Dennis Hamlin congratulates son Denny on making the Chase. Credit: AP

Rookie Hamlin carrying on for Joe Gibbs Racing

RICHMOND, Va. -- Denny Hamlin became the first rookie in the brief history of NASCAR's Chase format to make the 10-race playoff.

He now sets his sights on becoming the first rookie to win the Nextel Cup title.

Chevy Rock & Roll 400 Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Kevin Harvick Chevy 2. Kyle Busch Chevy 3. Kasey Kahne Dodge 4. Dave Blaney Dodge 5. Mark Martin Ford 6. Greg Biffle Ford 7. Ken Schrader Ford 8. Matt Kenseth Ford 9. Jeff Burton Chevy 10. Scott Riggs Dodge • Complete results, click here • Standings, click here Victory LaneKevin Harvick secures Chase berth with Richmond win Top finisherJeff Gordon talks about his race at Richmond Chase qualifierDale Jr. talks about how he is pleased with his team PaybackJimmie Johnson and Jeff Green feud on the track Saturday Caution outJohnson and Edwards involved in a spin on Lap 80 Final lapsKevin Harvick gets by Kyle Busch for the win at Richmond In the showKasey Kahne takes the final spot in the Chase Five points outJohnson assesses his title chances as he enters the Chase RelievedMark Martin earns a Chase spot, chance for first title Points leaderMatt Kenseth decribes how it feels to be the points leader Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836 SUPERSTORE •   Order Chase hats now!

It was shocking that Joe Gibbs Racing, winner of three Cup championships this decade, now only has Hamlin representing the three-car team in the Chase. Hamlin will try to become the third different driver -- Bobby Labonte (2000) and Tony Stewart (2002, 2005) are the others -- to win a title for JGR.

The playoff spot didn't come without a major scare for Hamlin, who ran the last third of the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 on just seven cylinders. Despite the motor trouble, Hamlin finished 15th and moved from seventh to fifth in the points.

Hamlin hasn't finished worse than 17th since Phoenix in the spring, where he finished 37th. Ironically, Phoenix was the site of Hamlin's last motor problem.

"We had the same kind of [motor] issue at Phoenix except it happened on Lap 1," Hamlin said. "To finish 15th [at Richmond] on seven cylinders shows just how fast our racecar was."

Hamlin's motor scare started on about Lap 250, when a chunk of rubber from the racetrack landed on top of a header in the motor. It then caught on fire and burned through a plug wire, rendering a cylinder useless.

Hamlin, who had started from the pole and spent virtually the entire race in the top five, dropped like a rock after the motor problem. Fortunately, the race was slowed by only seven cautions, and the car ran adequately on long runs. Hamlin even managed to stay on the lead lap until 20 laps to go.

"Toward the back end of the run, your handling becomes better, so we had that going for us," crew chief Mike Ford said.

The team admitted that it started to panic after Hamlin first complained of a motor problem because they knew that an engine failure would drop them completely from the Chase.

"Usually when a driver says he has an engine problem, you don't finish," team owner J.D. Gibbs said. "We panicked there."

On Lap 323, engine tuner Roger Purcell looked under Hamlin's hood under the caution and determined that the trouble was merely a burned plug wire. It was only then that Hamlin knew he could finish the race and earn a playoff spot.

"You know, that was the biggest relief, when we looked under the hood and we saw that it was a spark plug wire and not something internal that could eventually break," Hamlin said. "That was a big relief and I definitely wiped my head off when that happened. We had bad luck [Saturday], but we still had good luck."

Hamlin's team now turns its focus to the Chase, where it is made up mostly of tracks measuring a mile-and-a-half in length. To win the Chase, the champion must blaze through the final 10 races with a slew of top-five finishes, and Hamlin had just four of those in the first 26 races. Every other driver in the top 10 except Jeff Burton, who also had four top-fives, had more.

Still, Hamlin thinks he can make a run at the title.

"Based on our last 15 weeks, we are good enough to win the championship," Hamlin said. "With the slate clean, I feel we have as good a chance as anyone.

"There are a lot of weeks where we finished sixth, seventh on the big tracks and we should have finished top five, I am really pumped about these mile-and-a-halfs in the Chase because I know we can run really well there."

Hamlin thinks his major roadblock in the Chase will be Talladega on Oct. 8. Hamlin has not finished better than 17th in a plate race this season.

"Talladega will definitely be the question mark, and probably Martinsville," Hamlin said. "We have nowhere to go but forward, because this year has been a success no matter what."

Despite Hamlin's success this season, Richmond proved to be a bittersweet night for Joe Gibbs Racing as defending Nextel Cup champion Stewart failed to qualify for the 10-race playoff.

Stewart's playoff miss shocked Hamlin.

"I think June or so was a tough month for those guys, those DNFs were hard to recover from," Hamlin said. "It is really hard to make up points.

"My heart goes out to those guys. I probably feel for him more than he feels for himself, really. It would be good to have a teammate in this Chase."