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SONOMA, Calif. -- Denny Hamlin emerged from his car on pit road red-faced after Tony Stewart bumped him out of the way on the last lap en route to a dramatic win in Sunday's Toyota-Save Mart 350. But Hamlin wasn't angry about getting roughed up by the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion. He was just hot from a sunny, 91-degree day in wine country.
And after walking around the back of his No. 11 Toyota to survey the damage, Hamlin removed his hat, wiped his brow and started to talk. This was as close as Hamlin had ever come to tasting a road-course victory, so disappointment -- maybe even anger -- would have been an understandable response, but instead he accepted the way the last lap played out.
WATCH: Hamlin blames second-place finish on poor execution
"He (Stewart) made mistakes that allowed me to get there and get position, and then I made a mistake at the end to give up the lead in the last corner," Hamlin said. "Just one of those deals. I'd like to be on the winning end of this, but unfortunately we're on the bad end."
The mistakes Hamlin referenced came in Turns 7 and 11, the best places to pass on the 1.99-mile road course throughout the day. Hamlin said Stewart wheel-hopped in Turn 7 on the final two laps to open the door for the No. 11 car to get close and then move ahead on the final lap. But Hamlin came into Turn 11 too high, allowing Stewart to move underneath, push aside Hamlin and drive away for the win.
"My biggest problem all day is I wasn't very good on the second half of the track," Hamlin said. "I thought my car was very good up until Turn 7, and then down the hill in 11 we just weren't very fast for whatever reason. It's a problem I've had here for 11 years."
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Coming into Sunday's race, Hamlin had produced only one other top-five finish (2009), and entered with an average finish of 21.7 in 20 career Sprint Cup road-course races. None of that mattered, though, Sunday as Hamlin led the most laps with 33 (of 110) and was in position to get his first road-course win.
A caution on Lap 94 set up what turned out to be the final restart on Lap 97, and Stewart and Hamlin were 1-2, respectively, when the green flag dropped.
Stewart and Martin Truex Jr., who was third at the time, got clean restarts on the inside line, while Hamlin didn't fare as well on the outside line. Hamlin dropped into third place, and according to him, that played a factor in the final outcome.
"We got a bad (restart), but Tony got a real good one and the inside line got a good start," Hamlin said. "And that allowed Martin to get by me and I burned up way too much of my tires getting back around him."
But nothing was guaranteed for Stewart, and when Hamlin pulled ahead on the final lap, it looked as if it might be Denny's day and not Tony's. Both were battling for the win and wheel-hopped into Turn 7 on the final lap, perhaps sensing the urgency to get a big win.
"I didn't run a low enough line in Turn 11 from wheel-hopping in Turn 7," Hamlin said. "I got the rears hot, wheel-hopped it a bit again, got out of line, and obviously gave him the inside line.
"Once I knew he had position and we had a wall on the other side of us, that I knew, pretty good chance that we were going to go in the wall," Hamlin said. "I don't think he was going to leave it to chance, a drag race coming off Turn 11."
Afterward, Hamlin went up to Stewart's car and put his head in the window, and Stewart admitted afterward he thought maybe he was going to have to fight. But instead, Hamlin said, "I'm so damn proud of you."