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Crown Royal 400 review Date published: 5/8/2006
By JIM McCONNELL
RICHMOND--Separated by an entire continent, Manchester High School's most famous alumnus grabbed starring roles in two radically different sports dramas Saturday night. In San Diego, Chicago Cubs rookie left-hander Sean Marshall continued his impressive run of early-season performances by mowing down the Padres through five no-hit innings at Petco Park. Three thousand miles away, Nextel Cup rookie Denny Hamlin found himself leading the Crown Royal 400 in his big-league debut at Richmond International Raceway. Alas, neither enjoyed a big, splashy Hollywood ending. Marshall lost his no-hit bid in the sixth inning and wound up with a no-decision in the Cubs' 2-1 loss. Hamlin, whose lead lasted just 18 laps, finished second to NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt Jr. But if you don't believe second place is a happy ending, don't tell Hamlin. He was ecstatic after performing so well at a track where he used to watch races as a boy. "This is by far the biggest race of my career. It's something that's very special and to have so many friends and family here, it's awesome. I can't tell you how I feel," Hamlin said. "I'll be riding this wave for months to come." Life has been a wild ride for Hamlin over the last couple of years. The Chesterfield County native zoomed from weekly Late Model racing to the pinnacle of his sport--Nextel Cup--in less time than it takes to earn an associate's degree, then wasted little time proving he belonged there. Hamlin posted top-10 finishes in three of his first five starts last season. In case anyone thought it was a fluke, he loudly announced his intentions by holding off teammate and defending Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart to win the first race of 2006, the non-points Budweiser Shootout. Other than a Busch Series win in Mexico, that had been the high point of Hamlin's season until Saturday. He was 19th in points and coming off a 22nd-place finish in Monday's rain-delayed Aaron's 499 at Talladega. He was also nursing a heavily bandaged left hand, the result of "horseplay" during Wednesday's testing session at Lowe's Motor Speedway; the severe cut on the outside of his pinkie finger required 19 stitches and left him questionable for the weekend of racing at his hometown track.
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