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On the eve of NASCAR’s longest day fans in attendance for Saturday afternoon’s Hisense 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway were treated to one of the more thrilling finishes of the 2016 XFINITY series season. Denny Hamlin, driving the No. 18 Hisense USA Toyota, outlasted a hard charge from Sprint Cup regulars Kyle Larson and former teammate Joey Logano.

Hamlin restarted in sixth for the race’s final restart on lap 205 but he did so with a special plan. The 2015 Sprint All-Star race winner was the first driver on four fresh Goodyear Eagles and it showed as he blew by his counterparts, Larson and Logano, who were on older rubber. So who made the gutsy call to come take tires? Hamlin says it was a team effort.

"It was a collaborative call," Hamlin said. "He (crew chief Chris Gayle) leaned towards staying out, but I thought that I could get around those guys in just two laps even though we were way faster on that last run. I thought tires were the thing.
"I knew if I could start on the outside that I wanted new tires and it just worked out on pit road where I came out on the outside. It all worked out and it was very exciting in that last corner, a little more exciting than what I expected."

While Logano and Larson would finish third and sixth, respectively, Hamlin would drive to victory lane to celebrate his 15th career win in XFINITY competition and the first of his career at Charlotte Motor Speedway. 

Last season’s winner in this race, Austin Dillon, would walk away with the runner-up finish avoiding the No. 42 ENEOS Chevrolet of Kyle Larson who appeared to make strong contact with the wall on the exit of turn four. 

Driving JR Motorsports No. 88 HAAS Automation Chevrolet, Cole Custer finished in fourth place just one spot ahead of his JRM teammate Justin Allgaier in fifth place. Rookie Brandon Jones finished in seventh place with Ty Dillon, rookie Brennan Poole and Brendan Gaughan rounding out the race’s top ten finishers.

Larson, who has come up a spot short of victory in the last two Sprint Cup races, appeared to be dejected after the race.

“I didn’t get a great takeoff and Joey (Logano) got around me by sucking on my door,” Larson said. “Denny (Hamlin) gave me a huge shot and I was surprised at how much grip I had, actually. But it’s pretty hard to beat four tires when you run almost 40 laps on your tires. I hated that we didn’t win but I’m proud of everybody on this team for getting the ENEOS Chevy a lot better than where we were in practice.

“I’m disappointed...but I’m used to it by now.”

NASCAR XFINITY Series Race Number 11
Unofficial Race Results for the 35Th Annual Hisense 300 - Saturday, May 28, 2016
Charlotte Motor Speedway - Concord, NC - 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 206 Laps - 309 Miles

Leader
Fin    Str    Car    Driver    Team    Laps    Pts    Bns    Driver Rating    Status    Tms    Laps
1    3    18    Denny Hamlin(i)    Hisense USA Toyota    206    0        135.6    Running    5    76
2    4    2    Austin Dillon(i)    Rheem Chevrolet    206    0        111.3    Running        
3    7    22    Joey Logano(i)    Discount Tire Ford    206    0        130.9    Running    4    58
4    11    88    Cole Custer(i)    Haas Automation Chevrolet    206    0        100.1    Running    1    1
5    8    7    Justin Allgaier    Suave Men Chevrolet    206    36        103.2    Running        
6    5    42    Kyle Larson(i)    ENEOS Chevrolet    206    0        126.5    Running    5    46
7    12    33    Brandon Jones #    Barrett-Jackson/Menards Chevrolet    206    34        93.5    Running        
8    10    3    Ty Dillon    Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet    206    33        100.5    Running        
9    14    48    Brennan Poole #    DC Solar Chevrolet    206    32        97.9    Running        
10    17    62    Brendan Gaughan    Pit Stops For Hope Chevrolet    206    31        84.0    Running        
11    27    43    Jeb Burton    Rocky Ridge Custom Trucks Ford    206    30        84.8    Running        
12    2    19    Daniel Suarez    ARRIS Toyota    206    30    1    80.7    Running    1    2
13    19    39    Ryan Sieg    360 Tree Stands Chevrolet    206    28        75.7    Running        
14    18    11    Blake Koch    LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet    206    27        76.7    Running        
15    31    0    Garrett Smithley #    Instalco/Hero Box Chevrolet    206    26        65.3    Running        
16    13    12    Ryan Blaney(i)    Snap-on Ford    205    0        104.1    Running    1    2
17    16    4    Ross Chastain    Dream Water Chevrolet    205    25    1    79.4    Running    1    1
18    20    24    Drew Herring    JGL Young Guns Toyota    205    23        64.3    Running        
19    15    16    Ryan Reed    Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association Ford    204    22        75.0    Running        
20    21    51    Jeremy Clements    All South Electric/RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet    204    21        66.3    Running        
21    23    28    Dakoda Armstrong    WinField Be Greater Toyota    204    20        56.0    Running        
22    26    01    Ryan Preece #    Flex Seal Chevrolet    203    19        59.7    Running        
23    25    44    JJ Yeley    Zachry Toyota    203    18        68.1    Running        
24    40    97    Harrison Rhodes    NC State Univeristy/Vroom Brands Chevrolet    203    17        47.7    Running        
25    30    78    BJ McLeod #    Ford    202    16        50.8    Running        
26    35    90    Martin Roy    Gamache Chevrolet    202    15        48.6    Running        
27    9    6    Darrell Wallace Jr.    LoudMouth Exhaust Ford    201    15    1    76.2    Running    1    5
28    6    1    Elliott Sadler    OneMain Chevrolet    200    13        57.6    Running        
29    22    21    Spencer Gallagher(i)    Water Pulse Chevrolet    200    0        48.4    Running        
30    34    13    Carl Long    Chris Kyle Foundation Toyota    200    11        42.2    Running        
31    1    20    Erik Jones #    GameStop Toyota    197    11    1    70.0    Accident    2    14
32    37    70    Derrike Cope    Ashurst American Honey/Circle Track Warehouse Chevrolet    183    9        35.8    Running        
33    36    25    Timmy Hill(i)    Sara Balaker Cancer Foundation Chevrolet    130    0        33.3    Suspension        
34    29    14    Jeff Green    Toyota    127    8    1    42.2    Fuel Pump    1    1
35    38    74    Mike Harmon    truckersfamilies.org Dodge    91    6        31.3    Accident        
36    33    52    Joey Gase    Agri Supply Chevrolet    84    5        33.7    Transmission        
37    32    07    Ray Black Jr. #    Scuba Life Chevrolet    27    4        33.7    Oil Line        
38    39    15    Cody Ware #    JJ Aim Right Gun Shop Ford    12    3        28.2    Accident        
39    28    93    Josh Wise(i)    RSS Racing Chevrolet    5    0        27.3    Rear Gear        
40    24    10    Matt DiBenedetto(i)    Toyota    3    0        23.2    Vibration        
 Race Comments:    Denny Hamlin won the Hisense 4K TV 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, his 15th career NASCAR XFINITY Series victory. Prior to the start of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reason indicated: No. 25 and No. 43 (unapproved adjustments).
 Failed to Qualify:    (2) 40 TJ Bell, 89 Morgan Shepherd.
 Time of Race:    2 Hrs, 41 Mins, 54 Secs.    Average Speed:    114.515 MPH    Margin of Victory:    0.291 Seconds
 Caution Flags:    8 for 54 laps: Laps: 15-19 (#15 Spin in Turn  4 [74]); 26-41 (#20, 19 and 1 Accident in Turn 4 [70]); 45-49 (#0 and 90 Accident in Turn 4 [19]); 55-58 (Debris in Turn 2 [14]); 64-71 (#16 Accident in Turn 4 [21]); 116-120 (Debris on pit road [39]); 158-163 (Debris on Turn 4 [0]); 200-204 (#20 Accident in Turn 3 [0]).
 Lead Changes:    21 among 10 drivers: E. Jones # 1-13; D. Hamlin(i) 14-15; E. Jones # 16; J. Green 17; D. Hamlin(i) 18-49; K. Larson(i) 50-54; D. Wallace Jr. 55-59; R. Chastain 60; D. Hamlin(i) 61-97; K. Larson(i) 98-111; R. Blaney(i) 112-113; C. Custer(i) 114; D. Suarez 115-116; D. Hamlin(i) 117-120; J. Logano(i) 121-147; K. Larson(i) 148-159; J. Logano(i) 160; K. Larson(i) 161-165; J. Logano(i) 166-194; K. Larson(i) 195-204; J. Logano(i) 205; D. Hamlin(i) 206; 
Top 10 Driver Points:     (1) D. Suarez 376;(2) E. Sadler 362;(3) J. Allgaier 353;(4) T. Dillon 352;(5) B. Gaughan 336;(6) B. Jones # 324;(7) E. Jones # 320;(8) B. Poole # 314;(9) D. Wallace Jr. 283;(10) R. Reed 266.
Coors Light Pole Award    : Erik Jones, #20 184.546 mph    Duralast Brakes "Brake in the Race"    : Denny Hamlin, #18 
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race    : Joe Gibbs Racing Engines - Mark Cronquist, #18     Mobil 1 Driver of the Race    : Denny Hamlin, #18 
Sunoco Rookie of the Race    : Brandon Jones, #33 
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race:    Jun. 4, 2016 - Pocono Raceway