Hamlin conquers Bristol, Win #4 in 2019 tied for the lead (8-19-19)
By:Becca Cottingham
Photo From NASCAR.com
We are back in “The Last Great Colosseum” known as Bristol. Some of the best short track racing under the lights. They have put down some grip compound down in the turns to provide extra grip. They are running right at fifteen second laps. Denny Hamlin lost the grip in his car and Kyle Larson was able to make a pass. Denny Hamlin is now just waiting for a mistake by Larson. We have a battle between Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson. As Denny is trying to make the high line work at Bristol. Joey Logano had a huge issue on the left rear with a green pit stop and it is costly. Multiple laps down now but had to changed tires to keep from blowing a tire. Lap traffic is a huge issue and then Austin Dillion blew a right front and Jimmie Johnson got into the back of him. There is possible right side damage to Denny Hamlin’s car. After the caution flag pit stops Larson was able to get out front. We had a battle at the end between him and Chase Elliott. Kyle Larson was able to squeak by and win stage one.
Chase Elliott was able to have the fastest pit stop and started out front to begin stage two. Chase Elliot was able to hold onto the lead for a while, but now him and Kevin Harvick are battling it out for the lead. Truex Jr also was able to get around Chase Elliott and moved Elliott back to third. Denny Hamlin is still suffering after the contact in stage one. Aric Almirola hit the wall hard and brought out the second caution for an accident. They thought they got all of the fenders away but Aric ended up spinning out again and hitting the wall hard. Martin Truex Jr was able to make the needed passes and got to the front for the rest of stage two. However, Clint Bowyer spun out and brought out another caution. Most of the lead lap drivers came down pit road except for Kurt Busch. It appears he is going for the stage win/stage points. Kevin Harvick pitted and they found a transmission issue. He was pushed to the garage. Kurt made a push and he was able to win stage two.
Kyle Busch made some bold moves and this allowed him to lead some laps at Bristol after having a tough start to the race. He did not qualify the best to begin with and has been fighting to stay on the lead lap since. Brad Keselowski was then able to battle Kyle for the lead. The battle continues between Kyle and Brad. However, Bristol is having multiple battles throughout the entire track. We ended up having a three car pile up bump into one another that caused damage and brought out a caution. Which came just in time for some drivers and caught one on pit road. We got back to green and ended up with another wreck. Something appears to have happened to Ryan Blaney. This knocked out a lot of foam out of Jimmie Johnson’s car which is a requirement of NASCAR. Then Matt DiBenedetto then got a chance to lead some laps. This is huge not only for Matt but the team in general. This week he was told that his services are no longer needed after this season. Ao to see the number 95 up front winning is a wonderful sight to be seen. But Hamlin is fast on the move back through the field. The question is can Matt hold Denny off and ended up being a no. Denny Hamlin passed Matt to win his fourth race of the season. I am sure Matt DiBenedetto’s story and thoughts will be all over the place.
