 | | Denny Hamlin finishes ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart to win the Budweiser Shootout. Credit: Autostock |
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
February 12, 2006
10:25 PM EST (03:25 GMT)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Denny Hamlin made an emphatic -- and emotional -- run Sunday by winning the Budweiser Shootout in his first race at Daytona International Speedway as a Nextel Cup driver. The victory was a glorious bookend in Hamlin's short career at NASCAR's upper level. Hamlin said he first came to Daytona as a Late Model Stock Car driver two years ago as a guest of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hamlin, who had only a 14th-place finish in two Busch Series starts at Daytona last season, took advantage of crisp pit work by his Joe Gibbs Racing crew and led 16 of the last 21 laps in the 72-lap special event for pole winners from the 2005 season and former event winners. He defied his inexperience by coming out ahead after a two-lap green-white-checkered finish brought on by a final caution, for debris, with three laps remaining of the original 70-lap distance. Hamlin's No. 11 Chevrolet was .154 seconds ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Tony Stewart -- who finished in a side-by-side dead heat. Earnhardt's No. 8 Chevrolet was given the position by inches over Stewart's Chevy. Rounding out the top five were Scott Riggs, who came from 10th to fourth after the final restart and Jimmie Johnson. In becoming the fifth driver to win the Shootout in his first attempt, Hamlin averaged 153.627 mph. There were three cautions for 13 laps and 16 lead changes among nine drivers. Hamlin's parents, Dennis and Mary Lou, who financed his Late Model career until they ran out of money a couple years ago, were nearly speechless with joy on pit road after the checkers. "I tell you, I knew Tony [Stewart] was up there and that was all right -- but those last five laps I was about to have a nervous breakdown," Dennis Hamlin said. "I'm so excited, I don't know what to say." "During the second practice [Saturday] I realized -- I knew -- that our car was good out front," Hamlin said. "The most important thing is that I tried not to make a mistake on pit road, either getting in or getting off." Hamlin pitted under green at Lap 48, in a group that included Stewart. When the stops had cycled through he was leading, at Lap 52. "On the pit stop the crew just beat everyone off pit road, plain and simple," Hamlin said. "I came in third and they got me out first and that was the winning move." Hamlin humbly chose not to point out a cagey move he made in traffic after the final restart, when he pulled away from Stewart and Earnhardt, with Johnson behind him, then cut to the bottom of the track to block a charge by Earnhardt. Crew chief Mike Ford, who scored his first victory since this event in 2004, with Dale Jarrett at Robert Yates Racing, certainly noticed. "What impressed me the most was the last restart, with Tony below us," Ford said. "We knew that was our only shot to win [and] he worked the guys behind him real well. "It was just a real impressive run and I'm looking forward to next week with Denny." "I wasn't the most optimistic person before the race started," Hamlin said. "We knew we weren't going to get any help, so I thought, 'Let's just try to get the most out of it.' "It was just one of those deals where I relied on the pit crew and they did a good job." Stewart, who won consecutive Shootouts in 2001-02, praised Hamlin for his poise and maturity; and said his teammate followed the advice he gave him before the race. "I told him I knew he had a fast enough car, that he just had to be patient all day," Stewart said. "It was awesome. I was hoping we'd get a one-two finish, but it was close." Hamlin, who made seven Nextel Cup starts at the end of last season and won his first career Cup pole at Phoenix International Raceway,  | 
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After making a cool-off lap Hamlin nosed his car into the frontstretch wall at the start/finish line and executed a burnout until the right-rear tire exploded. Hamlin had expressed some concern when the race's final caution flew, at lap 68, that he had run over debris, but his concern was unfounded. But the biggest problem he and the rest of the field had was the continuing issue of "bump drafting," which had cars skittering all over the 2.5-mile racetrack throughout the event. One multi-car accident occurred coming off Turn 2 when Jamie McMurray, Brian Vickers and Ryan Newman got together after getting three-wide at the head of the backstretch. The accident eventually involved Earnhardt, Riggs and Kasey Kahne. But there were numerous instances of contact, including one that eliminated two-time Shootout winner Jeff Gordon, in which Mark Martin was hit from behind by Kyle Busch, which sent Martin's car skating up the racetrack. In the ensuing scramble, Gordon ran into the back of Matt Kenseth's car, breaking his car's oil cooler and putting him out of the race. Stewart was the most emphatic about his concern, saying at the end he was as much concerned with "saving my life" than he was about trying to take the lead from Hamlin, or protecting their positions from Earnhardt. Stewart made no bones about his concern over the style of racing seen Sunday. "We're gonna kill somebody," Stewart said. "Somebody else is gonna die at Daytona or Talladega with what we're doing right here. I hope I'm not around when it happens." • Bump drafting draws ire of Stewart | 
