Saturday, August 18 Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan

Denny Hamlin celebrates his win with a burnout.

Hamlin Streaks to NASCAR Busch Series Win
By Reid Spencer, Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

BROOKLYN, Mich. (August 18, 2007) -- After a cycle of green-flag pit stops 15 laps beyond the halfway point in Saturday's CARFAX 250 at Michigan International Speedway, Denny Hamlin broke open a two-car duel with Matt Kenseth to win his second Busch Series race of the year and the fourth of his career.

Hamlin crossed the finish line 6.998 seconds ahead of Kenseth, who lost ground steadily over the final 50 laps of the 125-lap event at the 2.0-mile "D"-shaped oval. Kevin Harvick was third, followed by Jeff Burton and polesitter Greg Biffle.

Brian Vickers, Paul Menard, Todd Bodine, Casey Mears and Clint Bowyer completed the top 10.

Hamlin's crew worked overtime to repair his car after the driver scraped the wall during practice on Friday. The No. 20 Chevy showed no ill effects from the accident, and with the temperature down about 12 degrees from Friday, the car responded favorably to the cooler weather.

"I can't say enough for these guys putting the car back together," Hamlin said. "It seemed like the car really adapted to these cooler conditions. I don't know whether it played into our hands or not, but it's hard to imagine that the car could have been any better."

It didn't take long for Hamlin and Kenseth to establish themselves as the class of the field. Kenseth took the top spot for the first time on Lap 16 when he passed Vickers as their two cars approached the start/finish line.

Hamlin grabbed his first lead under caution following points leader Carl Edwards' spin on Lap 25. The driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet won the race off pit road, but Kenseth regained the point on Lap 33 moments before Tony Stewart's solo spin brought out the third caution of the race.

Eight circuits after a restart on Lap 37, Hamlin caught Kenseth and passed the driver of the No. 17 Ford through Turns 1 and 2. But Kenseth regained the top spot on Lap 58, only to surrender it again on Lap 68, when Hamlin went to the front for good by surging ahead of Kenseth at the stripe.

Hamlin sealed the victory with a green-flag pit stop on Lap 77 that opened his advantage to more then two seconds over the race runner-up. The gap widened considerably before Hamlin took the checkered flag.

"I had a lot of fun racing with Denny," Kenseth said. "Through the middle part of the race, we were about the same. We just tightened up there a little bit at the end with the overcast (sky). We got too far behind there on that final pit stop and couldn't make it up."

Complete race results and point standings in the Event Stats section below... Event Stats

• Denny Hamlin won the CARFAX 250, his fourth victory in 85 NASCAR Busch Series races.
• This is his second victory and 10th top-10 finish in fourteen NASCAR Busch Series races in 2007.
• This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in as many races at Michigan.
• Matt Kenseth (second) Michigan native, Brad Keselowski (13th) was the highest finishing rookie.
• Carl Edwards now leads the NASCAR Busch series point standings by 700 points over Kevin Harvick.
• Richard Childress (No. 29) assumed the lead in the owner point standings by 40 points over Jack Roush (No. 60).

Event Stats PDF files unless otherwise noted

Entry List

Friday First Practice

Friday Rookie Practice

Friday Final Practice

Qualifying Order

Qualifying Results

Starting Lineup

Race Results

Point Standings

Schedule/Broadcast Times

Practice: Friday, August 17 (SPEED at 2 p.m./AT, 1 p.m./ET)

Final Practice: Friday, August 17 (SPEED at 5:30 p.m./AT, 4:30 p.m./ET)

Qualifying: Saturday, August 18 (SPEED at 12:00 p.m/AT, 11:00 a.m./ET

Pre-Race Show: Saturday, August 18 (ESPN2 & TSN-HD at 4 p.m./AT, 3 p.m./ET)

Race: Saturday, August 18 (ESPN2 $ TSN-HD at 4:30 p.m./AT, 3:30 p.m./ET)

Green Flag Fast Facts
The Race: CARFAX 250
The Place: Michigan International Speedway
The Date: Aug. 18, 20071
The Time: 3:30 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN2, 3 p.m. (ET)
Track Layout: 2-mile oval
Race Purse: $1,216,807
2006 Winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2006 Pole: Mark Martin
Pre-Race Schedule: Friday – Practice, 1:10-2:15 p.m., 2:30-3 p.m. (Rookies) and 4:45 p.m. (Final – one hour, time permitting) Saturday – Qualifying, 11:10 a.m.
Year-To-Date Standings: click here

Green Flag Notes

• It’s quite a homecoming for Brad Keselowski (No. 88 NAVY Chevrolet) as the Rochester Hills, Mich., native prepares to make his fourth start for owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. and JR Motorsports. Keselowski has been impressive since taking over the No. 88 Chevy at Chicago, registering two top-15 finishes, including his first career top 10. Road specialist Andy Pilgrim handled the past two events for JR Motorsports at Montreal and Watkins Glen, but now the seat goes back to Keselowski in front of the hometown crowd. “Coming back with JR Motorsports, I’m looking to seal the deal this year and I think we have a really good shot at it,” he said of his prospects for a full-time ride with the organization.
• Jason Keller (No. 11 CARFAX Ford) returns to the series after a two-week break to resume his march toward the all-time NASCAR Busch Series starts mark of 417 held by Tommy Houston. Keller must qualify on time but has put the No. 11 car in the field the previous five races he’s run for owner Bryan Mullett. Keller comes to Michigan with 411 starts and is the only driver other than Houston to have 400 or more starts in series history. The next closest active driver is David Green, the 1994 series champion who is in fourth place with 386. Green is running the remainder of the season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. In addition to chasing the starts mark, the 37-year-old Keller will add to his all-time earnings record, now standing at $11,040,796 – the only driver in series history to top the $11 million mark.
• Hornish Jr. Returns to NASCAR: Sam Hornish Jr. (No. 12 Mobil 1 Dodge) will make his first appearance in the NASCAR Busch Series since participating at Richmond International Raceway in May. Hornish, the 2005 Indianapolis 500 winner who is fifth in the IRL point standings, seeks to qualify for his sixth NASCAR Busch Series race this year and the eighth of his career. Hornish earned his first stock-car pole this past June in the ARCA event at Michigan and finished second. He has competed in seven races in different series at Michigan, leading six of those events and posting four top-five finishes. His hometown of Defiance, Ohio, is an hour from the speedway and he considers the track his home venue.
• INSIGHT FROM JOE BALASH, NASCAR BUSCH SERIES DIRECTOR: “Aerodynamics is the key word to racing at Michigan International Speedway. How the teams have their body placed on their chassis to run the 2-mile speedway will pay big dividends over the course of the race. “Having the body at the right attitude, sealing the nose of the car to the track … all those attributes combine to build speed. “The long straight-aways coupled with wide, sweeping turns make Michigan a fast race track. Teams will work to reduce the drag on their cars while drivers will look to gain a faster straight speed without scrubbing off any speed in the turn to pull away from their competition.”
• For the 13th-time this season, Chevrolet crossed the finish line first to extend its lead in the Bill France Performance Cup standings. Kevin Harvick’s win at Watkins Glen gives him a series-leading five wins on the season and is a good omen for Chevy, which has the most series wins at Michigan International Speedway with 10. Ford remains second, 39 points ahead of third-place Dodge. Toyota is fourth.

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