Move nets Hamlin third NASCAR Sprint Cup victory

Denny Hamlin moved toward the top seed in NASCAR’s championship race by using a calculated late pass to win for the first time at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Hamlin flirted with Carl Edwards for the lead late in the race, and set up the move with 39 laps remaining Saturday night. Hamlin used a slide move to get past Edwards, then held on as Edwards tried to use a cross-over move to get back in front.

It didn’t work for Edwards, who wound up 22nd as Hamlin drove away for his third victory of the season.

“My biggest win; this is such a great feeling,” said Hamlin, who praised the setup crew chief Darian Grubb used for the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

There are two races left before the field is reset for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, and seeding is done by “regular-season” wins. With three victories, Hamlin is tied with defending champion Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski for most in the series.

The four would be tied for the top seed right now.

“We’re not done winning yet. We’ve still got a few more to go,” Hamlin promised.

Johnson finished second and clinched a berth in the Chase, as did Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Jeff Gordon was third – giving Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet’s second and third – followed by Brian Vickers in a Toyota and Marcos Ambrose in a Ford.

Kyle Busch was a quiet sixth, Clint Bowyer was seventh and Joey Logano, winner of the Nationwide Series race Friday night, was eighth.

The race was the first since track owner Bruton Smith ordered a grinding of the top groove around the track in an effort to narrow the racing surface. His goal was to bring back bumping and banging to Bristol after several consecutive disappointing crowds.

The race wasn’t a sellout, but Hamlin noted “this is the biggest crowd I’ve seen here in forever.”

Stewart had rallied from a lap down early in the race to put himself in position to challenge for the lead, but he ran out of track while running with Matt Kenseth and the two cars collided. The damage briefly knocked Stewart out of the race and sent Kenseth to pit road for repairs.

Stewart showed his displeasure with Kenseth with a two-handed toss of his helmet directly into the grill of Kenseth’s car. Stewart put all the blame squarely on Kenseth immediately after the accident, vowing to “run over him every chance I get for the rest of the year.”

Penski takes time

Roger Penske said he’s taking his time deciding who will drive his No. 22 car next season.

Penske released AJ Allmendinger following his failed drug test, and Sam Hornish Jr. has been driving the car since Daytona in July. But the search continues for a full-time solution.

“We’ve got a lot of races left and we’ve really got to take a look at all the options until we get to the final decision,” Penske said.

Penske fields two cars, but has room to expand providing he had the sponsorship for additional teams.

Joey Logano, in the final year of his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing, has been mentioned repeatedly as a strong candidate for the ride.

Power wins IndyCar pole

Will Power has won the pole in Sonoma, Calif., for the third straight year, putting the IndyCar points leader in prime position to go for his third consecutive victory at the track.

Power was timed in 1 minute, 17.2709 seconds around the 2.31-mile. Ryan Briscoe was second in 1:17.4347, and Sebastien Bourdais (1:17.7497) was third. Helio Castroneves was fourth.