By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
DARLINGTON, S.C. (May 7, 2010) —Talk about a glutton for punishment.
Less than six weeks removed from ACL surgery on his left knee, Denny Hamlin opted for a weekend double at the track he considers one of the most grueling on the NASCAR circuit.
So far, so good. Staying out on old tires while other contenders came to the pits under caution on Lap 123, Hamlin, in the No. 20 Z-line Toyota, held off teammate Kyle Busch, in the No. 18 Z-line Toyota, who also stayed out, to win Friday night's Royal Purple 200 Nationwide Series race at Darlington Raceway.
Hamlin led the final 63 of 147 laps in winning his 10th race in the series in his second start of the year. On Saturday night, he'll start eighth in the Showtime Southern 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
"Great race car," Hamlin said in Victory Lane. "Congratulations to (crew chief) Kevin Kidd. This is his first win with Joe Gibbs Racing after taking over for Dave Rogers. When you have a car that drives as good as this one did today, it makes your job a whole lot easier."
Busch had a strong car but couldn't pass Hamlin on a succession of restarts late in the race. Busch pulled even with Hamlin to the inside entering Turn 1 on a restart with five laps to go, but Hamlin had momentum around the outside and gradually inched away to win by .625 seconds.
"If you don't get out first after the last pit stop, you're stuck," Busch said. "You just can't pass out there. It's just so aero-sensitive. You fight for track position here. That's all you can do. Tires don't mean a whole lot, but track position does."
All told, Hamlin led 111 laps and Busch 17. Jamie McMurray finished third, followed by Kasey Kahne and Jason Leffler. Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Brian Vickers and Paul Menard completed the top 10.
Hamlin's Friday schedule included a two-and-a-half-hour Nationwide practice session, starting at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by two 90-minute Cup practices, qualifying in both series and, finally, the race.
"I knew it was going to be a challenge," Hamlin said. "I knew it was going to be a very, very long day. I tried to conserve as much energy as possible. I didn't run a ton of laps in Nationwide (practice). I didn't run a ton of laps in Cup.
"I was just trying to conserve some energy for (Friday night) and then for (Saturday). Having all day to rest tomorrow will help."
Keselowski holds a 55-point lead over Busch in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings.
Results for Friday’s Royal Purple 200:
1. Denny Hamlin
2. Kyle Busch
3. Jamie McMurray
4. Kasey Kahne
5. Jason Leffler
6. Carl Edwards
7. Brad Keselowski
8. Kevin Harvick
9. Brian Vickers
10. Paul Menard
11. Michael Annett
12. Steve Wallace
13. Mike Wallace
14. Stanton Barrett
15. Coleman Pressley
16. Trevor Bayne
17. Justin Allgaier
18. Tony Raines
19. Michael McDowell
20. Kenny Wallace
21. Jason Keller
22. Mark Green
23. Joe Nemechek
24. Brian Keselowski
25. Brian Scott *
26. Danny Efland
27. Eric McClure
28. Chad McCumbee
29. Steve Arpin
30. Matt Kenseth
31. James Buescher *
32. Mike Bliss Chevrolet
33. Brendan Gaughan
34. Josh Wise
35. Greg Biffle
36. Scott Lagasse Jr.
37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. *
38. Kevin Lepage
39. Clint Bowyer
40. Danny O'Quinn Jr.
41. David Gilliland
42. Derrike Cope
43. Dennis Setzer
* Denotes Rookie
TEXT AND PHOTOS FROM NASCAR MEDIA
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