Bowyer was able to take advantage of a late spinout by Dale Earnhardt Jr. after contact by Kyle Busch, both who were running in front of Bowyer in the last 5 laps of the 400 mile event. 

Bowyer started far in the field, 31^st. Bowyer moved up to the top 20 within the 1^st 40 laps of the event, and into the top 10 within 140 laps. By lap 280 he moved into the top 5, keeping himself there until the end of the race. 

Bowyer was able to take advantage of the contact between Busch and Earnhardt to be in the lead position in front of Busch when the final yellow came out. Busch held 2^nd place, Mark Martin 3^rd. 

This setup a Green-White-Checkered finish. The green came out, Bowyer had a good start, Busch who had issues with spinning his tires on restarts, once again spun the tires of his car. This allowed Bowyer to pull away with the added bonus of Martin running on the inside of Busch, fighting for second place. 

This secured the win for Bowyer and his first win here at Richmond, along with his third top ten finish in five races at this track. 

Looking Good on the track – 

Mark Martin ran a strong race in the #8 U.S. Army Chevrolet. Martin, although not leading any lap in the event, kept himself in the top 3 for over half the event and the top 5 for the rest of it. His team provided fast turn around pit stops to keep him in the position. 

Tony Stewart started in 15^th. Stewart kept himself in the top 15 for a majority of the event. With 120 to go in the race, Stewart moved into the top 10. With the last 20, he moved into the top 5. Stewart kept himself and the car out of trouble to pass many lap down and lead lap drivers, including a huge wreck late in the race compared to not missing the big wreck in Talladega. 

Jeff Gordon started 43^rd for the event, after the team changed an ignition system that had faltered after qualifying. Gordon had a tough 1^st half race where he even went a lap down. He was able to get a lucky dog, which propelled him into the top 20 around lap 160.  

Gordon then took advantage of pit stops and the slower drivers on the track to move into the top 10 with less than 100 laps to go. 

Hard Days Night 

Denny Hamlin had started on the pole of the race, leading 381 laps. He looked to have the win, but a right front tire going down would prove too much for him, allowing Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch to split him, high and low as Hamlin slipped back in the field. 

Too add more fuel to the fire, Hamlin’s tire finally gave out on lap 391. Hamlin was trying to stay on the lead lap, hoping the tire would stay up until the end. Hamlin came to a complete stop on lap 391 in turn 4 to bring out a caution. He then drove around back to his pit stall to get the issue fixed.  

NASCAR would also penalize Hamlin for the issue to be held two laps. Hamlin’s day would have him finishing 24^th overall. 

Earnhardt Jr. was also to have a great day, running in the top for over 2/3’s of the race until Hamlin’s tire incident put him into the lead in the last 20 laps of the race. Earnhardt, when battling Kyle Busch could not stay on the low side of the track, allowing Busch to make several runs at Earnhardt for the lead. 

With three to go, Earnhardt and Busch would battle side-by-side for the lead. The drivers headed into turn three, where it looked like Busch broke traction, slipped up a few feet on the track, hitting Earnhardt in the left rear, causing Earnhardt Jr. to spin out, hitting the outside wall.  

Earnhardt would finish his day 15^th. 

The “Big One” hit over a dozen drivers when Dave Blaney clipped the front end of Carl Edwards machine on the back stretch. Patrick Carpentier spun his car, hit the inside wall, shot back out into traffic, where it was game on, causing several drivers to slam into each other. 

Upfront Notes 

There He Goes: Kyle Busch On A Victory Roll

Soon-to-be 23-year-old Kyle Busch (No. 18 Pedigree Toyota) — his birthday is Friday — approaches Saturday night’s Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond International Raceway seeking the capstone to a personal puzzle. 

Fresh off last Sunday’s victory at 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway, Busch needs only a short-track win to complete a “series circuit ” — a victory at each size track on NASCAR’s national series schedules. 

Busch leads all active drivers with seven wins spread across the three national series — the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (two), the NASCAR Nationwide Series (three) and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (two). With NASCAR Sprint Cup his primary focus, he’s also competing on an as-can basis in the other national series. 

Last week’s victory took place on a restrictor-plate track. Busch won two weeks ago on a road course (the NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Mexico City). He’s also won at a 1.5-mile track (Texas Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway), a 2-mile track (Auto Club Speedway) and a one-mile track (Phoenix International Raceway) so far this year. 

Hamlin Hoping For A Hometown Win At Richmond

Kyle Busch and two-time series champion Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota) may have grabbed bigger headlines last week at Talladega, but their Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota) could usurp them at Richmond. 

The .75-mile oval is Hamlin’s home track — he hails from nearby Chesterfield, Va. — and a victory there would punctuate a successful early season. 

Currently fourth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings, Hamlin trails leader Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet) by 99 points and the second-place Busch by 77 points. He’s 20 points behind third-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet), plus riding momentum from last Sunday’s third-place finish at Talladega.

Already a 2008 Virginia winner, Hamlin won last month at Martinsville Speedway.

But, like Stewart, an Indiana native whose Holy Grail was winning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (he’s done it twice in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series), Hamlin yearns for a Richmond victory. He was runner-up in the May 2006 event there, and is second in pre-race Driver Rating for Richmond (111.3). 

“When I do have a good run at Richmond it means just a little bit more there than it does anywhere else,” Hamlin said. 

To get anywhere you need to qualify, here’s our notes 

Mark Martin held the pole for the longest time, but when Denny Hamlin came on to the track the first lap looked ok, but when the second lap was layed down, Hamlin landed on the pole for a track that is about 15 minutes from his old house. 

Highlights and Lowlights of the race 

The first lowlight of the race is Jeff Gordon going to the back for a bad ignition that had to be replaced. 

Hometown hero and Nationwide winner at this track last night, Denny Hamlin and Mark Martin lead our 43 drivers out of turn four to the… 

GREEN FLAG Hamlin has a huge jump on the start with martin Truex Jr. in tow. Martin back to 3^rd. 

Laps 1 through 10 the field is strung out for about ¾’s of the track. Michael Waltrip hits the wall, and keeps going. Hamlin leads about a second in front of Truex Jr. 

Laps 11 through 20 Hamlin is out to a 1.5 second lead over the field. In the next few laps, he will start to put the slower drivers down a lap. The first drivers on the hit list would be Robby Gordon, J.J. Yeley, Joe Nemechek and Kyle Petty. 

Laps 21 through 30 some of the early movers of the race are – Tony Stewart from 15^th to 10^th, Dale Earnhardt Jr. from 22^nd up to 16^th and Kevin Harvick from 11^th up to 7^th. 

Laps 31 through 40 Jeff Gordon has moved up to 37^th from his last place starting position and a long day ahead. Hamlin is mixing it up with traffic, 2 seconds in front of the pack. The next drivers on the list to go a lap down would be Bobby Labonte, Sam Hornish Jr., Sterling Marlin, Jeff Gordon and Brian Vickers. 

Laps 41 through 50 Gordon is a lap down and battling an ill handing car. Johnny Sauter is down a lap now with Regan Smith, Vickers who has been passing cars himself, Scott Riggs, Paul Menard and Michael McDowell. 

Lap 50 your top 20 drivers are – Hamlin, Mark Martin, Truex Jr., Kahne, Kyle Busch, Reed Sorenson, Kevin Harvick, Elliott Sadler, Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya, Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman, David Reutimann, Carl Edwards, A.J. Allmendinger, Jimmy Johnson, Dave Blaney, Clint Bowyer, Patrick Carpentier and Casey Mears. 

Laps 51 through 60 Hamlin knocks McDowell down the lap, looking to take Jeff Burton, Jamie McMurray down a lap. 

Laps 61 to 70 

YELLOW FLAG lap 65 as Sauter blows a tire and slams the turn four wall. McDowell stays on the lead lap, Vickers is the lucky dog. Many teams will be making big time adjustments. 

Hamlin leads them in with Hamlin coming out first followed by Martin, Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Sadler. We will restart with 12 drivers on the inside line. 

GREEN FLAG lap 72 

Laps 71 through 80 we hear that Truex Jr. may have a brake vibration as Kyle Busch moves into 3^rd place. Earnhardt Jr. is up to 6^th, Kahne up to 5^th. 

Laps 81 through 90 some of the drivers falling back in the pack have been Sadler back to 18^th, Johnson to 19^th. Sadler moves himself back up to 16^th passing Montoya. Carpentier started 4^th, currently runs 26^th.  

Laps 91 through 100 Hamlin is back up to a 1 second lead. Jeff Gordon looks to be the lucky dog at the moment. The next drivers on the lap down list would be McDowell, Jamie McMurray, Brian Vickers, Travis Kvapil and Matt Kenseth. 

Lap 100 your top 20 drivers are – Hamlin, Martin, Kyle Busch, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr., Truex Jr., Kahne, Sorenson, Stewart, Newman, Bowyer, Reutimann, Edwards, Montoya, Blaney, Biffle, Sadler, Allmendinger, Johnson and Ragan. So far we have seen Hamlin as the only lead and 1 caution for 6 laps. 

Laps 101 through 110 since the last restart we have seen several times three wide racing on the front straight. Earnhardt Jr. was one of those drivers. Hamlin  is back up to a 1.2 lead over Martin. 

Laps 111 through 120  no change in the top 5 as the field is strung out over the whole track.  

Laps 121 through 130 

YELLOW FLAG lap 127 for debris. The leaders are in Hamlin, Martin, Harvick, Kyle Busch and Earnhardt Jr. Trouble on pit road as Stewart hits his jack man as Sorenson short pits. The jack man slides over the hood and continues to perform his work. Stewart bumps Sorenson from behind to let him know not to short pit. 

GREEN FLAG lap 133 three wide with Earnhardt Jr. on the outside, Vickers in the middle and Riggs on the low side.  

Laps 131 through 140 behind Earnhardt, Truex Jr. is on the outside three wide. Vickers bounces off of Riggs, just about clipping two cars behind him. Johnson has damage from contact with another car. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 139 as Montoya solo spins. Jeff Gordon is the lucky dog.  

Laps 141 through 150 

GREEN FLAG lap 144 Hamlin and Martin bringing the field around. The lap down drivers check up big time, but no issues. We almost see four wide in the back of the pack between Jeff Gordon, Michael Waltrip, Reed Sorenson and another driver. 

Lap 150 your top 20 drivers are – Hamlin, Martin, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Martin Jr., Kahne, Bowyer, Edwards, Newman, Stewart, Biffle, Kurt Busch, Allmendinger, Kenseth, David Gilliland, Burton, Blaney, Mears and Reutimann. 

Laps 151 through 160 Jeff Gordon has moved up to 20^th for the first time today.  

Laps 161 through 170 Hamlin’s lead has grown to 2.3 seconds over Martin. Jeff Gordon passes Johnson and Gilliland to take 18^th.  

Laps 171 through 180 Hamlin is up to a 3.2 second lead. Edwards and Stewart have broken into the top 10. Kurt Busch is up to 14^th. Montoya and Sadler are a lap down. Sadler since the last stop has been falling back in the field. 

Laps 181 through 190 Carpentier and Blaney are a lap down with Waltrip, Kvapil, Sorenson, Reutimann go a lap down. Hamlin is 4 seconds in front of Martin. Waltrip bounces off the wall again. 

Laps 191 through 200 Montoya picks up damage from contact with some other cars. Kyle Busch challenges Martin for 2^nd place. 

Lap 200 you top 20 drivers are – Hamlin, Martin, Kyle Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Truex Jr., Bowyer, Edwards, Kahne, Harvick, Biffle, Stewart, Burton, Newman, Jeff Gordon, Mears, Kurt Busch, Kenseth, McMurray, Allmendinger and Johnson. So far we have two leaders with one lead change and 2 cautions for 15 laps. 

Laps 201 through 210 

YELLOW FLAG lap 204 as Regan Smith punts Allmendinger from behind on the back straight, just about when Johnson was about to get passed by Hamlin. Gilliland is the lucky dog. The leaders are in for pit stops. The race back to the track is Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Martin, Truex Jr. and Earnhardt Jr. 

GREEN FLAG lap 210 as we still have all 43 drivers on the track. 21 of them are still on the lead lap. Jeff Gordon is up to 12^th. Stewart finds himself in a hornet’s nest battling Biffle, Bowyer and a few others. 

Laps 211 through 220 

YELLOW FLAG lap 219 as Menard and Vickers tangle coming out of turn two when Menard was in the middle of Gilliland and Vickers. Vickers does not give up and will get smashed into the wall as Menard comes up. They both scrape along the wall. Sorenson is the lucky dog. 

Laps 221 through 230 

GREEN FLAG lap 226 as Hamlin and Kyle Busch get the show going again. Kyle Busch tries to take the lead, Hamlin holds him off. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 230 as J.J. Yeley and Blaney almost get into each other on the back straight, but Blaney hit Edwards which they hit the wall. Carpentier behind them, checks up, shoots to the inside wall, bounces and spins off of it into the path of the field and the “Big One” hits. Carpentier hits Hornish Jr. then spins around into many drivers who all get into each other, that involved Gilliland, Kenseth, Burton, Kurt Busch, McDowell, Montoya, Sauter and Smith. 

RED FLAG for all the damage and clean up that will be needed. We see that Johnson has front end damage that he got when he got punted from behind in the incident. We also hear that Stewart may have a voltage issue. 

YELLOW FLAG once again as Stewart, Johnson, Harvick, Sorenson, Earnhardt, Mears, Allmendinger, Bowyer and Harvick are on pit road. The other leaders stay out. Edwards, Burton, Vickers, Menard, Johnson, McDowell and will go to the back for pitting on a closed pit Kvapil is the lucky dog. 

GREEN FLAG lap 236 as Hamlin and Kyle Busch get the show going again.  

Laps 241 through 250 Jeff Gordon moves in to the top 5, Bowyer into the top 10. We hear talk about rain in about an hour. We should be able to get the race in. 

Lap 250 your top 10 drivers are – Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Martin, Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Bowyer, Kahne, Newman and Harvick. 

Laps 251 through 260 Earnhardt challenges Jeff Gordon for 5^th place. Edwards is back to 15^th. 19 drivers remain on the lead lap. 

Laps 261 through 270 Hamlin has this track down to a science as he runs away from the field to a 2.5 seconds lead. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 260 as Allmendinger and McDowell tangle in turn three, both shooting into the outside wall. The leaders hit pit road. Hamlin, Martin, Kyle Busch, Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon are the first five back. Labonte is the lucky dog. 

GREEN FLAG lap 266 Waltrip and Reutimann stay out on the track to be tail end of the lead lap drivers and start in front of Hamlin. Hamlin does not waste anytime with the two to take the lead and drive in clean air. 

Martin slips back to 4^th after being passed by Kyle Busch and Earnhardt Jr. Two battles on the track as Stewart and Gordon battle for 9^th with Harvick and Kahne batting for 7^th in front of them. 

Laps 281 through 290 Hamlin is back to 1.6 seconds in front of the pack. Stewart is up to 8^th, Kahne slips to 9^th. 

Laps 291 through 300 Stewart is up to 7^th, Gordon up to 9^th, Kahne down to 10^th. 

Lap 300 your top 20 drivers are – Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Martin, Bowyer, Truex Jr., Stewart, Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Kahne, Newman, Burton, Edwards, Biffle, Mears, Labonte, Sorenson, McMurray, Kvapil and Blaney a lap down in 20^th. So far we have seen 2 lead changes among 3 leaders and 7 cautions for 39 laps. 

Laps 301 through 310 Hamlin is getting hung up in traffic. He is stuck behind Hornish and Nemechek which allows Kyle Busch to catch up to a half second difference.  

Laps 311 through 320 as Hamlin is stuck passing traffic which keeps Kyle Busch on his heels. Bowyer is up to 5^th. 

Laps 321 to 330 19 drivers remain on the lead lap. Mears, McMurray, Sorenson and Labonte would be the next ones to go a lap down. 

Laps 331 to 340 Earnhardt Jr. almost hits the wall. His car is slipping just a bit when he gets on the gas. Martin is holding his own in 4^th, 6 seconds back.  

Lap 341 to 350 we will need one more pit stop to make it the rest of the way. We have not had a green flag pit stop yet. Lap 345 Johnson is the first to make a stop. Hamlin has some running room, who now is back up to a 1.4 lead. 

Lap 350 your top ten drivers are – Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Martin, Bowyer, Stewart, Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon, Kahne and Harvick. 

Lap 352 Hamlin sets a new lap leader record with more than 351 laps.  

YELLOW FLAG lap 354 as Mears comes up into Waltrip coming out of turn 4. Waltrip is smashed into the wall. Waltrip then follows up into Mears by pushing him from behind the entire front straight then off to the right. The leaders hit pit road. Sorenson is the lucky dog. Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Martin and Bowyer are back in front. 

Waltrip says that his throttle was stuck. By the replay it does not seem so. Waltrip will be visiting the Officials after the race. 

GREEN FLAG lap 360 as Hamlin has yet another great start. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 365 as McMurray was three wide, and for his efforts he is spun out to the wall in turn three. Kvapil is the lucky dog. Earnhardt Jr. was passing Kyle Busch for second at the same time, but will have to settle for third. 

GREEN FLAG lap 370 (30 to go) with Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Earnhardt Jr. bringing the field to racing again. Lap 371 Earnhardt Jr. takes over 2^nd. Lap 372 Kyle Busch is getting after Earnhardt but it does not work. 

25 to go Earnhardt Jr. hangs onto 2^nd place. Hamlin is up to a ¾ second lead. Lap 377 Earnhardt Jr. looks like his car pushes up on the entry to the corner, which allows Kyle Busch to make dives in the corner on the inside. 

20 to go Hamlin falls off pace he is on the radio thinking he has a flat which allows Earnhardt and Kyle Busch to catch him. 

Lap 283 Earnhardt Jr., Hamlin and Kyle Busch are three wide. Earnhardt Jr. Takes the lead with Kyle Busch running 2^nd. Hamlin has a flat but still on the track. 

13 to go Hamlin is still on the track running 11^th. 11 to go Sorenson hits the wall on the front. 

10 to go Earnhardt Jr. Hamlin still on the track.  

YELLOW FLAG 9 to go as Hamlin’s tire blows. He stops on the track. Hamlin is going to be stopped on pit road for two laps. 

This puts Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, Bowyer, Martin and Stewart as your top 5. Truex Jr. is 6^th, everyone behind them pits for new tires. 

GREEN FLAG 5 to go as Earnhardt and Kyle Busch battle. Kyle Busch spins his tires. Harvick is the first driver with fresh tires. 

4 to go Kyle Busch gets a great run to Earnhardt.  

3 to go Kyle to the low side Earnhardt. Turn three Kyle Busch and Earnhardt Jr. tag each other in turn three, sending Jr. spinning into the outside wall. Bowyer is the new leader. 

YELLOW FLAG for the incident. We will go GREEN-WHITE-CHECKERED. 

GREEN FLAG as Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Martin, Stewart and Truex Jr. are the top five. The top three with a great start. Martin on the inside of Busch. 

WHITE FLAG for Bowyer, Martin and Kyle Busch battling side-by-side. Out of turn 4 Bowyer can see the checkered flag.  

CHECKERED FLAG for Bowyer. Your top ten finishers were Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Martin, Stewart, Truex Jr., Newman, Edwards, Harvick, Jeff Gordon and Kahne. 

Bowyer led 13 laps for the event. Hamlin led 381, Earnhardt Jr. led 15, Allmendinger 1. 

The race lasted for a little more than 3 ½ hours. We saw 4 lead changes among 5 leaders and 11 cautions for 62 laps. 

Clint Bowyer won the Crown Royal presents the Dan Lowry 400, his second victory in 83 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. His other win came at New Hampshire in September 2007. 

This is his first victory and seventh top-10 finish in 2008. This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in five races at Richmond. 

Kyle Busch (second) posted his sixth top-10 finish in seven races at Richmond and tied his best finish here for the second time. It is his seventh top-10 finish in 2008. 

Mark Martin (third) posted his 24th top-10 finish in 45 races at Richmond. Regan Smith (21st) was the highest finishing rookie.