With a win on the line, Denny Hamlin expected Tony Stewart to hit him on final lap

Considering who was behind him and the significance of what a victory would represent to Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin knew fully what to expect as he led entering the final corner of the final lap on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway.

Stewart hadn’t won a Sprint Cup Series race in over three years and, having already announced he was going to retire at the end of the season, opportunities to pick up another checkered flag were becoming fewer and fewer. Recognizing the circumstances, Hamlin braced for Stewart’s last-ditch attempt to wrestle away the victory by any means possible.

“I didn’t know if he would physically spin us out,” Hamlin said. “I thought there was a very good chance of it because that’s his opportunity to get in the Chase ultimately. I mean, how many more chances is he going to have? I think this is by far the best he’s run all year, and he’s in his final season, so his give-a-**** factor is probably really low to be honest with you.”

Stewart didn’t spin Hamlin, though things between the two certainly got physical. As Hamlin went into the hairpin corner that leads right to the start/finish line, he overdrove the turn and drifted high. That provided Stewart an opening to dive underneath and move alongside, which is exactly what the three-time Cup champion did. The two then made contact that sent Hamlin bouncing off the outside wall, allowing Stewart to retake the lead and claim the win. Hamlin regained control and finished second.

“Once I knew he had position and we had a wall on the other side of us, I knew there was a pretty good chance that we were going to go in the wall,” Hamlin said. “I don’t think he was going to leave it to chance, a drag race coming off Turn 11.

“We definitely had a car that should have won, but we were on the bad end of the deal.”

While the ending may been frustrating, Hamlin didn’t begrudge Stewart’s aggressiveness. The two are friends and as Stewart pulled into victory lane, Hamlin was among the first to congratulate him, leaning into the car so they could have a private word.

“The first thing (Hamlin) says is, ‘I’m so damned proud of you,‘ ” Stewart said. “That meant the world to me. I told him right after that, ‘You know I had to do that?’ And he goes, ‘I know.’ ”

Still, the loss stung for Hamlin. Road courses, particularly Sonoma, have been a weakness in recent years and the Joe Gibbs Racing driver badly sought to earn a career-first victory in 21 combined starts at Sonoma and Watkins Glen, the other road course schedule on the Cup schedule.

Hamlin thought that first win was going to occur on Sunday. He led a race-high 33 of 70 laps and after pushing by Stewart in Turn 7 on the last lap, it seemed like Hamlin would pull away, as he had fresher tires. But Stewart’s determination proved to be the difference maker, forcing Hamlin to settle for equaling his best result on a road course.

“Tony has been ultra-fair to me quite a bit,” Hamlin said. “He’s treated me really well my entire career. It’s not like I gave him one by any means. He gave us an opportunity to move him, we did. Then, we got it back. It’s just part of the deal.”