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BY JENNA FRYERThe Associated Press

Denny Hamlin returns to Daytona International Speedway looking for the one podium position that

eluded him in February.He had one of the most successful

Speedweeks in recent memory when he opened the season with a win in the exhibition Sprint Unlimited and added another victory in the Budweiser Duel qualifying race. But when it counted, in the Daytona 500, Hamlin fell one spot short and finished second to Dale Earn-hardt Jr.

Hamlin did, however, earn his first career points-paying restrictor plate race victory in May at Talladega Superspeed-way.

But he wants that Daytona victory, es-pecially after Saturday night’s disappoint-ment at Kentucky when a blown front tire on the 27th lap led to a last-place finish.

“We have obviously had a lot of success in the restrictor plate races this year,” he said. “I think I have learned a lot about that style of racing over the years. I was always the guy that tried to start a new line and make something happen, and it didn’t always work out for me.

“I think this year I have been a little more patient and let the race come to me a bit more. In the Daytona 500, we were just a little too far back on the last lap and made it up to second. I knew at Talladega that I wanted to be the one out front holding people off. I think that has been the preferred position in the last few plate races.”

Hamlin is ninth in the Chase qualifying standings. A win Saturday would secure

the Virginia driver a spot in the Chase, where he’ll have one more restrictor plate race at Talladega as he vies for his first Sprint Cup championship.

Cutting backKyle Larson was the busiest man in rac-

ing a year ago, when he traveled coast to coast to race in anything he could.

A promotion to the Sprint Cup Series for Chip Ganassi Racing meant he had to cut back his schedule, which hasn’t been as devastating as Larson had feared.

“It’s not been bad at all,” he said. “I was surprised, being such a die-hard sprint car racer, I thought not racing a lot of dirt track stuff this year would be bad, that I’d be bored. But I’m not.”

Instead, Larson has found that his

NASCAR commitments have him so busy there’s very little time to race sprint cars. He’s a rookie in the Sprint Cup Series, where he’s vying for his first win of the season and trying for a berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, and pulls double duty on companion week-ends with the Nationwide Series. He also owns a sprint car team.

For now, the focus for Larson is making the Chase. He heads into Saturday night’s race at Daytona ranked 14th in the Chase qualifying standings with nine races to go to set the Chase field.

“We’re pretty confident,” he said. “I think if we do get in the Chase, we’re capable enough to make it on each round to the final round at Homestead. If we do get there, I’d be super confident that we’d pull it off, so I am hoping we can get into the Chase, for sure. I think we have got a good shot.”

Hamlin’s ’14 restrictor-plate record nearly perfect, except for Daytona disappointment

SPRINT CUP THIS WEEKEND

» Site: Daytona, Florida» Schedule: Practice was held Thursday; Today, qualifying (Fox Sports 1, 5 to 6:30 p.m.); Saturday, race, 7:30 p.m. (TNT, 6:30 to 11 p.m.)» Race distance: 400 miles, 160 laps» Last year: Jimmie Johnson won to become the first driver since Bobby Allison in 1982 to

sweep the season races at the track.» Fast facts: Johnson leads the series with three victories.

... Jeff Gordon leads the points standings.

... Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the season-opening Daytona 500. ... Michael Waltrip is driving the No. 66 Toyota. Three of his four Cup victories have come at the track.» Next race: Camping World RV Sales 301, July 13, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, New Hampshire

COKE ZERO 400DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY • 7:30 P.M. SATURDAY • TNT

» Denny Hamlin: The Virginia driver has been dominant on restrictor plate tracks in 2014, winning each event except the big one ... the Daytona 500. His win at Talladega marked his first career points race victory at a restrictor plate track.

Track statsType: Tri-ovalSize: 2.5 milesBanking: 31º in turns

DRIVER TO WATCH AT DAYTONA

Start/Finish

THE PAST TWOJune 14 — Gateway 200, Madison, Ill. (Darrell Wallace Jr.)June 26 — UNOH 225, Sparta, Ky. (Kyle Busch)

REMAINING SCHEDULEJuly 11 — American Ethanol 200, Newton, IowaJuly 23 — 1-800-CarCash Mudsummer Classic, New Weston, OhioAug. 2 — Pocono Mountains 150, Long Pond, Pa.Aug. 16 — Michigan National Guard 200, Brooklyn, Mich.Aug. 20 — UNOH 200, Bristol, Tenn.Aug. 31 — Chevrolet Silverado 250, Bowman-ville, OntarioSept. 12 — Chicagoland 225, Joliet, Ill.Sept. 20 — UNOH 175, Loudon, N.H.Sept. 27 — Smith’s 350, Las VegasOct. 18 — Fred’s 250, Talladega, Ala.Oct. 25 — Kroger 200, Ridgeway, Va.Oct. 31 — WinStar World Casino & Resort 350, Fort Worth, TexasNov. 7 — Phoenix 150, Avondale, Ariz.Nov. 14 — Ford EcoBoost 200, Homestead, Fla.

THE PAST TWOJune 21 — Gardner Denver 200, Elkhart Lake Wis. (Brendan Gaughan)June 27 — John R. Elliott HERO Campaign 300, Sparta, Ky. (Kevin Harvick)

REMAINING SCHEDULEToday — Subway Firecracker 250, Daytona Beach, Fla.July 12 — New England 200, Loudon, N.H.July 19 — Chicago 300, Joliet, Ill.July 26 — Indiana 250, IndianapolisAug. 2 — Iowa Speedway 250, Newton, IowaAug. 9 — Zippo 200, Watkins Glen, N.Y.Aug. 16 — Children’s Hospital 200, Lexington, OhioAug. 22 — Food City 250, Bristol, Tenn.Aug. 30 — Great Clips 300, Hampton, Ga.Sept. 5 — Richmond 250, Richmond, Va.Sept. 13 — Chicagoland 300, Joliet, Ill.Sept. 20 — VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300, Sparta, Ky.Sept. 27 — Delaware 200, Dover, Del.Oct. 4 — Kansas 300, Kansas City, Kan.Oct. 10 — Charlotte 300, Concord, N.C.Nov. 1 — O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge, Fort Worth, TexasNov. 8 — Phoenix 200, Avondale, Ariz.Nov. 15 — Ford EcoBoost 300, Homestead, Fla.

THE PAST TWOJune 22 — Toyota/Save Mart 350, Sonoma, Calif. (Carl Edwards)June 28 — Quaker State 400, Sparta, Ky. (Brad Keselowski)

REMAINING SCHEDULESaturday — Coke Zero 400, Daytona Beach, Fla.July 13 — Camping World RV Sales 301, Loudon, N.H.July 27 — The Brickyard 400, Indianapolis.Aug. 3 — GoBowling.com 400, Long Pond, Pa.Aug. 10 — Cheez-It 355 at the Glen, Watkins Glen, N.Y.Aug. 17 — Pure Michigan 400, Brooklyn, Mich.Aug. 23 — Irwin Tools Night Race, Bristol, Tenn.Aug. 31 — Atlanta 500, Hampton, Ga.Sept. 6 — Federated Auto Parts 400, Richmond, Va.Sept. 14 — Chicagoland 400, Joliet, Ill.Sept. 21 — Sylvania 300, Loudon, N.H.Sept. 28 — AAA 400, Dover, Del.Oct. 5 — Hollywood Casino 400, Kansas City, Kan.Oct. 11 — Bank of America 500, Concord, N.C.Oct. 19 — GEICO 500, Talladega, Ala.Oct. 26 — Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500, Ridgeway, Va.Nov. 2 — AAA Texas 500, Fort Worth, TexasNov. 9 — Quicken Loans 500, Avondale, Ariz.Nov. 16 — Ford EcoBoost 400, Homestead, Fla.

SPRINT CUP SCHEDULE & STATS NATIONWIDE SCHEDULE TRUCK SERIES SCHEDULEROOkIE STANDINGS

Through June 281. Kyle Larson .....................1992. Austin Dillon ...................1743. Justin Allgaier ................1394. Michael Annett ..............129 Cole Whitt.......................1296. Alex Bowman .................1127. Ryan Truex ........................838. Parker Kligerman.............41

POLE WINNERSThrough June 28

1. Kevin Harvick .....................3 Brad Keselowski ................33. Denny Hamlin .....................24. Kyle Busch ..........................1 Austin Dillon .......................1 Jimmie Johnson .................1 Matt Kenseth......................1 Kyle Larson .........................1 Joey Logano .......................1 Brian Scott ..........................1 Tony Stewart ......................1

LAPS LED LEADERSThrough June 28

1. Jimmie Johnson ................ 1,0082. Kevin Harvick .......................8823. Brad Keselowski ..................7064. Joey Logano .........................5165. Matt Kenseth .......................3236. Jeff Gordon ...........................3077. Kyle Busch ............................2958. Dale Earnhardt Jr.................2029. Carl Edwards .......................13010. Tony Stewart ........................9911. Kurt Busch............................89 Greg Biffle ............................8913. Kasey Kahne ........................6414. Denny Hamlin ......................6015. Jamie McMurray ..................57

MONEY LEADERS1. Brad Keselowski ...... $3,979,0452. Dale Earnhardt Jr..... $3,854,6293. Jimmie Johnson ....... $3,807,0514. Jeff Gordon ............... $3,670,4965. Jamie McMurray ...... $3,595,012

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

HAMLIN’S 2014NUMBERS

4 top 5 finishes

1 win

16.2 average finish

1.25average finish in four restrictor plate events

THROUGH 17 RACES

SERIESSNAPSHOT

THIS WEEKSubway Firecracker 250» Site: Daytona, Florida» Schedule: Thursday, practice; today, qualifying (Fox Sports 1, 3 to 4:30 p.m.), race, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2, 7 to 10 p.m.)» Track: Daytona International Speed-way (tri-oval, 2.5 miles)» Race distance: 250 miles, 100 laps» Last year: Matt Kenseth pulled away on the final restart.» Last week: Kevin Harvick won at Ken-tucky Speedway for his second victory of the season.» Fast facts: Kyle Busch won the season-opening race at the track. He has three victories in 12 starts this year to extend his series-record victory total to 66. ... Elliott Sadler leads the season standings. Sadler was fifth in the season-opening race and won at sister track Talladega.» Next race: Sta-Green 200, July 12, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, New Hampshire

CATCHING UP

» There is no race this week.» Last week: Kyle Busch made it 5 for 5 this season in the series, holding off Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate Darrell Wallace Jr. at Kentucky Speedway. Busch has six straight series victories dating to last season and 40 overall in 120 starts.» Next race: American Ethanol 200, July 11, Iowa Speedway, Newton, Iowa

THIS WEEK

» Last week: Brad Keselowski dominated at Kentucky Speedway for his second victory of the season and 12th overall.

SPRINT CUP

NATIONWIDE

TRUCK SERIES

Driver Points Wins1. Johnny Sauter 297 02. Matt Crafton -8 23. Timothy Peters -11 -4. Ryan Blaney -12 -5. Ron Hornaday Jr. -13 -6. German Quiroga Jr. -25 -7. Ben Kennedy -34 -8. Darrell Wallace Jr. -36 19. John Wes Townley -40 -10. Joey Coulter -55 -

Driver Points Wins1. Elliott Sadler 541 12. Chase Elliott -4 23. Regan Smith -8 14. Ty Dillon -29 -5. Brian Scott -47 -6. Trevor Bayne -59 -7. Brendan Gaughan -93 18. James Buescher -123 -9. Chris Buescher -127 -10. Landon Cassill -142 -

DRIVER STANDINGSAfter 15 of 33 races

DRIVER STANDINGSAfter 8 of 22 races

DRIVER STANDINGS

Driver Points Wins1. Jimmie Johnson -24 32. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -24 23. Brad Keselowski -58 24. Carl Edwards -82 25. Joey Logano -99 26. Kevin Harvick -109 27. Jeff Gordon 618 18. Kyle Busch -110 19. Denny Hamlin -102 110. Kurt Busch -239 111. Matt Kenseth -63 -12. Ryan Newman -104 -13. Paul Menard -130 -14. Kyle Larson -144 -15. Greg Biffle -144 -16. Clint Bowyer -145 -

17. Kasey Kahne -153 -18. Tony Stewart -158 -19. Austin Dillon -163 -20. Brian Vickers -176 -

After 17 of 36 races

* These driver standings reflect the new Chase qualifying points format, which ranks wins first followed by total points. This shows the 16 driv-ers who would make the Chase if the postseason started today and the drivers on the bubble.

Keselowski

* Chase for the Sprint Cup cutoff *

Larson

RESTRICTIONSFEELING NO

Denny Hamlin celebrates his season-opening victory in the Sprint Unlimited non-points race at Daytona International Speedway in February.