Alex Bowman won the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway after contact with Playoff contender Denny Hamlin on lap 494 of the 500-lap race on the .526-mile short track on Sunday afternoon. Bowman got loose entering the turn and got into Hamlin, sending Hamlin into the outside wall.
The late caution flag set up a final green-white checkers finish with Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski who had to win to advance. At the time, the restart was like watching an exciting roulette wheel as to what drivers will be left at the end of the race. You can play roulette online at PlayAmo.com and catch some more excitement. Bowman was able to hold off both drivers and win.
While Bowman was trying to set up for his victory burnout, Hamlin also drove to the start-finish line, or also the victory lane at Martinsville, and bumped into the front of Bowman’s Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet.
“I just got loose in. I got in too deep (into Turn 3), knocked him out of the way, and literally let him have the lead back. For anybody that wants to think I was trying to crash him, obviously, that wasn’t the case, considering I literally gave up the lead at Martinsville to give it back to him.” Bowman said.
This was Bowman’s fourth win of the season and the sixth career victory for the 28-year-old from Tucson, Arizona driver.
Hamlin, who is fighting for his first NASCAR Cup Series title expressed his displeasure with Bowman after the race.
“He’s just a hack. He’s just an absolute hack. He gets his ass kicked every week by his teammates every week. He’s (expletive) terrible. He’s just terrible. He sees one opportunity and he takes it, but obviously, he’s got the fastest car every week and he runs 10th.” Hamlin said.
Kyle Busch finished second, Brad Keselowski third, Martin Truex Jr. fourth, and William Byron rounded out the top-five finishers on Sunday.
Championship contender Chase Elliott won stage one and stage two while leading a race-high of 289 laps. He clenched his Championship 4 berth mid-race after sweeping both stages but fell back into the field late in the final stage and finished 16th.
“Well, we’re moving on and that is all that matters. I had a really fast NAPA Chevy early and I made a couple of mistakes and kind of led us down the wrong path there for those last couple of runs, unfortunately. But the pace was certainly in the car.”
It has come down to Hendrick vs. Gibbs for NASCAR’s 2021 Cup Series championship.
The 2021 Cup championship will feature two Chevrolets against two Toyotas and two past champions, defending series champion Elliott, with two wins this season, and 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr. with four wins this season.
The two drivers that are trying to win their first championship are Kyle Larson, who has dominated this season by winning nine races, 19 top-5s and 25 top-10s and Hamlin with 2 wins, 18 top-5s, and 24 top-10s will be trying for the fourth time to win his first title.
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Phoenix Raceway with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship on Sunday, November 7, at 3 p.m. ET. on NBC, NBC Sports Gold, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
