Denny Hamlin continued his hot victorious streak, dominating Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 at Michigan International Speedway and collected his 5th win in 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup races
After leading 123 laps, Hamlin controlled the second half of the race, easily pulling away from Kasey Kahne on a restart with under 20 laps for the race finish.
Kahne held on for second, followed by pole-sitter Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. Four-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson was sixth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. emerged from his ashes to 7th.
In the long 2-mile oval Hamlin led without late drama and dominated the race with little trouble dispatching Kahne after a late caution for debris.
Hamlin remarked:
"All we do is win baby"
Hamlin's wins run the gamut. Short tracks. Intermediate ovals. Superspeedways. Doesn't matter right now to Hamlin who commented:
"Now I know what Jimmie has felt like the last four years.
and he certainly looked like Johnson who seems to defintely run out of luck after a short domination in the starting races of the season. is season.
Kahne had a brief glimmer of hope when the debris caution came out. It lasted all of three laps, or as long as it took for Hamlin to run out and disappear.
Kahne's performance highlighted a resurgent day for Ford. The manufacturer still hasn't won a race since last fall, but placed five drivers in the top 14. All five were using the new FR9 engine designed to put Ford back in the win column.
Kahne sang the engine's praises, saying it felt like he was driving on a level playing field for the first time in awhile.
"I didn't feel like we were at a disadvantage."
Earnhardt's 7th-place finish was his best since Bristol in early spring and though his winless streak stretched to 72 races, he was upbeat.
Still, Hamlin's performance highlighted the chasm between his team and the rest of the series at the moment. He's won five of the last 11 races(including the All-Star race) and is poised to make a serious run at ending Johnson's long reign in the Cup.
