Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch dueled for the win in the final laps of the Royal Purple 200 at Darlington Raceway with Hamlin ending up on top.

“Kyle (Busch) was our competition and at the end of the race really he was the guy were were racing and he gave it all he could,” Hamlin’s crew chief Kevin Kidd said. This victory is the first for Kidd at JGR.

This win makes 4 in 5 years for the team and there was extra incentive for the two drivers this evening, money for separate charities. In the end, Operation Helmet which gives extra helmet padding to military personnel will get $35,000 from Z-Line Designs since Hamlin went to Victory Lane. Busch’s chosen charity, Racing for Kids, will also receive a monetary donation because of the 1-2 finish.

Despite the runner-up finish, Busch was not satisfied with the race.

“If you don’t get out front after the last pit stop you are stuck,” he said. “You just can’t pass at this race track. It’s so aero-sensitive you get stuck behind people… Tires don’t mean a whole lot but track position does.”

Hamlin enjoyed his victory celebration despite being visibly in pain from the after-effects of the surgery he had to repair his torn ACL. Hamlin’s mother was on-hand for the event since Mother’s Day is on Sunday which helped lift his spirits despite the pain.

“She’s my number one fan,” he said.

Jamie McMurray finished behind the JGR teammates followed by Kasey Kahne and Jason Leffler.  Carl Edwards ended up 6th in front of Brad Keselowski in 7th and Kevin Harvick in 8th. Brian Vickers and Paul Menard rounded out the top-10.

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