Checkered Countdown: Top-Five Richmond Finishes

No.5 Dale Earnhardt Jr holds off rookie Denny Hamlin and wins for the second time at Richmond (2006).

After a long night of racing in Virginia the leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. found out that he had an unexpected enemy to defeat in order to win the race. The rookie Denny Hamlin in fact was looking for his first top series victory and thank to a couple of cautions that slowed the field down he got to Earnhardt’s back bumper. In the closing laps Hamlin tried to make the low groove work to get by Earnhardt, he was able to get side-by-side with him but never completed the pass. He would have to wait until Pocono in the following season to get his first win.