RICHMOND, Va. -- With 10 laps remaining Saturday night, the friends and family assembled behind the No. 11 pit box rocked nervously on their feet, remembering how many times they had been this close before. With five laps remaining, they gripped their radios tightly and exchanged smiles that were equal parts hopeful and anxious. With one lap remaining, they began to embrace and applaud. Nothing would deny them this time. This time, it was theirs. "This is our Daytona," Hamlin's mother, Mary Lou Hamlin, said in a Victory Lane soaked by champagne. "So we're very excited. He's come so close before, and he was so disappointed with that race where he led every lap and it ended up not happening. It made this one even sweeter."
Denny Hamlin was sixth in Saturday's first practice at the Magic Mile and has just final practice remaining to find some more speed. Final practice is under way.
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