Denny Hamlin closed out the 2016 Sprint Cup regular season the same way he began it, by winning Saturday night’s race at Richmond International Raceway.
Denny Hamlin wins the 2016 Federated Auto Parts 500 at Richmond International Raceway
Hamlin closes out the Sprint Cup regular season with his third victory of the year.
Robert Laberge/Getty Images
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who won the season-opening Daytona 500, got a terrific restart with two laps left to take the Federated Auto Parts 400, the final race before NASCAR begins its Chase for the Sprint Cup playoffs next weekend. Hamlin, a native Virginian, won for the third time on what he considers his home track.
Kyle Larson finished second, followed by Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick. Completing the top 10 were Kasey Kahne, Jamie McMurray, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano.
With their respective finishes, Chris Buescher (24th), Chase Elliott (18th), Austin Dillon (13th) and McMurray claimed the final four spots in the 16-driver Chase field Saturday night. Buescher and Elliott become the first rookies to make the Chase since Hamlin qualified in 2006.
The rough-and-tumble short track race featured a track record 16 cautions, surpassing the previous high of 15 set three times.
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