NASCAR: Denny Hamlin wins Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire
Denny Hamlin didn’t leave many of his competitors happy, but then that isn’t the point.
After run-ins with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon following restarts during the race, Denny Hamlin held on to win Saturday’s Lakes Region 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for his second win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this season.
The first incident with Busch sent both drivers to pit road and to the rear of the field.
“We had the dominant car, we had the best car. What a day,” said Hamlin.
Busch’s take: “It was (intense) and I was loose and he was loose and two loose don’t make a right.”
Dillon finished second, Brad Keselowski was third, Busch was fourth and Daniel Suarez was fifth.
Turning point
After making contact with Dillon on the restart with 25 of 200 laps remaining, Hamlin appeared to have the win in hand but Dillon gathered himself back up and got to within a couple car lengths of Hamlin on the final lap. He couldn’t reach Hamlin’s bumper before the checkered flag.
Three who mattered
Denny Hamlin: Nothing looked like it was going to slow Hamlin down on Saturday, not even on-track incidents or losing track position.
Kyle Busch: Not happy with Hamlin and not in the mood to talk about it after the race.
Austin Dillon: Also not happy with Hamlin and said if payback was necessary, there was always Sunday’s Sprint Cup race.
Observation
▪ It’s been an uncharacteristically tough month for Xfinity Series points leader Chris Buescher, who has now failed to finish in the top 10 in the past three races. The good news is Buescher continues to hold a solid lead in the series standings. He holds a 31-point advantage over Chase Elliott, who won last season’s championship.
They said it
“He wrecked his teammate and then he proceeded to wreck me.” – Austin Dillon, talking about race winner Denny Hamlin.
N@SCAR
Three tweets from Saturday’s race:
Winner, winner in a bright @ToyotaRacing #Camry! @dennyhamlin in @XFINITYRacing Victory Lane @NHMS. #LakesRegion200 pic.twitter.com/uhamNpJ6GT
— Kirby J Gordon (@kirbyjgordon) July 18, 2015
It's the 20 car of Denny Hamlin that takes the win in the @NASCAR_XFINITY #LakesRegion200 pic.twitter.com/qVwngIlFNv
— NH Motor Speedway (@NHMS) July 18, 2015
A Mustang, Camry, and a Camaro going 3-wide battling at #XFINITYSeries, good times. pic.twitter.com/WspoNkBX4o
— XFINITY Racing (@XFINITYRacing) July 18, 2015
Next race
Lilly Diabetes 250
Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, Ind.
When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday
TV: NBC
Radio: IMS Radio Network
This story was originally published July 18, 2015 at 6:55 PM with the headline "NASCAR: Denny Hamlin wins Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire."