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LONG POND, Pa. — Denny Hamlin had few bigger fans than his grandmother. She wore her No. 11 socks, held her No. 11 stuffed bear and watched every race on TV — even as she sat and squinted only inches from the 30-inch screen.

When Thelma Clark died last week at age 91, there was a part of Hamlin that didn't want to be at the track.

With a heavy heart, he came to Pocono Raceway and snapped a 50-race winless skid. Hamlin took the checkered flag in the Pennsylvania 500 on Monday and dedicated the NASCAR Sprint Cup victory to his grandmother.

"She understands the competition of the sport and she understands how much she means to me," Hamlin said. "Like today, she's pretty proud."

Hamlin held off Juan Pablo Montoya on the final riveting laps, then choked up with grief.

Hamlin won for the third time in eight Sprint Cup starts at the trioval that has become his personal playground. He has had three other top-10s there in the No. 11 Toyota.

Hamlin was in tears following the emotional race, the victory coming three days after his grandmother's death. There was a catch to his voice as he spoke, and he wiped his face with a towel before walking away for a subdued celebration.

"We definitely had some angels with us today," Hamlin said after a race that was delayed a day because of rain.

This was Hamlin's first victory since Martinsville Speedway in March 2008. He predicted victory and backed it up to strengthen his bid for a spot in the Chase for the championship.

Hamlin, who swept Pocono as a rookie in 2006, is fifth in points and the only Joe Gibbs Racing driver in the top 12.

"I told him earlier, we're going to lobby for a few extra races at Pocono," said J.D. Gibbs, JGR's president.

Pocono is not known as a track that produces exciting races, but this one was wild and unpredictable almost from the start.

Clint Bowyer finished third. Sam Hornish Jr. was fourth, for his best finish in a Cup car, and Kasey Kahne was fifth.

"Things haven't been going our way all year long, so it feels good to have something swing our way," Bowyer said.

Three-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson battled an unruly car all day, falling three laps down before rebounding with a solid 13th-place finish. Johnson was scheduled to visit with President Barack Obama on Monday in honor of his 2008 Sprint Cup title, but rain Sunday washed out those plans.

Tony Stewart, who won at Pocono in June, finished 10th and increased his points lead to 197 over second-place Johnson.

Montoya rebounded nicely after the crushing disappointment of losing a victory last week at Indianapolis because of a pit-road speeding penalty. Montoya insisted when he got to Pocono that he had moved on and kept his eye solely on the points standings. He went from 10th to eighth in points and is in good shape to make the Chase for the first time.

Hamlin led 91 laps, but had fallen to 11th. He bumped David Reutimann with 25 laps, drawing a caution flag.

Fueled by emotion, Hamlin raced hard for the win. One member of Hamlin's crew recently lost his mother, and the whole team was mourning.

"Every lap. Every single lap it comes out," Hamlin said. "When I got behind, it really started getting frustrating from my standpoint. I thought I was going to let it slip away with 50 to go."

Not this time. Not when he was driving for his family.

"I felt like this weekend I was going to have help in a lot of different places," Hamlin said.