Hamlin wins at Richmond; Vickers gets in Chase

RICHMOND, Va. -- Denny Hamlin has dominated Richmond on several occasions -- without winning.

On Saturday night he finally got the payoff. Leading 299 of 400 laps in the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway, Hamlin got his first win at his home track, a victory Hamlin characterized "like a Daytona 500 win for anyone else."

"This is my house," Hamlin said. "It has been for the last two years -- we just haven't got the win to show for it. Finally, [Saturday night] our FedEx Toyota showed that we're a championship contender."

But Hamlin had to share the spotlight with Brian Vickers, who drove his way into the Chase for the Sprint Cup with a seventh-place finish at the .75-mile short track. Vickers knocked 25th-place finisher Matt Kenseth out of the 12th and final berth in the Chase, beating fifth-place finisher Kyle Busch for the position by eight points.

The win was Hamlin's second of the year and the sixth of his career and helped set aside past disappointments at Richmond.

In spring 2008, Hamlin led 381 laps and finished sixth after cutting a tire late in the race. Earlier this year, he led 148 laps but finished 14th.

Kurt Busch ran second, followed by Jeff Gordon. Pole-sitter Mark Martin also secured a place in the Chase with a fourth-place result.

In addition to Vickers and Martin, also securing spots in the Chase were Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Juan Montoya and Greg Biffle. Hamlin, Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and points leader Tony Stewart already were locked in. The 12 drivers will be reseeded according to their victories in the season's first 26 races. The 10-race Chase begins next week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

With 40 bonus points for four wins, Martin is the Chase's top seed.

The night's biggest casualty was Kenseth, who won't be a part of the Chase for the first time since the inception of NASCAR's playoff system in 2004. Kenseth struggled with the handling of his No. 17 Ford all evening.

"It amazes me that every week we don't have any adjustments that help the front tires and make them happier," a frustrated Kenseth radioed to his crew on Lap 242.

Kenseth's exit leaves Johnson as the only driver who has qualified for all six editions of the Chase.

The suspense wasn't whether Kenseth would fall out of the Chase. It was whether Busch or Vickers would supplant him. Those two drivers flip-flopped in and out of the 12th spot in the standings as they gained and lost positions on the track.

Where the Chase was concerned, the decisive stretch of the race came after a caution called on Lap 326 when Michael Waltrip spun on the frontstretch. Vickers restarted seventh, two spots behind Busch, but soon passed his rival and took over the fifth spot, as Busch complained sarcastically about a bad set of tires for the crucial late-race run.

Vickers had some nervous moments after the final caution of the race on Lap 380, when Busch beat him out of the pits. Busch gained two spots on the restart but gave them back over the final 14 laps, while Vickers held the seventh spot.

"We picked a really good night to figure this place out," said Vickers, whose only top-10 at Richmond came in 2004. "[Crew chief] Ryan [Pemberton] and the guys did a tremendous job, and this was probably the best car I've ever had [at Richmond]."

Busch was philosophical after falling short.

"Well, we did all we can do," Busch said. "We gave a valiant effort, and it was a good night for the M&M's Toyota to come in fifth place. That's what you look for in these deals, and unfortunately it wasn't enough for [Saturday night] to get ourselves locked in the Chase.

"But it's not just [Saturday night], or it's not just last week that's kept us out. It's been the past 26 races that unfortunately some days I didn't do my best, and we didn't have the best cars, or whatever it might have been. So you can look at a whole different scenario or a whole different slew of things, but what it boils down to is we missed."

• Video: Victory Lane | Final Laps | Sights and Sounds
• Press Pass: Denny Hamlin | Jeff Gordon | Kurt Busch