next NASCAR weekend in October.

Following Hamlin and Truex in the top five were Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle. Johnson stayed close to the front much of the afternoon but again fell short of giving team owner Rick Hendrick his 200th Sprint Cup victory.

Finishing in the second 10 were Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch.

Biffle’s finish kept him in the series point lead. Truex moved into second. Hamlin jumped from sixth to fifth with the win.

The race was particularly tough on engines, as three Toyota drivers – Mark Martin, Bobby Labonte and Clint Bowyer – parked their cars with engine problems and several other drivers, including Jeff Gordon, had engine-related problems.

The cars were strung out most of the day, and there were no major incidents. The race total of three cautions was the lowest in track history.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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