Hamlin thrills crowd in home state of Va.

  To the cheers of a hometown crowd, Denny Hamlin claimed the first-place finish in Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race for his first-ever victory at Richmond International Raceway.

Hamlin, who grew up in nearby Chesterfield, Va., led the final 12 laps of the Lipton Tea 250 and finished .790 seconds ahead of Kevin Harvick.

The key to victory was a set of fresh tires with 22 laps to go, ordered by crew chief Dave Rogers. Although the pit stop forced Hamlin to give up a fourth-place ranking, he soon made up for lost ground.

“It was our race and I knew it,” Hamlin said after the final stop. “I told them as soon as we left pit road that we were going to get those guys.”

The victory was Hamlin’s first in the Nationwide Series this year and sixth overall.

“It’s unbelievable that we were able to get this done in my home state,” Hamlin said. “This is my biggest win in Cup or anything – it doesn’t matter, this is my biggest win by far.”

Hamlin’s win also was the third in a row for the No. 20 car, with three different drivers. It was the fifth victory in a row for a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the Nationwide Series, and the seventh in 11 races overall.

Kyle Busch finished third, after trading shots with Steven Wallace on the final lap. David Ragan edged Wallace to take fourth place, and Wallace held on to fifth position. Completing the top 10 were David Stremme, Carl Edwards, Mike Bliss, Clint Bowyer and Scott Wimmer.