Hamlin Finishes Strong, Capturing Second Place at Darlington

Denny Hamlin finished second in Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, leading four times for 56 laps to take the checkered flag behind winner Jimmie Johnson.
Hamlin — the 2010 Darlington winner — battled a tight car throughout the 367-lap event on the 1.333-mile egg-shaped oval, but a late call to stay out of the pits by crew chief Darian Grubb gave him the necessary track position to contend for the race win. A pair of late cautions set up a ‘green-white-checkered’ ending, where Hamlin was able to move up to second at the finish line.

“We just didn’t get our car perfect during the race,” said Hamlin. “We were a top-five or top-10 car throughout the night, but never could get it just where we wanted it. Darian made a great call late in the race to get us track position, and a second place run is not too bad. We have some good tracks coming up for us, so hopefully we can get back into victory lane soon.”

The finish kept Hamlin fourth in the NASCAR standings following Darlington, 17 points behind leader Greg Biffle after 11 of 26 regular season races. The series returns to action at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 19 for the Sprint All-Star Race