Denny Hamlin snatched the lead from Brad Keselowski in the closing laps of the Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen International and held on to win his first road course victory of his career. The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran led the final 10 laps of the contest by surging past Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch in Turn 1 after the race’s re-start on lap 18. Denny Hamlin won the race in the worst pain of his racing career. The nerve endings in Hamlin’s back were completely on fire. He commented on the ending laps around the 2.45 mile road course.
“I just woke up with back spasms this morning,” he explained. ” It Just hits me every three or four months or so. I just wake up and can’t move. Really doubted being in the race car today, to be honest with you, but can’t say enough about this whole FedEx Freight Toyota team.
“Should’ve won both road courses Hamlin was second to Stewart at Sonoma, which is something we never would’ve predicted going into the year. We also sold out the crowd, two years in a row. This is a good time. I’ve finally won at all of the (types of) race tracks, so it’s a great accomplishment for us,” said Denny Hamlin.
The race was still in doubt going into the final turn. Martin Truex Jr. was on Denny Hamlin’s bumper pressuring the race leader. Truex Jr. never got his opportunity to out-race his teammate’s #11 Toyota to the finish line. When the hot-rods exited from Turn 7, Truex Jr. was running second and Brad Keselowski third. Contact to Truex Jr.’s left rear bumper from Keselowski’s Ford, sent his #78 Toyota spinning. He would finish the Cheez-It 355 in the eighth spot.
The seasoned veteran was not happy with the careless driving that cost him six positions in the event. Therefore, Brad Keselowski took full responsibility for the incident with Martin Truex Jr. The driver of the Furniture Row Toyota displayed his anger by banging fenders with the #2 FORD on the cool-down lap.
“I got right up to the bumper of the 78 (Truex) and couldn’t do anything there. He made a move to get by the 11 (Hamlin) on the inside, and the 11 blocked him,” Keselowski said. “I went high, and the 78 went high, and by then I was already deep in the corner and got into him and turned him. That also was really unfortunate, and the last thing I wanted to see.
“This track here, when you drive into the corner, you have to commit. Sometimes you don’t know what will happen when you commit. The last thing I wanted to do was turn him. I’m proud of my guys for a really fast race car and it was another crazy Watkins Glen day.” commented Brad Keselowski.
Team Penske’s Joey Logano, finished the race in second. He also was followed by his teammate Brad Keselowski in third. A.J. Allmendinger overcame various on-track penalties and managed to reel in a solid fourth place result. Future Hall of Fame driver Tony Stewart, rounded out the top five in fifth. As a result, he completed his stellar career with eight road wins, just one fewer than the record nine of Jeff Gordon.
Jeff Gordon once again drove the #88 Axalta Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in relief of Dale Earnhardt Jr. This also was the third straight race he has filled in for the beloved driver. Gordon was solid after damaging his front end in the early stages of the contest and finished 14th. Furthermore, it was his 800th career start in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series hot-rod. Earnhardt Jr., who made an appearance at Watkins Glen on Friday, is still recovering from a concussion. The prodigy will miss at least two more races.
The Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen International took two hours and 27 minutes to complete. There were eight cautions for 20 laps around the 2.45 mile road course. The average speed of the field was 89.513 miles per hour and the margin of victory was 2.065 seconds. Carl Edwards received the Coors Light Pole Award for his qualifying efforts on Saturday. Chase Elliott took home the Sunoco Rookie of the Race Award.
Final Results for the Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen International:
1 6 Denny Hamlin Toyota 90 Running 10
2 7 Joey Logano Ford 90 Running 8
3 12 Brad Keselowski Ford 90 Running 28
4 9 A.J. Allmendinger Chevrolet 90 Running 0
5 3 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 90 Running 0
6 5 Kyle Busch Toyota 90 Running 4
7 14 Martin Truex, Jr. Toyota 90 Running 1
8 10 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 90 Running 0
9 32 Trevor Bayne Ford 90 Running 0
10 4 Matt Kenseth Toyota 90 Running 0
11 17 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 90 Running 3
12 20 Casey Mears Chevrolet 90 Running 0
13 16 Chase Elliott Chevrolet 90 Running 0
14 21 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 90 Running 0
15 1 Carl Edwards Toyota 90 Running 25
16 8 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 90 Running 0
17 11 Michael McDowell Chevrolet 90 Running 0
18 28 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 90 Running 0
19 19 Ryan Blaney Ford 90 Running 0
20 23 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 90 Running 0
21 31 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 90 Running 11
22 33 Paul Menard Chevrolet 90 Running 0
23 40 Landon Cassill Ford 90 Running 0
24 37 Boris Said Ford 90 Running 0
25 27 Brian Scott Ford 90 Running 0
26 39 Josh Wise Chevrolet 90 Running 0
27 34 Aric Almirola Ford 90 Running 0
28 22 Cole Whitt Toyota 90 Running 0
29 2 Kyle Larson Chevrolet 89 Running 0
30 25 Chris Buescher Ford 89 Running 0
31 18 Austin Dillon Chevrolet 89 Running 0
32 15 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 83 Crash 0
33 26 David Ragan Toyota 83 Crash 0
34 35 Matt DiBenedetto Toyota 83 Crash 0
35 29 Regan Smith Chevrolet 77 Running 0
36 36 Alex Kennedy Chevrolet 76 Engine 0
37 38 Michael Annett Chevrolet 74 Running 0
38 30 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Ford 52 Crash 0
39 24 Greg Biffle Ford 52 Crash 0
40 13 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 52 Crash 0
