RICHMOND, Va., May 4 (UPI) -- Clint Bowyer recorded a slim victory Saturday night at the Sprint Cup's Crown Royal 400 auto race in Richmond, Va.
Bowyer was in contention much of the race, but only won it after Dale Earnhardt Jr. hit the wall in a crash with Kyle Busch with three laps left.
Bowyer was able to avoid Earnhardt's wreck before a caution flag was posted.
Denny Hamlin, a native of nearby Chesterfield, Va., led the race a record 381 of its 400 laps, but finished out of the top-10 because of a slow leak in his right front tire.
Busch finished second, Mark Martin third, Tony Stewart fourth and Martin Truex Jr. was fifth.
"Everybody probably is racing around the race track scared to death of wrecking Dale Earnhardt Jr., so why wouldn't I be any different?" Busch asked. "That was just a product of good hard racing and I hate it that (the wreck happened)."
Earnhardt has not won in his last 71 races.
