Hamlin records solid Busch victory

Brooklyn, Mich. -- Denny Hamlin captured the checkered flag Saturday afternoon at the Carfax 250 Busch auto race at Brooklyn, Mich.

It was Hamlin's second first-place finish on the Busch circuit this season, and the fourth of his Busch career.

He led the race 69 of its 125 laps with his Chevrolet, and ran such a dominant race at the Michigan International Speedway, he was able to toy with the field at certain points.

Matt Kenseth (Ford) was second, Kevin Harvick (Chevrolet) third, Jeff Burton (Chevrolet) fourth and Greg Biffle (Ford) finished fifth.

With 25 laps left, Hamlin's lead was 2.453 seconds. As it continued to increase, it was obvious it would take a caution flag for someone to have a chance of beating him.

In the Busch points' race, leader Carl Edwards has a 700-point lead over Harvick, with David Reutimann third (-730), Jason Leffler fourth (-920) and David Ragan in fifth place (-948).

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.