The somewhat dull race (because of the lack of action in the leading pack) was saved by the debris caution on Lap 182, which promised to bring back the suspense. With 9 seconds in front of runner up Kasey Kahne however, Hamlin proved to be unstoppable.
"I knew a caution was coming, so I might as well back off and save my tires," Hamlin said after the race. "I knew that debris caution was coming. We've got to do what's right for the fans, and they need to see a great race at the end. The best car won -- and that's all you can ask for."
"It's a great accomplishment obviously to win on so many different racetracks," Hamlin said in the Victory Lane. "And to be able to unload and know that you're going to be competitive for a race win week in and week out, gives you a lot of confidence For the first time really in my career I feel that we're at that place."
Kahne, the man who finished second, said his achievement was thanks to the new FR9 engine (as did eight other Sprint teams), which made the difference.
"For our first time racing it, it was a nice improvement," Kahne said according to NASCAR. "I think that bodes well for all the Ford teams. I think we will all run better now. I feel like we didn't lose 10 spots in the pits, I didn't make mistakes, we had good feedback and the adjustments on the car were good and the car stayed together. It is something for us to build on."
The top five of the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 was completed by Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart.
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