Chalk one up for the pit crew.

Without the service of his regular crew chief, Denny Hamlin opted for only right side tires on the final pit stop of the race and then held off Jeff Gordon to win the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire Speedway in Loudon, N.H.

The win was Hamlin's first of the season and kept him within 156 points of Gordon, the Nextel Cup leader.

Martin Truex Jr. finished third followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson in Sunday's 300 lapper.

The biggest disappointment of the day was the 29th place finish of Dave Blaney. The Hartford, Ohio, driver and former Lernerville Sprint division champion had won the pole for Sunday's program but fell back early in the race and never recovered.

The Nextel Cup Series returns to the Daytona Speedway Saturday night for the running of the Pepsi 400.

The two-day Firecracker 100 race card didn't disappoint.Playing before a full house both nights, the best Late Model drivers in the east put on a great show, with Scott Bloomquist picking up the $30,000 first-prize money for winning the 100-lap feature Saturday night.Josh McGuire won the special 30-lap event for those drivers who didn't qualify for the big race.A number of area drivers made the 100-lap race, including Dave Hess, who finished 11th.Hot shoe Alex Ferree was given a Lernerville provisional for the main event and finished 20th.

Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., followed his ninth-place finish in the Firecracker 100 at Lernerville Saturday night with a victory in the running of the Red Miley Memorial 53 at PPMS Sunday evening. Chub Frank was second, followed by Tim Hitt, Dave Wade and Jared Miley.

Rod George and Rob Eyler battled to the checkered flag in the 20-lap Sprint feature Sunday night as George nailed his sixth win of the season.Kevin Bolland came from the 10th starting position to win his second Modified feature of the season.

• Ed Lynch Jr. made the trip to Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, over the weekend to compete in the final race of the Ohio Sprint Speedweek, sponsored by The O'Reilly All-Star Circuit of Champions. The Apollo Rocket blew away the field to pick up a win. Butler's Brian Ellenberger, a regular on the All-Star tour, finished 12th.• Bob Felmlee took advantage of the misfortunes of Jody Keegan and Jarod Larson to win the Sprint feature at Sharon Speedway Saturday night. Both Keegan and Larson came off the high cushion and hit the wall, allowing Felmlee to slip by for the win.• Mike Lutz held off Rod George to win the Sprint feature at Mercer Raceway Saturday evening. It was the first feature win for Lutz in the 410 Sprinters since April 15, 2000.Jim Lokhaiser is the racing columnist for the Butler Eagle.