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NASCAR

Denny Hamlin delivers clutch win at Phoenix to reach NASCAR Championship 4

Christopher Howley
The Republic | azcentral.com

AVONDALE, Ariz. – After spending the past week trying to keep his mind off the pressure, Denny Hamlin can finally take a sigh of relief. 

For the sixth time this NASCAR season, Hamlin found himself in victory lane on Sunday and gave himself a chance to race for a championship next week. 

Entering the Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway, Hamlin sat in the uncomfortable position of being 20 points out of the final spot in the championship field. In order for Hamlin to advance to the Monster Energy Cup Series final four, he needed to win or finish 20 positions ahead of Joey Logano. 

Luckily for Hamlin, he chose the more-direct route.

"I knew at the end of the race last week we we're going to have a fighting chance. I had all the parts and pieces I needed to go to Phoenix and win the race," said Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, after surviving a late-race restart to hold off Kyle Busch and claim his second career victory at the Avondale track. "I just made sure I did my job ... and it's great to have a result like that." 

Denny Hamlin celebrates with his teammates after winning the Bluegreen Vacations 500 at ISM Raceway to punch his ticket to the Championship 4.

Next week, Hamlin, along with two his Gibbs teammates, Martin Truex Jr. and Busch, and Kevin Harvick, will race for the Cup championship in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. 

After feeling a little less motivated after practice on Friday, Hamlin's crew chief, Chris Gabehart, gave Hamlin a bit of a pep talk via text message.

"A lot of (the text) was like 'Expect more from yourself," Hamlin said. "He's always there to check up on me and see where my head's at."

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Ever since becoming Hamlin's crew chief late last year, Gabehart has found a way to keep Hamlin's focus on getting a chance to compete for a championship. 

"Even though this is (Chris's) first year, it's like he's been doing this for a really, really long time," Hamlin said. "He gets the most out of his guys. I'm not sure what it is, but his got some motivation in him for sure. His confidence in me is unwavering."

During the week leading up to the race in Arizona, Hamlin spent time with fellow drivers playing golf and tennis to get their minds off the pressure of the weekend. Hamlin said he tried his best to not change his normal routine despite what he was facing on Sunday. 

"I can tell you being around those guys and my group of friends takes stress off of me. I just don't think about racing," Hamlin said. 

According to Hamlin, he and fellow playoff driver Kyle Larson played tennis until 1 a.m. to help keep their minds at ease.   

"Both of us were in a similar spot and both of us were pretty laid back with the week," said Larson, driver of the No. 42 car for Chip Ganassi Racing. "I think that (relaxing during the week) is good to do. I think a lot of people sometimes think athletes need to be extremely focused -- not that we aren't, but you got to also at the same time balance that with some fun." 

ELLIOTT’S AWFUL ROUND

Elliott’s championship chances ended with a crash in the final stage. He had to win to earn a berth at Homestead after a disastrous third round of the playoffs.

NASCAR’s most popular driver had a mechanical problem at Martinsville, crashed last week at Texas and crashed Sunday when he appeared to have a tire issue that caused him to spin.

“Just a continuation of our first two weeks,” Elliott said. “I feel like we were in a good position to run solid. Not sure why we had a tire go down, I think that’s what happened. These last three weeks have been rough.”

UP NEXT: Sunday’s championship-deciding finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the last time the track will host the finale. Logano is the defending race winner.

Contributing: The Associated Press

Bluegreen Vacations 500 Results

Sunday from the 1-mile ISM Raceway (starting positions in parentheses):

1. (3) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 312 laps, 59 points.

2. (1) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 312, 50.

3. (10) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 312, 44.

4. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 312, 42.

5. (7) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 312, 38.

6. (4) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, 312, 36.

7. (9) Erik Jones, Toyota, 312, 30.

8. (13) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 312, 29.

9. (2) Joey Logano, Ford, 312, 45.

10. (12) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 312, 34.

11. (8) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 312, 28.

12. (19) Paul Menard, Ford, 312, 25.

13. (16) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 312, 24.

14. (22) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 312, 23.

15. (15) Daniel Suarez, Ford, 312, 22.

16. (17) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 311, 21.

17. (18) William Byron, Chevrolet, 311, 23.

18. (20) Ryan Newman, Ford, 311, 19.

19. (24) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ford, 311, 18.

20. (29) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 311, 17.

21. (27) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 311, 16.

22. (11) Aric Almirola, Ford, 310, 15.

23. (14) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 310, 14.

24. (28) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 309, 13.

25. (23) Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet, 308, 12.

26. (25) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, 307, 11.

27. (26) John H. Nemechek, Ford, 307, 0.

28. (32) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 307, 0.

29. (39) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, 306, 0.

30. (21) Michael McDowell, Ford, 306, 7.

31. (35) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 304, 0.

32. (34) Bayley Currey, Ford, 304, 0.

33. (33) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 303, 0.

34. (36) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 296, 0.

35. (31) Corey Lajoie, Ford, 294, 2.

36. (30) David Ragan, Ford, suspension, 261, 1.

37. (37) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, brakes, 226, 1.

38. (38) Joey Gase, Toyota, engine, 170, 0.

39. (6) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, accident, 165, 18.

Race Statistics

Average Speed of Race Winner: 111.429 mph.

Time of Race: 2 Hours, 48 Minutes, 0 Seconds.

Margin of Victory: .377 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 5 for 32 laps.

Lead Changes: 8 among 5 drivers.

Lap Leaders: K. Busch 1-69; B. Keselowski 70-72; D. Hamlin 73-82; J. Logano 83-153; D. Hamlin 154; J. Logano 155-176; D. Hamlin 177-246; K. Busch 247-250; D. Hamlin 251-312.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Denny Hamlin 4 times for 143 laps; Joey Logano 2 times for 93 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 69 laps; Kurt Busch 1 time for 4 laps; Brad Keselowski 1 time for 3 laps.

Wins: M.Truex, 7; D.Hamlin, 6; K.Harvick, 4; Ky.Busch, 4; B.Keselowski, 3; C.Elliott, 3; J.Logano, 2; K.Larson, 1; R.Blaney, 1; A.Bowman, 1; Ku.Busch, 1; E.Jones, 1.

Top 16 in Points: 1. M.Truex, 5000; 2. D.Hamlin, 5000; 3. K.Harvick, 5000; 4. Ky.Busch, 5000; 5. J.Logano, 2344; 6. K.Larson, 2321; 7. R.Blaney, 2303; 8. B.Keselowski, 2299; 9. W.Byron, 2270; 10. C.Bowyer, 2254; 11. C.Elliott, 2253; 12. A.Bowman, 2229; 13. Ku.Busch, 2221; 14. A.Almirola, 2219; 15. R.Newman, 2189; 16. E.Jones, 2157.

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