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Checkered Flag Helps Cure Ailing Hamlin

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A Tribune wire report

Published: September 23, 2007

DOVER, Del. - The checkered flag was the perfect tonic for the ailing Denny Hamlin.

Feeling weak and needing intravenous fluids before the race, Hamlin nearly threw in the towel. Good thing he held on, or he would have missed out on bringing home a trophy.

Hamlin shook off an illness and found the energy to dominate and win the caution-filled Busch Series race at Dover International Speedway on Saturday, his third win of the season.

'I need a nap,' Hamlin said.

Hamlin can sleep on this: With the yellow flag seemingly dropping every few laps, a helmet fighting for space with the cars on the track, and full-time Cup drivers nipping at his bumper, Hamlin stayed out of the care center and parked himself in Victory Lane.

Winning sure has a way of curing the nastiest symptoms.

'It takes your mind away from it, for sure,' Hamlin said.

Martin Truex Jr., who won the Cup race on the Monster Mile in June, was second. Matt Kenseth finished third.

Hamlin, Truex and Kenseth are part of the 12-driver field for the Chase for the Nextel Cup championship.

'We just didn't have the car all day long,' Truex said. 'We almost pulled one off on the 20. He was really strong all day.'
Tony Raines was knocked out of the race early when his car was hit by Robby Gordon's. Raines believed the hit was intentional.

So he hopped out of his window, waited for Gordon to drive around again and hurled his helmet at the No. 27 Ford.

'Unfortunately, they can't keep idiots like Robby Gordon from driving race cars,' Raines said.

TRUCKS: Travis Kvapil is making a run for another Craftsman Truck Series title.

Kvapil started on the pole, ran in the top 10 most of the night and passed Jon Wood for the lead with 13 laps to go to earn his fourth victory in the last nine races, winning the Smith's Las Vegas 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

With the win, Kvapil gained 90 points and is now 181 points off the lead.

NHRA: At Ennis, Texas, Funny Car points leader Robert Hight failed to qualify for the O'Reilly Fall Nationals, while Top Fuel driver Doug Herbert also dropped out to all but end his season title hopes.

Three of Friday's four qualifying leaders remained intact with J.R. Todd leading Top Fuel with a 4.541-second run, Tim Wilkerson topping Funny Car with a 4.787 and Greg Anderson fronting Pro Stock with a 6.668. The only change among the front-runners was Chip Ellis sneaking around Andrew Hines in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a double-track-record pass of 6.976 seconds at 191.32 mph.

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