April 19 (UPI) – NASCAR’s Alex Bowman beat Denny Hamlin to become the eighth winner and nine races that Cup Series season with a win at the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway.
Bowman took the lead from Hamlin with 10 laps to go and held the checkered flag in Richmond, Virginia on Sunday.
“We weren’t in a great place with points but now we have a win and we don’t have to worry about it,” Bowman told reporters. “I wouldn’t say we were desperate. I feel like we had cars that were so fast that we knew we could do a good job and get into the playoffs.
“That definitely eases the nerves a bit.”
Joey Logano, Christopher Bell and betting favorite Martin Truex Jr. rounded off the top 5 on Sunday. The win put Bowman in 13th place in the Cup Series standings. He is ranked 8th in the projected playoff rating.
Hamlin now has eight top-5 finishes without a win in 2021, a record for the start of a Cup Series season.
“I mean, it’s definitely frustrating,” Hamlin told reporters. “I’d rather be where I am than Alex Bowman. I don’t care that he has a win. We’ll crush everyone. I still prefer to be where I am.”
Truex started first and led the first 32 laps. He then swapped the lead with Hamlin, who won the first and second stages of the race.
Logano, Brad Keselowski, AJ Dillon and Kyle Busch were among the other race directors. Hamlin took the lead on lap 383, but dropped to second behind Bowman on lap 391.
Hamlin ran a 207 lap race while Bowman only led 10 laps. Truex completed 107 laps in the 300-mile race on the 0.75-mile route.
The Cup Series season continues with the Geico 500 on Sunday at 2 p.m. EDT on the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala.