Hamlin prevails after two penalties on pit row

Associated Press

FORT WORTH, TEXAS

Denny Hamlin had such a fast car at Texas that he was able to win even after two penalties on pit road and some other issues during green flag conditions.

While Hamlin was reviewing all that happened, crew chief Chris Gabehart interrupted — “I think you passed 327 cars by my count, but maybe not,” he said.

Hamlin, who once missed the entry to pit road and also ran out fuel during the race, did do a lot of passing to get to Victory Lane on Sunday.

He led the final 12 laps and 45 overall to overcome those miscues and the penalties — one when he exited pit road too fast early in the day and another for a debatable tire violation against his team during a stop just past the halfway point.

“I was just beating my head against the steering wheel thinking, ‘Man, we’re going to finish bad with a really fast race car,”’ Hamlin said. “We just kept digging and Chris kept doing a good job encouraging us we had a long way to go. We kept passing cars and passing cars.”

Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota finished more than 2.7 seconds ahead of Clint Bowyer. The 334-lap race at the 11/2-mile track, with only three cautions outside the two stage stoppages, featured 27 lead changes among 13 drivers.

It was the 33rd career victory for Hamlin. He won the season-opening Daytona 500 after he went winless last year to end a streak of 12 consecutive seasons getting into Victory Lane.