Denny Hamlin takes the checkered flag in Sunday’s STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. (Getty)
Denny Hamlin picked up his first win of the NASCAR season, taking the checkered flag Sunday in the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.
It was Hamlin’s 5th career victory at the half-mile short track. It was also the first W for a Toyota car in 31 Sprint Cup races.
Last week’s winner Brad Keselowski finished second, pole-sitter Joey Logano was third, Matt Kenseth fourth and David Ragan rounded out the top 5.
Hamlin led 91 of the 500 laps. Kevin Harvick was in front for a race-best 154 laps and finished 8th. Logano led for 108.
It was a messy day which saw 16 cautions for 112 laps. Though 41 of the 43 cars to start the race finished.
There were 13 leaders on 31 lead changes.
STP 500 Results
Introducing the @TeamHendrick modified team driven by @DaleJr at @MartinsvilleSwy … No. 88 rejoins field. #NASCAR http://t.co/afoC6lKUBe
(car number in parenthesis)
1. (15) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 500 laps, 134.7 rating, 47 points.
2. (12) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 500, 114.8, 43.
3. (1) Joey Logano, Ford, 500, 121.8, 42.
4. (8) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 500, 112.9, 41.
5. (20) David Ragan, Toyota, 500, 96.2, 39.
6. (3) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 500, 96.1, 39.
7. (16) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 500, 86.8, 37.
8. (17) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 500, 128.9, 38.
9. (4) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 500, 104, 36.
10. (19) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 500, 97.3, 34.
11. (9) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 500, 96.4, 34.
12. (18) Aric Almirola, Ford, 500, 82.5, 32.
13. (30) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 500, 86.4, 31.
14. (26) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 500, 84.2, 31.
15. (24) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 500, 77.8, 29.
16. (7) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 500, 73.6, 0.
17. (11) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 500, 98.8, 28.
18. (36) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 500, 63.5, 26.
19. (25) Greg Biffle, Ford, 500, 71.8, 25.
20. (6) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 500, 82.1, 25.
21. (34) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 500, 57.3, 0.
22. (37) Cole Whitt, Ford, 499, 52.6, 22.
23. (13) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 499, 66.5, 21.
24. (35) Chris Buescher, Ford, 499, 48.6, 0.
25. (29) David Gilliland, Ford, 499, 58.2, 19.
26. (42) J.J. Yeley, Toyota, 497, 36.4, 0.
27. (2) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 496, 62.8, 18.
28. (33) Brett Moffitt, Toyota, 496, 40, 16.
29. (32) Jeb Burton, Toyota, 495, 35.7, 15.
30. (31) Josh Wise, Ford, 495, 40.8, 14.
31. (43) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 494, 30.8, 13.
32. (38) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, 493, 46.5, 12.
33. (41) Alex Kennedy, Chevrolet, 492, 31.4, 11.
34. (40) Mike Bliss, Ford, 491, 33, 0.
35. (5) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 468, 57.1, 9.
36. (14) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 453, 63.9, 8.
37. (39) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 444, 35.7, 7.
38. (27) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 427, 39, 0.
39. (28) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 389, 46.9, 5.
40. (23) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 364, 35.7, 4.
41. (22) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, electrical, 330, 49.4, 3.
42. (21) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 328, 54.3, 2.
43. (10) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, oil leak, 177, 67.8, 1.
Race Statistics
Average Speed of Winner: 68.843 mph.
Time of Race: 3 hours, 49 minutes, 13 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 0.186 seconds.
Caution Flags: 16 for 112 laps.
Lead Changes: 31 among 13 drivers.
Lap Leaders: J.Logano 1-16; R.Newman 17-18; J.Logano 19-56; M.Bliss 57; J.Logano 58-96; M.Truex Jr. 97-119; J.Logano 120-133; K.Harvick 134-147; D.Hamlin 148-164; B.Keselowski 165; K.Harvick 166-170; B.Keselowski 171-172; K.Harvick 173; K.Busch 174-194; K.Harvick 195-207; J.Logano 208; K.Kahne 209-237; K.Harvick 238-270; B.Keselowski 271; C.Edwards 272-284; K.Harvick 285-301; B.Keselowski 302-315; D.Hamlin 316-326; K.Harvick 327-357; M.Kenseth 358; K.Harvick 359-398; D.Hamlin 399-433; M.Kenseth 434-441; J.Gordon 442-462; T.Stewart 463-470; M.Kenseth 471-472; D.Hamlin 473-500.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): K.Harvick, 8 times for 154 laps; J.Logano, 5 times for 108 laps; D.Hamlin, 4 times for 91 laps; K.Kahne, 1 time for 29 laps; M.Truex Jr., 1 time for 23 laps; J.Gordon, 1 time for 21 laps; K.Busch, 1 time for 21 laps; B.Keselowski, 4 times for 18 laps; C.Edwards, 1 time for 13 laps; M.Kenseth, 3 times for 11 laps; T.Stewart, 1 time for 8 laps; R.Newman, 1 time for 2 laps; M.Bliss, 1 time for 1 lap.
Wins: K.Harvick, 2; D.Hamlin, 1; J.Johnson, 1; B.Keselowski, 1; J.Logano, 1.
Top 16 in Points: 1. K.Harvick, 263; 2. J.Logano, 239; 3. M.Truex Jr., 231; 4. B.Keselowski, 206; 5. K.Kahne, 193; 6. R.Newman, 180; 7. P.Menard, 173; 8. D.Hamlin, 172; 9. D.Earnhardt Jr., 172; 10. A.Almirola, 170; 11. J.Johnson, 168; 12. M.Kenseth, 168; 13. D.Ragan, 163; 14. C.Mears, 161; 15. J.McMurray, 154; 16. D.Patrick, 148.
Live Race Updates & Notes
– Jeff Gordon got a speeding penalty on the 16th caution and had to go to the back.
– Jeff Gordon took the lead with 56 laps remaining.
– 15th caution came out after Carl Edwards appear to have tire trouble.
– Through 400 laps, there were 14 cautions for 100 laps.
– Through 400 laps, there were 12 different leaders and 28 lead changes.
– 14th caution when Paul Menard spins out and Danica Patrick used a slick move to avoid it.
– 13th caution came out when Michael Annett hit the wall.
– Austin Dillon had smoke coming from his car and went to the garage.
– Through 300 completed laps, there were 20 lead changes.
– 12th caution came on Lap 287 when a handful of cars were involved in a collision.
– 11th caution came out when Justin Allgaier hit the wall after blowing a tire.
– Halfway through, Kevin Harvick led with Brad Keselowski (2nd) and Carl Edwards (3rd) next.
– 10th caution came on Lap 228 when a number of cars collided, including Dale Earnhardt Jr.
– 9th caution came out on Lap 219 when Michael Annett pushed Joey Logano toward the wall.
– 8th caution came out when Ricky Stenhouse hit the wall, the 3rd caution he brought out.
– Through 200 laps, the top 3: Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Kurt Busch.
– 7th caution came on Lap 183 for debris.
– Kurt Busch took the lead shortly after the 6th caution restart. Busch won last year’s race.
– Penalties for Denny Hamlin (uncontrolled tire) and Kasey Kahne (speeding).
– 6th caution came out Lap 164 as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spins out.
– Kevin Harvick grabbed the lead on Lap 134, then soon after lost it to Denny Hamlin.
– On Lap 100, Martin Truex Jr. had the lead, with Danica Patrick 2nd and Landon Cassill 3rd.
– 5th caution came out on Lap 95 when Alex Kennedy spun out.
– 4th caution came out on Lap 73 for debris.
– Chase Elliott and Brett Moffitt suffered damage on the 3rd caution restart.
– Aric Almirola was sent to the back of the field on the restart (speeding).
– The 3rd caution came out on Lap 51 after JJ Yeley crashes after hitting Sam Hornish Jr.
– 44 laps in, pole-sitter Joey Logano was in the lead.
– The 2nd caution came out on Lap 22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun out. Green flag back on Lap 26.
– The 1st caution came out on Lap 11. Trevor Bayne spun out.
– Regan Smith will replace Kyle Larson, who fainted Saturday during an autograph session.
Live Race Video Highlights
.@DennyHamlin waits on pit road and allows @MattKenseth to exit before him … so he can restart on the inside line http://t.co/ArABYsPZ3y
.@DaleJr climbs out and looks over the damage to his No. 88 Chevy. #NASCARonFS1 @FOXSports1 http://t.co/wa7sp91mTq
.@dennyhamlin around @KevinHarvick for the lead. Hamlin is a 4-time @MartinsvilleSwy winner and a Virginia native. http://t.co/2hWjmF9o5S
New leader- No.4
@KevinHarvick gets around @joeylogano at @MartinsvilleSwy.
The streak is alive… so far! #NASCAR http://t.co/ftdJWn7Uqm
.@Landoncassill gets into @DanicaPatrick. That was close… #NASCARonFS1 from @MartinsvilleSwy http://t.co/s228C3p06m
That can’t be good. @ChaseElliott reporting no power steering on his No.25. Caution out for debris at Martinsville. http://t.co/aljaZhwQjX
3rd caution of the day at @MartinsvilleSwy as @jjyeley1 gets into the wall.
Leaders hit pit road Lap 57 of 500. http://t.co/Dme642v1PG
Live Race Tweets
“Oh my God, you’re kidding me. I’m sorry guys, that’s on me.” – @JeffGordonWeb. #NASCAR
.@DennyHamlin definitely knows how to win @MartinsvilleSwy (4 times)!
Can he hold on and get another clock? #NASCAR http://t.co/iM3cEKb9ZG
“Car was fast, it was fun”- @DaleJr in the garage as the No. 88 crew gets to work repairing the @TeamHendrick ride. #NASCARonFS1
“He’s driving like an idiot because his stuff isn’t going good,” crew tells @Tbayne6 after Jr slammed into him.
7th caution of the day for debris at @MartinsvilleSwy. Left-rear damage for @KevinHarvick. Was reporting that car was getting better.
“It’s not good. It’s just going straight.” – @KevinHarvick. @joeylogano under for the second spot. #NASCAR
After losing his power steering earlier, @MartinTruex_Jr currently leads at @MartinsvilleSwy. Lap 105 of 500. #NASCARonFS1
Shifter problems for @DaleJr. Will restart at the tail-end of the longest line. No. 88 in 38th. Lap 100 of 500. http://t.co/206CLqEAPV
Hard contact between @chaseelliott and @Brett_Moffitt at @MartinsvilleSwy. Heavy front-end damage on the No. 25 @TeamHendrick Chevy.
Preview: Joey Logano is Looking to Continue His Weekend Dominance at Martinsville
First he won the pole for the Sprint Cup Series STP 500 on Friday. Then he won his first career Trucks Series race on Saturday.
Joey Logano appears to be right at home on the short track of Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.
The Daytona 500 winner will start in the front row with Ryan Newman, and they are followed by Martin Truex Jr. and Jeff Gordon, who is looking to get his slow start of the season on track.
Logano is coming off a 7th-place finish in the Auto Club 400 in Fontana, California. Brad Keseslowski picked up his first victory of the season at Auto Club Speedway.
Kurt Busch is the defending champion of the STP 500.
Keep it here for live updates throughout the race.
