CUP: Hamlin Rebounds At Texas

Sprint Cup

CUP: Hamlin Rebounds At Texas

Denny Hamlin was the winner of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway...

Mike Hembree | Posted April 20, 2010 Fort Worth, TX

Denny Hamlin celebrates by shooting off pair of Turnbull 45 Colt-style, single-action revolvers in victory lane after he won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)

Denny Hamlin, less than three weeks after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery, held off a charging Jimmie Johnson to win Monday’s Samsung Mobile 500 Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway.

LINK> UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: Samsung Mobile 500 - TEXAS

Hamlin moved to the front on a restart with 12 laps to go after several leaders were eliminated in a 10-car accident that caused a red-flag delay.

Hamlin’s season seemed to be under a black cloud only a few weeks ago when he decided to undergo in-season knee surgery rather than wait until the end of the year to correct ligament damage he suffered while playing basketball in January.

He had the surgery after winning the Martinsville race, then returned to the car the next week to run the complete event at Phoenix. Now he has won two of three races.

He climbed out of the car carefully in victory lane Monday and was favoring the repaired left leg as he celebrated with teammates.

The race finish was scrambled by the savage 10-car accident with 17 laps to go, a crash that involved several lead cars, including the potent vehicles of Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart.

The crash began after a restart with the lead group bunched and with everyone struggling to advance in the fading laps. Contact between Stewart and Gordon ignited the accident. Stewart slipped and was hit by Carl Edwards, and the tangle enveloped seven other cars.

The victory chances of Stewart, Gordon and Edwards were suddenly over, and NASCAR threw a red flag so that track workers could clear the damage.

“It was definitely my fault,” said Stewart, who discussed the crash with Gordon as they crawled out of their mangled cars.

The accident wiped out Gordon’s shot at ending a year of frustration. He has not won a race since last April at Texas.

Gordon, who led 43 of the race’s first 195 laps, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., a leader for 45 laps, showed strength in the middle section of the race. Then, closing on 100 laps to go, Gordon and teammate Johnson engaged in a bristling battle for the lead. During one encounter, they slammed together side to side as Gordon passed Johnson at the front, pinching the left front fender of Johnson’s car.

During the battle, Gordon, told via his team radio that Johnson might be upset about the contact, said, “He just wants to be treated different than everybody else.”

Gordon later said he was “disappointed” with Johnson, “but I’ll get over it, and so will he. It’s the competitiveness and aggressiveness wanting to win coming out in everybody.”

Stewart, a surprise winner of the pole on Friday, had a dominant car in the first half of the race.

Jeff Burton led when the final green flag flew with 12 laps to go, but Hamlin, who started alongside Burton, quickly took first place.

Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch also were in the mix at the front but couldn’t challenge for the lead.

Johnson was fifth on the restart and, despite sliding high on the track as the race returned to green, rallied to chase Hamlin over the closing miles. But he ran out of time.

LINK> UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: Samsung Mobile 500 - TEXAS

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame Grand Opening is set for May 11, 2010. Outdoor Opening Ceremonies are May 11th from 9 to 10 am ET free of charge, open to the public. Outdoor festivities including driver appearances and concerts May 11th from 10 am until 8 pm ET open to the public, free of charge. Tickets to enter the NASCAR Hall of Fame are on sale now at www.NASCARHall.com or by calling 877-231-2010. The countdown to the NASCAR Hall of Fame is on! Visit www.NASCARHall.com/50days for daily updates about the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mike Hembree

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