Denny Hamlin owned it. He knew he made a costly mistake.
In the closing laps of Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, he had waited out Tony Stewart, stalking the three-time Sprint Cup champion while waiting for him to make his own mistake. Hamlin moved close to the leader on the final lap — then smoked past the retiring driver to steal the lead on the final lap.
But his run at the front didn't last long. In the final tight turns on the track, Hamlin knew Stewart was on his bumper. He checked his mirror — and slid a little wide.