NASCAR Austin Dillon

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Hamlin Hopes to Lock Up Championship 4 Berth

NASCAR NASCAR Wire Service Sprint Cup Series Track News
Photo - Getty Images
Photo – Getty Images

Denny Hamlin’s championship aspirations came 0.006 seconds away from evaporating at Talladega last Sunday. Fortunately for the No. 11 Toyota driver, he beat Kurt Busch to the finish line by 0.006 seconds (approximately two feet) for a third-place result that earned him the final spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Round of 8 over Austin Dillon.

Now holding the same amount of points as the remaining eight Chase-eligible drivers, Hamlin is back at square one heading into Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at his hometown track – and also one of his best tracks – Martinsville Speedway at 1 pm ET on NBCSN. Continue reading →

Logano Advances with Win in Wild Talladega Race; Chase Field Cut to Eight

NASCAR NASCAR Wire Service Sprint Cup Series Track News

If Joey Logano’s victory in Sunday’s Hellman’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway was decisive—in relative terms—the race between Denny Hamlin and Austin Dillon for the final pot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup’s Round of 8 was anything but.

In an overtime race that went four laps past its scheduled distance, Logano surged ahead after a restart on lap 191 at the 2.66-mile track and beat runner-up Brian Scott to the finish line by 0.124 seconds.

Hamlin’s margin over Dillon for the eighth spot in the Round of 8 was much smaller. At the end of 510.72 miles, Hamlin outraced Kurt Busch for third place by 0.006 seconds—roughly two feet—to score the exact number of points he needed to eliminate Dillon from the Chase on a tiebreaker. Continue reading →

Truex, Keselowski See Championship Hopes Go Up in Smoke

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Track News
TALLADEGA, AL - OCTOBER 23: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, drives to the garage after an on-track incident during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hellmann's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 23, 2016 in Talladega, Alabama. Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
TALLADEGA, AL – OCTOBER 23: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, drives to the garage after an on-track incident during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 23, 2016 in Talladega, Alabama. Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

Two drivers who were among the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season’s most productive winners won’t be in the race for the championship.

Former champion Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr., winners of four races apiece this year, fell out of Sunday’s Hellman’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway with blown engines and failed to qualify for the Round of 8 with four races remaining on the schedule.

Also knocked out of the championship group Sunday were Austin Dillon and rookie Chase Elliott.

The Chase will continue next weekend at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. Continue reading →

‘Secret’ Allies Help Hamlin Hold Chase Berth

NASCAR NASCAR Wire Service Sprint Cup Series Track News
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, walks on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hellmann's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 22, 2016 in Talladega, Alabama. Photo - Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, walks on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 22, 2016 in Talladega, Alabama. Photo – Patrick Smith/Getty Images

With his three Joe Gibbs Racing teammates running at the back of the field throughout Sunday’s race to protect Round of 8 spots, Denny Hamlin had no obvious friends at the front of the field to help him join his teammates in the next round of the Chase.

But Hamlin revealed after finishing third behind Joey Logano and Brian Scott that he had received help from unexpected quarters in doing just enough to beat Austin Dillon for the final berth on a tiebreaker. Continue reading →