NASCAR notes: Night to remember for Joe Gibbs Racing

Night to remember for Joe Gibbs Racing

The focus was on the cars from Joe Gibbs Racing from the beginning at Richmond International Raceway last night.

Former Chesterfield resident Denny Hamlin led almost from the beginning and won, his second victory of the season and his first home-track Sprint Cup triumph.

Hamlin started in the third position. He passed Martin Truex Jr. on the first lap, then took the lead from pole-sitter Mark Martin on Lap 3.

Hamlin was so dominant that he lapped Max Papis on Lap 31. Shortly after passing Papis, Hamlin opened a 1.31-second lead.

Hamlin now has led at least one lap in all eight of his Richmond starts. In the past three races here, he had led 533 laps.

Kyle Busch was battling to get the final spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. He held it briefly during the race but watched it fade away with a strong run by Brian Vickers.

Overlooked was the performance of Joey Logano. He finished 14th, the top finish for a rookie in the field.

Hamlin, Gordon jousted all night

The battle for the lead between Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon wasn't confined to track. Thrice they raced to the line coming off pit road after cautions.

Hamlin barely beat Gordon on an early stop, jerking his car to the left to avoid a collision. Gordon returned the favor by about the width of a wheel on the second.

On the third, Hamlin nosed out Gordon, squeezing out Mark Martin in a three-way race in the process.

Edwards rebounds

Carl Edwards, still on crutches after the race nursing his broken foot, was a little worried when he dropped to 30th early on. "Yeah, my engine missed there a couple of times off the corner like it might be a high load or something. It kept doing it a little bit all night, but it never got any worse, so that did scare me quite a bit when it happened."

Edwards only had to run decently last night to qualify for the Chase. He did, rebounding for a 15th-place finish.

The night did not start smoothly.

The announcer said, "Gentlemen, start your engines," and Edwards went backward. In the No. 99 Aflac Ford, Edwards started 10th and nearly rolled back into 11th-place Reed Sorenson. Edwards appeared to struggle handling the car and fell to 30th by Lap 45.

Edwards broke his foot in a volleyball accident with friends and won the Nationwide series race Friday night.

Pit crew gives Biffle a boost

Greg Biffle made the Chase for the Sprint Cup and credited his pit crew for making it happen. Biffle finished the race 13th and enters the Chase in 12th place.

"I don't even know where I finished, I have no idea," he said. "I tell you what, that was a hard-fought battle. Our car wasn't that good. If it wasn't for my pit cew, I wouldn't be standing here plain and simple. They have me four spots every single time -- four spots -- and I'd maintain, maintain, maintain, lose a couple and then a caution would come out and I'd gain four spots. It was quite a night."

Despite sitting 12th in the reset points standings, Biffle feels that only being 40 points behind leader Mark Martin is a good thing.

"I'm excited about it. If I win the first two races, I'll be leading the points this year. It's pretty tight. Forty points is reachable in a couple of races. We're capable of that."

Burton, Saddler endure tough night

Jeff Burton, a South Boston native, finished 18th, matching his finish at Richmond in the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 two years ago. He was third in the May race.

Elliott Sadler (Emporia) struggled all night and finished 34th, four laps off the pace.

Johnson looks to future

Jimmie Johnson has won the past three Chase points championships, but that doesn't mean he thinks he's a shoo-in to win his fourth.

"I think it's anybody's championship right now," he said. "I live by the thought that [was] last year. Denny [Hamlin] won the last race. Last week was Kasey [Kahne]. We haven't won since Indy. Stats are great, but that was last year.

"I'm optimistic and feel we have a chance. We have the speed, but I look at what's coming up tomorrow, not at what's happened in the past."

Stewart, Sorenson bring out a caution

Tony Stewart and Reed Sorenson tangled on Lap 46, causing the second caution of the race.

Sorenson was sandwiched between David Stremme on the outside and Stewart on the bottom of the track. Stewart got loose and slid up the track, striking Sorenson and turning both of them sideways. Stremme avoided the incident.

"It's my fault, guys," Stewart told his pit crew over the radio.

Kenseth struggles early

Matt Kenseth, who entered last night clinging to the 12th and final Chase spot, went backward almost from the start.

After starting 28th, he took advantage of the race's third caution to pit from the back of the pack. The changes didn't work, as he immediately complained of a car without grip.

Matters were even worse when, on his pit after a debris caution on Lap 108, he missed his pit, instead landing in Michael Waltrip's. He restarted 31st on Lap 111.

Vickers enjoys solid run at RIR

Brian Vickers finished seventh beat out Kyle Busch for the 12th and final spot in the Chase field.

"Richmond hasn't always been my best track," Vickers said. "We've sat on two poles here, so it's been a good track for us, but not the best."

Vickers said the team's short-track package suffered the most.

"We have the short run part of it fixed, the first 10-15 laps. It's fixing the rest of it now. And I really feel good about it. If we can go as well on the long runs as on the short runs, we're going to lead a lot of laps."

Race's start delayed

A rain shower delayed the start of the race by 27 minutes.

The shower hit the track about 70 minutes before the scheduled 7:45 start. Blower truckers still were drying the track just before the start.

-- Steve Trosky, Sara Page, Tim Pearrell, Shawn Fenner, Paul Woody