LOUDON, N.H. — Despite all the things that have kept him from reaching Victory Lane this season, Denny Hamlin was sure he was going to get there eventually.

Last year's top NASCAR Nextel Cup rookie has been running strong enough that he was already second in the season points before breaking through with a victory Sunday at New Hampshire International Speedway.

But the frustrations have mounted as penalties, pit mistakes and fuel strategies gone awry kept Hamlin from getting that elusive first win of 2007.

"We know we have a top-five race car each and every time we hit the race track," Hamlin said. "So, with a couple of lucky breaks here and there, we can win a lot of races. We knew it was just a matter of time."

Hamlin, who believes he needs race wins to be a serious contender for his first Cup championship, was out front, thanks to a late-race gamble on a two-tire stop. And four-time series champion Jeff Gordon was looming close in his mirrors.

The 26-year-old racer was so nervous on those last two laps that his right foot was shaking on the gas pedal.

"You see Jeff coming and you're trying your best to not be the guy who chokes at the end," Hamlin said. "I was all over the track those last two laps. I was basically just trying not to give up the bottom to Jeff."

Hamlin hung on, beating the series points leader to the finish line by 0.068 seconds — less than a car length — to earn his third career victory and first since last July at Pocono.

For most of Sunday's race, it appeared Hamlin would fall short again, with Martin Truex Jr., Gordon and Truex's teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., all running ahead of Hamlin late in the race.