The Country Lifestyle: Denny Hamlin wins the Pocono 500

Hamlin sweeps Pocono, races into Chase contention
By JENNA FRYER, AP Auto Racing Writer
July 24, 2006

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) -- Denny Hamlin hardly had to use his rearview mirror at Pocono Raceway, where no one was ever close enough to catch him.

But if Hamlin had taken a peek, he might have gotten a glimpse of the chaos unfolding behind him.

Tony Stewart tangled with Clint Bowyer and Carl Edwards, leading to aggressive driving penalties for Stewart and Edwards and hot tempers all over the garage. It all overshadowed Hamlin's season sweep at Pocono.

It began very early in the race when Bowyer pinched Stewart into the wall. Stewart responded with a wave out his window, then his own bump of Bowyer's car. It sent Bowyer spinning into Carl Edwards and earned Stewart a one-lap penalty for aggressive driving.

A furious Edwards later drove alongside Stewart and raised his arms as if to ask ``what was that about?'' and Stewart responded with a one-fingered salute that infuriated Edwards. He spun Stewart out on pit road to earn his own penalty, and vowed over his radio to fight Stewart after the race.

``I've got to choose my words carefully -- if it weren't for the respect of the sport and the people watching and his team, he'd be out there bleeding right now,'' Edwards later fumed. ``That's so frustrating. How can a person make it this far in life being such a jerk?

``If you hold that guy up, like if he thinks you held him up, he gets so upset and then he can wreck two guys and give you the finger. That's spectacularly self-centered. I can't imagine being like that.''