Hamlin continues hot streak with win at Michigan

BROOKLYN, Mich. - Denny Hamlin, his No. 11 Toyota becoming a distant spec on the horizon to the rest of the field late in yesterday's Sour Cream Dips 400 NASCAR race at Michigan International Speedway, heard the caution call come over the radio and tried not to roll his eyes.

He knows nobody wants to watch a driver lead by 10 seconds, as he was doing at the time. It makes for bad TV.

And even though Hamlin didn't see any debris on the track when the yellow flag flew, he didn't panic when his massive advantage was wiped out.

"I understand this is show business," Hamlin said.

Besides, it turned out to be no big deal for NASCAR's latest showstopper.

Hamlin easily pulled away from Kasey Kahne on the restart with 14 laps remaining and rolled to his fifth victory of the season, dominating the 400-mile race.

"I didn't like watching him drive away from me, but I wasn't surprised when he did," said Kahne. "I thought we had a really good car."

Kahne highlighted a resurgent day for Ford by finishing second, followed by pole-sitter Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. Four-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was sixth.

They all, however, were merely bystanders as Hamlin continued his hot streak that began with a victory in Martinsville in late March.

He led 123 laps and has won five of the past 10 races, and done it over all kinds of circuits. Short tracks. Intermediate ovals. Massive speedways. Shootouts. Blowouts. It doesn't seem to matter. Four months into the season he's already set a career high for victories.

"It seems like I used to go into every season thinking, 'We ought to get a couple wins, Martinsville, Pocono,' '' Hamlin said. "Now it's just show up and, hey, we can win. That to me is just a feeling I don't think we've ever had before."