During what was an otherwise tumultuous and painful race, literally for some – I’m lookin’ at you Tony S., Jeff G. and Kurt B. – Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Kinkos team’s Top 10 finish was the redeeming ray of light!

Something was obviously wrong with the handling of the #11 Toyota because the bulk of the race saw Hamlin not budging from 25th position.

But what was ho-hum turned into a nail-biter as Denny tried his gosh-darn best to keep ahead of then-leader (and teammate) Kyle Busch to stay on the lead lap. He was eventually passed, however, and fell a lap down.

But the talented (and oh so cute) driver from Virginia wasn’t going to go down without a fight! He did an excellent job of vying for the “Lucky Dog” with Kasey Kahne, Elliot Sadler and Kurt Busch… on more than one occasion! (Good call by crew chief Mike Ford for only 2 tires to gain positions!) And luck finally turned in their favour!

Once back on the lead lap, Denny managed to NOT hit the wall (like many other drivers did), NOT get involved in any wrecks, and work his way up to a MUCH DESERVED 9th place finish! : ) Not only did he give Toyota its only Top 10 finish, but he also gave Joe Gibbs Racing its only Top 10 finish! (Take that everyone who has been overlooking the talent and hard work of Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx team amidst the bruhaha of Kyle Busch’s and Tony Stewart’s earlier successes! To paraphrase Jeff Hammond, Denny deserves some love!)

Let’s all hope this is the silver lining in the dark cloud of bad luck that has been enveloping Denny and #11 FedEx team since late 2007. Let’s hope it is the encouragement they needs to start turning things around to prove to everyone just how dominant they can be!