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RICHMOND, Va. — Denny Hamlin finally scored the hometrack NASCAR Sprint Cup win that has eluded him, while Brian Vickers raced his way into the title Chase Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.

Vickers knocked Matt Kenseth out of the Chase — the first time Kenseth has ever missed the Chase — and kept Kyle Busch from making the Chase although Busch has four wins this season. Vickers did it by finishing seventh, his career best at this track.

Hamlin outdueled Jeff Gordon — they traded the lead more than 10 times during the race — and cruised to the victory.

Hamlin, who had been frustrated by his team's inability to catch the Hendrick cars earlier this season, has steadily progressed and shown he can challenge for the championship in these final 10 races.

"You ruled this joint,'' crew chief Mike Ford radioed Hamlin after the race.

"My house," Hamlin said.

Finishing behind Hamlin was Kurt Busch in second. Jeff Gordon placed third with Mark Martin fourth and Kyle Busch fifth.

The 12 drivers who make the Chase are: Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Gordon, Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ryan Newman, Martin, Greg Biffle and Vickers.

Said Kyle Busch of not making the Chase: "We didn't have the best of the years to be consistent and, unfortunately, that bit us."

Fans were treated to side-by-side and three-wide racing throughout the field with so much at stake in the final race before the title Chase begins. Even pit road was tight at times with the leaders exiting beside each other a few times.

Vickers, who has scored more points than any driver since Daytona in July, earned his ninth consecutive finish of 12th or better.

It was a back-and-forth duel between Busch and Vickers for the final spot in the Chase. Kenseth entered the night in that spot but never was a factor. He started 28th and struggled on and off the track. At one point just past the halfway mark in the 400-lap race, Kenseth radioed his crew: "We got the car so freakin' jacked out of shape I don't know what to do with it."

On pit road, he missed his stall once and another time he was blocked in by Michael Waltrip in front of him and had to back up.

Busch complained about his car's handling throughout much of the race. At one point, Busch's spotter, Jeff Dickerson, said on the radio: "We're just keeping it interesting for everybody."

It was too close for Busch.

Among his biggest concern was not being strong at the beginning of the run.

Things got worse for Busch as Vickers climbed up the standings.

After Vickers passed Busch for fifth with 61 laps left, Busch radioed his crew: "I'm glad I got my loosest set of tires at the end of the race. Good, good, good real good."

With 24 laps to go, Busch radioed his crew: "Dare I ask what we're out (of the Chase)?"

Vickers' car improved as the race progressed, overcoming a loose condition. He climbed the standings as the race progressed.

Vickers can credit his pit crew for helping make the Chase. Vickers gained five spots on the two stops before his last pit stop, a marked improvement from earlier in the race and a strong showing for group that has been revamped this season.

Hamlin, who grew up in nearby Chesterfield, Va., appeared headed for his first Cup victory at this track since May 2008 when he led 381 of the first 382 laps but blew a tire and finished 24th. Last year in this race, Hamlin finished third. In May, he led 148 laps before falling back and finishing 14th.

Hamlin climbed from his car and ran to get the checkered flag after the race.

Points leader Tony Stewart and Reed Sorenson created the second caution on lap 45 when Stewart got into Sorenson as they ran three-wide with David Stremme in Turn 4.

Stewart took the blame for the accident, radioing his team: "That was my fault guys." Stewart lost a lap because of the incident and fell back to 34th. He later got back on the lead lap.

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com

NASCAR Sprint Cup Chevy Rock & Roll 400 Results
By The Associated Press
Saturday at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway
Lap length: .75 miles
(Start position in parentheses)

1. (3) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 400 laps, 195 points, $238,075.
2. (13) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 400, 170, $170,825.
3. (7) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 400, 170, $169,776.
4. (1) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 400, 165, $136,300.
5. (8) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 400, 155, $147,598.
6. (18) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 400, 150, $111,275.
7. (6) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 400, 146, $116,273.
8. (33) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 400, 142, $104,360.
9. (19) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 400, 138, $122,428.
10. (21) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 400, 134, $112,654.
11. (4) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 400, 130, $130,326.
12. (5) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 400, 127, $117,448.
13. (24) Greg Biffle, Ford, 400, 124, $95,225.
14. (27) Joey Logano, Toyota, 400, 121, $121,476.
15. (10) Carl Edwards, Ford, 400, 118, $122,256.
16. (11) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 400, 115, $112,651.
17. (29) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 400, 112, $93,473.
18. (22) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 400, 109, $117,756.
19. (14) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 400, 106, $109,098.
20. (23) David Reutimann, Toyota, 400, 103, $100,023.
21. (15) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 400, 100, $89,150.
22. (16) Marcos Ambrose, Toyota, 400, 97, $88,448.
23. (17) AJ Allmendinger, Dodge, 400, 94, $74,550.
24. (30) David Gilliland, Toyota, 400, 91, $92,110.
25. (28) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 400, 88, $116,990.
26. (12) David Stremme, Dodge, 400, 85, $105,790.
27. (25) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 400, 82, $90,725.
28. (42) Paul Menard, Ford, 399, 79, $102,906.
29. (39) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 399, 76, $80,375.
30. (38) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 398,73, $87,750.
31. (37) Bobby Labonte, Ford, 398, 70, $99,254.
32. (40) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 398, 72, $76,975.
33. (26) David Ragan, Ford, 398, 64, $77,800.
34. (34) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 396, 61, $76,725.
35. (36) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 396, 58, $69,575.
36. (20) Scott Speed, Toyota, 396,55, $80,498.
37. (43) Max Papis, Toyota, 394, 52, $68,300.
38. (9) Brad Keselowski, Chevrolet, engine, 376, 49, $68,175.
39. (2) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, accident, 325, 46, $103,040.
40. (35) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, accident, 174, 43, $67,925.
41. (41) Michael McDowell, Toyota, engine, 113, 40, $67,775.
42. (31) Mike Bliss, Chevrolet, transmission, 38, 37, $67,655.
43. (32) Dave Blaney, Toyota, brakes, 36, 34, $68,022.

Race Statistics
Average speed of race winner: 96.601 mph.
Time of race: 3 hours, 6 minutes, 20 seconds.
Margin of victory: 0.378 seconds.
Caution flags: 10 for 56 laps.
Lead changes: 12 among 4 drivers.

Lap Leaders: M.Martin 1-3; D.Hamlin 4-66; J.Gordon 67-107; D.Hamlin 108; M.Waltrip 109; J.Gordon 110-150; D.Hamlin 151-174; J.Gordon 175-182; D.Hamlin 183-188; J.Gordon 189-193; D.Hamlin 194-203; J.Gordon 204-205; D.Hamlin 206-400.

Leaders summary: D.Hamlin, 6 times for 299 laps; J.Gordon, 5 times for 97 laps; M.Martin, 1 time for 3 laps; M.Waltrip, 1 time for 1 lap.