Local favorite Denny Hamlin used a late pit stop for tires to foil the strategy of fellow NASCAR stars Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards, blowing by them to win the Nationwide Series race at Richmond International Raceway on Friday night.

Harvick and Edwards dominated the race all night, but when the final caution flew with 22 laps to go, Hamlin gave up his fourth-place position to head to pit road for tires. When everyone behind him followed, leaving Harvick, Edwards and No. 3 Mike Bliss as the only cars still out on the track, Hamlin emerged still running fourth and with brand new traction.

He didn’t waste any time, blowing by Bliss and then Edwards on lap 241, the first after another restart, and then ducking underneath Harvick at the start-finish line on lap 242.

Hamlin quickly built a huge lead, but when another caution came out with three laps left, it allowed Kyle Busch to get right up on Hamlin ’s bumper for a two-lap dash to the finish.

It didn’t matter, and the resident of nearby Chesterfield again pulled away with ease for his sixth career victory in the series and his first at the track 15 miles from his home.

“It’s unbelievable,” Hamlin said after climbing from his Toyota is a storm of confetti in Victory Lane. “This is my biggest win, Cup, anything. It doesn’t matter. This is my biggest win by far. It means a lot to finally break through in Richmond.”

More at wtvr.com

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS:

FIN, ST, CAR, DRIVER, MAKE, SPONSOR, PTS/BNS, LAPS, STATUS

1 3 20 Denny Hamlin Toyota Z-Line Designs 190/5 253 Running
2 6 33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Rheem 175/5 253 Running
3 25 32 Kyle Busch Toyota Hass Avocados from Mexico 165/0 253 Running
4 9 6 David Ragan Ford Discount Tire 160/0 253 Running
5 23 66 Steve Wallace Chevrolet Atreus Homes & Communities 155/0 253 Running
6 14 64 David Stremme Chevrolet Atreus Homes & Communities 150/0 253 Running
7 2 60 Carl Edwards Ford Save-A-Lot 156/10 253 Running
8 12 1 Mike Bliss Chevrolet Miccosukee Resort & Gaming 142/0 253 Running
9 5 2 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet BB&T 138/0 253 Running
10 10 29 Scott Wimmer Chevrolet Holiday Inn / Holiday Inn Express 134/0 253 Running
11 33 88 Brad Keselowski Chevrolet U.S. Navy Blue Angels 130/0 253 Running
12 7 17 Matt Kenseth Ford CitiFinancial 127/0 253 Running
13 18 7 Mike Wallace Toyota GEICO 124/0 253 Running
14 1 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Lipton Tea 126/5 253 Running
15 28 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Penske Truck Rental 118/0 253 Running
16 11 38 Jason Leffler Toyota Great Clips 115/0 253 Running
17 20 25 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Ford The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg 112/0 253 Running
18 8 99 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine 109/0 251 Running
19 15 111 Jason Keller Chevrolet America’s Incredible Pizza Company 106/0 251 Running
20 24 47 Kelly Bires Ford Clorox 103/0 251 Running
21 16 40 Bryan Clauson * Dodge Fastenal 100/0 252 Running
22 4 170 Mark Green Chevrolet Foretravel Motorcoach 97/0 250 Running
23 13 5 Landon Cassill * Chevrolet Nat’l Guard / 2-224th Aviation Battalion 94/0 250 Running
24 26 22 Johnny Sauter Dodge Supercuts 91/0 250 Running
25 17 59 Marcos Ambrose Ford Kingsford Hickory Charcoal 88/0 250 Running
26 19 27 Brad Coleman Ford Huggies / Kroger 85/0 249 Running
27 39 81 D.J. Kennington Dodge Vector Security 82/0 249 Running
28 29 89 Morgan Shepherd Dodge Victory In Jesus 79/0 249 Running
29 27 161 Kevin Lepage Ford Specialty Racing 76/0 248 Running
30 35 292 Brian Keselowski * Dodge K Automotive Performance 73/0 248 Running
31 31 01 Kertus Davis Chevrolet RaceGirl 70/0 247 Running
32 30 24 Eric McClure Chevrolet Hefty 67/0 246 Running
33 38 52 Derrike Cope Chevrolet Jimmy Means Racing 64/0 245 Running
34 42 4 Robert Richardson, II Chevrolet JVC 61/0 243 Running
35 43 276 Ryan Hackett Ford JandRSupply.com 58/0 243 Running
36 34 05 Brett Rowe Chevrolet 31-W Insulation / CertainTeed 55/0 240 Running
37 21 28 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet U.S. Border Patrol 52/0 207 Running
38 22 231 Jeff Green Chevrolet Key Motorsports / JMI Signs 49/0 162 Out of Race
39 36 37 Burney Lamar Ford Xooma Worldwide X2O 46/0 55 In Pit
40 32 102 Andy Ponstein Chevrolet Stott Classic Racing 43/0 18 Out of Race
41 41 0 Danny Efland Chevrolet Lori Morgan 40/0 16 Out of Race
42 37 90 Johnny Chapman Chevrolet MSRP Motorsports 37/0 8 Out of Race
43 40 91 Kenny Hendrick Chevrolet MSRP Motorsports 34/0 6 In Pit