For the third consecutive week Hamlin proved to have a dominate car, but unlike the previous two that ended in misfortune, the No. 11 FedEx Freight would claim its rightful place in victory lane on Sunday. Hamlin was in position to win the spring race in Martinsville as well before being bumped from the top spot in the race's final laps and being forced to settle for a second-place finish. But the Virginia native would not give the No. 48 the same opportunity Sunday as he pulled away from Jimmie Johnson on two late restarts to claim his third victory of the season. Hamlin, who started from the 17th position, showed his patience early in the race and calmly moved forward to the front of the field. He would claim the lead for the first time on lap 183 and would go on to lead three different times for a race-high 206 laps including the most important lap of the day: the last one.
Kyle Busch was running the No. 18 M&Ms Halloween paint scheme Sunday in Martinsville and certainly had the spirit for the holiday as he put a scare into the other 42 drivers in the field. Busch would overcome having to start in the back of the field to earn an impressive fourth-place finish. Busch, who qualified in the 41st position, quickly made his way to the front of the field despite the close confines of the Martinsville track. By lap 88 he was 23rd and by lap 115 he was already up to the 17th position. By lap 182 he was in third and when the race restarted again just twenty laps later, Busch would complete the task of coming all the way from the very back of the field to the front when he passed his teammate Denny Hamlin on lap 202 for the top spot. The lead was brief however and with still just under 300 laps to go, Busch and the No. 18 M&Ms crew would continue to battle changing conditions to the car over the course of the second half of the race. They clearly had it dialed in over the final laps however, and a late pit stop gave Busch two fresh tires to make one last run on the leaders. The result was an impressive fourth-place finish.
Joey Logano started the No. 20 Farm Bureau Insurance Toyota from the seventh position on Sunday but battled loose handling conditions through the early going as he found himself falling back in the field. However, as the rookie has done throughout his first season on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, he maintained his composure and kept at it while crew chief Greg Zipadelli and the No. 20 crew continued to make changes to improve the car. Logano spent much of the race back around the 20th position, but made an impressive late run toward the front of the field to earn a solid 12th-place finish. The finish was an improvement of 20 spots over his first career start in March on the difficult short track.
Jimmie Johnson finished second behind Hamlin, while Juan Pablo Montoya placed third, Busch fourth, and Jeff Gordon fifth. There were 15 cautions for a total of 77 laps and 21 lead changes among 12 different drivers over the course of the 501-lap race, which was extended one lap for a green-white-checkered finish.
The victory moved Hamlin back into the top ten in the current point standing in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship as he now sits in the ninth position.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Talladega for the seventh race of the Chase to NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series Championship next Sunday. The Energy 500 will begin at 1 PM ET with live, high-definition coverage provided by ABC, beginning with its pre-race show at noon. The race will also be broadcast live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128.
