Entering the afternoon’s Tums Fast Relief 500 at the Martinsville Speedway, all eyes were one Jimmie Johnson, the points leader, and second place Denny Hamlin. Between the two they’d won the last eight races at the historic track. So would it be the dynamic duo of Hamlin and Johnson dominating the day? Would third place Kevin Harvick make some noise? Would a non-Chaser steal the spotlight from the top 12?
Hamlin, on his second pole of 2010, led the field to the green on the inside along with Marcos Ambrose. The No. 11 was able to clear Ambrose while Tony Stewart in fifth looked to make a move on the outside to gain positions, as was Paul Menard in 11th. Starting 36th, by lap three Harvick ran in the 31st position. Jeff Gordon, who started 11th ran eighth on lap 11 as Ambrose took the lead from Hamlin, who was trapped on the outside and fell to fourth. By lap 20 Harvick was nearing the top 20 and the former leader Hamlin had fallen to 10th. Jimmie Johnson and Paul Menard made slight contact as they raced for the 14th position. On lap 31 Hamlin ran 12th and right in front of Chase rival Johnson. The pair raced side by side for position but with the inside line Johnson was able to take the spot. Ahead of them Reutimann, Gordon and Biffle all battled for third, fourth and fifth. By lap 47 Jeff Burton had picked up 11 spots and ran seventh. The first caution of the race came out on lap 48 for Travis Kvapil hitting the wall. That brought the field down to a very crowded pit road, with Ryan Newman and Ambrose leading the field back to the green when they restarted on lap 54, with Newman easily clearing the No. 47, who spun his tires. Ambrose would also lose second to Reutimann. Harvick came off pit road 13th and by lap 60 ran ninth, while Hamlin made his way back up to 11th just ahead of teammate Joey Logano. On lap 62 Burton and Biffle battled for fourth just ahead of Hendrick teammates Johnson and Gordon. Burton was able to take the spot as Hamlin re-entered the top ten. Burton continued to impress moving into third and contact between the No. 24 and the No. 48 with Harvick taking advantage, moving around Gordon. After a pass by Hamlin after the two battled side by side, Gordon fell to ninth on lap 75. Up front, Newman held over a half a second lead over Reutimann. On lap 80 Burton moved past the No. 00 for second and set his sights on the leader, and took the lead just two laps later. The top three in points were nose to tail as Harvick was all over the back bumper of Johnson for fifth, passing him on lap 91, opening the door for Hamlin who sent the No. 48 back to seventh. Hamlin blew past Harvick for fifth on lap 105 and began pursuing Ambrose for fourth, completing the pass on lap 108. The second caution of the race came out on lap 110 for Elliott Sadler stopping on the track; he was held two laps for intentionally bringing out the caution. The field came down pit road again with Burton keeping the lead. The field went back to green on lap 117 and Burton easily cleared the battling Reutimann and Newman. Just behind them Harvick jumped past Hamlin for fifth, and slight contact between Ambrose and Johnson, then in ninth, sent Ambrose falling back with a flat tire. He would spin and bring out the third yellow flag of the race on lap 119. Burton once again led the field to the green on lap 127, with Newman hanging with Burton on the outside and challenging for the lead. Newman nudged ahead of Burton to lead the lap but the No. 31 was giving up, and was able to clear him with Reutimann taking to Newman’s bumper. Tony Stewart, Gordon, Johnson and Bowyer were all racing together for seventh to tenth. In front of them Harvick and Hamlin made their way by Biffle for fourth and fifth. A stack up near the back of the pack brought out the fourth caution when Kenny Schrader spun, collecting Sadler and Joe Nemechek on lap 132. Cars further in the pack made their way down pit road under the yellow while the leaders stayed on track. It was Burton and Newman again leading the field to the green on lap 138, as Burton was able to clear Newman and on the outside Harvick challenged Reutimann for third and took the spot on lap 140. Of the cars that made pit stops Montoya and Kenseth raced hard for 23rd and on lap 146 Harvick moved into second past Newman. It was an unscheduled stop for Martin Truex, Jr. when he hit pit road on lap 135 for a vibration. Hamlin moved around Newman for third on lap 159. Kyle Busch passed Clint Bowyer to enter the top ten just a few laps later after the No. 18 started 26th on the field. Truex, Jr. lost power on lap 166 and was unable to get back to pit road bringing out the fifth caution of the race the following lap. Under the yellow the leaders once again made their way to their crews for four tires, fuel and adjustments. Burton won the race out of the pits once again but with that first pit stall it was Hamlin beating out Harvick for second. Newman and Reutimann rounded out the top five. Burton led the field to the green on lap 178 with Harvick jumping to second in that outside line. Johnson was once again beating and banging his way up through the field as they raced Reutimann hard for fourth. The race for 14th also heated up between Edwards and Menard who ran side by side just ahead of Bowyer. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ran ninth after starting 28th. On lap 185 Scott Speed got wicked loose after Sam Hornish, Jr., and then Hornish hit him again, sending the No. 82 into the No. 78 of Regan Smith, who hit the wall hard and brought out the sixth caution. Burton and Harvick were side by side for the restart on lap 191, and Harvick was hung on the outside by Hamlin as the pair battled for second. Hamlin took the spot but the No. 29 was able to duck into the inside. Caution once again came out on lap 193 for a hard hit from the No. 33 of Bowyer, who was running 13th at the time. Burton was warned again under caution about his brake checking the field on the restart, and was told by NASCAR that if he did it again he would be black flagged. The race restarted on lap 201, with Burton and Hamlin side by side for the lead. Burton was able to clear him in turn two but Hamlin jumped to the inside and kept Harvick at bay. On lap 206 Harvick was able to get by the No. 11 who had Johnson all over his back bumper. On lap 208 Gordon got under the No. 48, and the teammates ran side by side before Johnson gave the spot to him the following lap. Earnhardt, Jr. ran sixth just behind them. Caution for the eighth time came out on lap 210 for a spin by Paul Menard. From 13th on back came down pit road while the leaders once again stayed on the track. Burton and Harvick led the field to the lap 215 restart, with Harvick hanging with his teammate on the outside and challenging for the lead. He was able to take the lead on lap 216. Hamlin was able to hold off Gordon to keep third. Burton just drove back to the lead on lap 223 as Earnhardt, Jr. moved into 12th after restarting 18th when he elected to come down pit road. Twenty fourth place car Mark Martin made hard contact with the No. 43 of AJ Allmendinger. On the pit stops to follow Newman took two tires and beat Burton, Harvick and Hamlin out. Gordon and Kyle Busch were among those who stayed out and led the field to the green flag, which didn’t last long because Reutimann spun after contact with Brad Keselowski, bringing out the yellow flag again. It was Gordon, Busch and Earnhardt, Jr. the top three on the lap 247 restart, with Gordon clearing the field and the No. 88 looking to take second on the inside. Montoya ran just behind them in fourth. Meanwhile Aric Almirola in the No. 9 took the seventh spot from Edwards and Newman slowed on the track with a rear end gear going. He was able to get off the track and the race stayed green. On lap 256 Stewart made his way past Montoya to fourth while Gordon had checked out on the field. Earnhardt, Jr. took second on lap 259. The top three in points, who had started mid pack after their pit stops, were making up ground, running 11th (Johnson), 12th (Harvick) and 13th (Hamlin) on lap 270. Johnson moved into the top ten after passing Menard two laps later. Burton pitted with them and also had made up ground, running fifth on lap 277. Earnhardt, Jr. was able to take the lead on lap 285 after Gordon caught lap traffic, and Hamlin took the 11th place from Harvick the same lap. JJ Yeley was running slow on the track and brought out the caution on lap 288 for the 11th time. The field came down pit road with Earnhardt, Jr. and Stewart leading the field off and to the restart on lap 294. The No. 88 easily cleared Smoke and the top three were single file. Back in the pack Harvick had Johnson on the outside as they raced for position just ahead of Hamlin, with Harvick taking the spot before the No. 48 found a hole to the bottom. Gordon took second from Stewart on lap 299 and contact between Burton and Busch sent Rowdy back. The hard battle between Harvick and Johnson continued as the two were side by side and even three wide with Kenseth before Johnson took seventh from Harvick on lap 305. Burton also got by Stewart for third, and no caution on lap 307 for Ambrose smacking the wall hard and also collecting Hornish, Jr., which was good news for the leader who continued to pull away from the field. Burton began challenging Gordon for second on lap 318, taking the spot the following lap and just like before began making a charge toward the lead. Just ahead of the top three in points Montoya challenged Kyle Busch for fifth to no avail. Harvick was able to get underneath Johnson to take seventh, which he did, leaving Hamlin all over the back of the No. 48. Harvick took sixth from Montoya on lap 331. The No. 48 and No. 11 made slight contact on lap 332 and Hamlin was able to get around his points rival. Hamlin continued his strong run, and by lap 347 had made his way to sixth. The 12th caution of the race came out when Greg Biffle lost a tire and hit the wall on lap 351. The leaders all came down pit road once again, with Earnhardt, Jr. and Burton leading the field off, followed by Harvick and Hamlin. The No. 88 led the field to the green flag on lap 356, and easily cleared the battling teammates of Burton and Harvick. Caution number 13 came out for Hornish, Jr. hitting the wall on The field restarted on lap 364 and the No. 88 was again able to clear the second and third place cars who battled side by side. Johnson was just behind Harvick in fourth. Harvick nudged the No. 31 getting his teammate extremely loose but Burton was able to save it. Harvick took second on lap 368, opening the door for Johnson to take advantage. Behind them, Gordon and Joey Logano all battled for 13th. On lap 373 Burton on the outside was finally able to clear Johnson. Hamlin fell back on the restart after being trapped on the outside but passed Edwards on lap 374 for seventh. After leading 90 laps, Earnhardt, Jr. was passed by Harvick, who made it 20 lead changes on the day. The 114th caution of the race came out after Kurt Busch just dumped Jeff Gordon, sending the No. 24 DuPont Chevy hard into the wall. The leaders came down pit road once again for stops, with Harvick leading Burton and Hamlin off pit road. It was the No. 26 of Schrader who led the field to the green after staying out, but Harvick easily cleared him to take back the lead as did Hamlin who moved into second, and Burton fell to third while Schrader had a big tire rub and began dropping back. The No. 34 of Tony Raines also lost a tire and spun before he was able to get to pit road, and NASCAR put out the 15th caution of the Tums Fast Relief 500. Harvick jumped ahead to the lead with 97 to go and Burton took second from Hamlin who dropped into line in front of the no. 48, who was running side by side with Hamlin’s teammate, Busch. Speaking of Busch, the elder of the two was passed by Stewart for 11th on lap 407. Meanwhile Hamlin had closed up on Burton, running on the back bumper as he looked to take third with 89 laps to go. Martin had battled his way after his earlier incident all the way up to 12th as he passed Kurt Busch with 78 laps remaining. He was able to get by Montoya for 11th three laps later. With 57 laps to go Burton had caught Harvick for the race lead as they found themselves amidst lap traffic, but Burton got a bit loose on lap 446 allowing Hamlin to close in. Behind them with 50 laps remaining Kyle Busch began racing Johnson hard for position. Hamlin got by Burton for second with 45 laps remaining a one second gap between he and Harvick. For 12th last week’s winner Jamie McMurray was able to take the position from Montoya. With 38 laps to go Hamlin had closed in on the leader, and with 33 dove to the inside to take the lead but wasn’t able to clear him, even when they made it three wide with a lap down car. Harvick was strong on the outside and didn’t let Hamlin get away. With 28 laps to go Hamlin was finally able to clear Harvick for the race lead. Meanwhile, Martin got by Johnson, who was also passed by Busch with 26 laps remaining. Six laps later Martin got by Rowdy for position, and Newman was slow on the track with a possible flat tire, but he too got to pit road. Martin continued his strong run and got by Burton for third with 14 laps to go, picking up 14 laps since the last restart. Johnson remained in sixth. A right front tire down on Tony Stewart with ten laps to go, but he too was able to get to pit road. Ambrose also had problems with eight to go, and made it to the pits. Hamlin was able to maintain his lead and drive to his seventh win of the 2010 season. “It was a great win by our race team. This is probably the most gratifying win I've had so far because we didn't have the best car,” Hamlin said afterwards. He is now just six points out of the points lead heading into the Talladega Superspeedway next week.
Written by:
