Via FedEx Racing

Denny Hamlin was dominant in Sunday’s NASCAR race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, leading 193 of 300 laps in the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota en route to a series-leading fifth victory of the 2012 season in Round 2 of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

The Virginia native sliced through the field from his 32nd-place starting position to take the lead for the first time on Lap 94, and could not be challenged on a late-race restart to pull away from runner-up Jimmie Johnson to the checkered flag.

“Every driver dreams of having a car this good,” said Hamlin, following the race. “Darian and the crew brought such a strong car this weekend that my job was pretty easy. I just had to make sure I didn’t make any enemies coming up through the field, and then just not make any mistakes when we got out front. What a great weekend for this entire FedEx team.”

Hamlin and the #11 team were the class of the field throughout the weekend at the one-mile oval, leading all three practice sessions. However, a miscue in tire pressures for qualifying put Hamlin deep in the field on the starting grid.

It didn’t take long for Hamlin to work his way to the front, driving all the way to 12th by the first caution at Lap 40. Once he took the lead, the only scare came when a piece of plastic stuck to the grille of the #11 machine, causing water and oil temperatures to rise. Hamlin was able to clear the debris by pulling up behind Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) teammate Kyle Busch.

The victory is the 22nd of Hamlin’s career and 100th for JGR. The win moved Hamlin up one spot to third in the Chase standings following New Hampshire, seven markers behind leader Johnson after two of 10 playoff races.

The Series returns to action at Dover (Del.) International Speedway on Sunday, September 30.