Denny Hamlin wins NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event in Texas | Auto racing

FORT WORTH, Texas — Monday, Monday for hobbling Denny Hamlin.

Three weeks after winning another rain-postponed NASCAR race, and since having surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left knee, Hamlin gingerly climbed from his car in victory lane Monday at Texas Motor Speedway.

"I'm still not 100 percent by any means right now," Hamlin said after the Samsung Mobile 500, a Sprint Cup Series event. "I feel like I'm 60 at best."

That was good enough to win.

Hamlin led the final 12 laps, the only time he was up front after starting the 334-lap race in 29th. The final shootout came after a spectacular nine-car wreck took out pole-sitter Tony Stewart and dominating Jeff Gordon, and Hamlin held off points leader Jimmie Johnson at the end for his 10th career Cup victory.

Kasey Kahne of Enumclaw finished fifth and Greg Biffle of Vancouver, Wash., was 10th.

Biffle, third in the standings, has seven top-10 finishes from eight starts this year.

Two days after his Monday victory in Martinsville, Va., Hamlin had surgery on the knee he injured playing basketball in January. He was back in the car to run the entire race April 10 at Phoenix International Raceway. He completed 376 laps at the mile track.

Hamlin, 11th in points after two victories in three races, said he is "still a good month away from getting back where I was."

On the first lap after a restart with 18 laps left — after yellow-flag stops when Stewart was among the drivers who took only two tires and Gordon took four — they ended up three across the track, with Gordon in the middle and Johnson on the inside coming out of Turn 4.

Stewart got loose in the pack and there was contact with Gordon, who had three-time Texas winner Carl Edwards coming up behind and trying to follow him. Things spun out of control along the frontstretch, though Johnson escaped that wreck unscathed.

"Definitely my fault," said Stewart, taking blame for the accident.

When Gordon got out of his mangled No. 24 Chevrolet, he walked directly to Stewart, who was only halfway out of the car, still sitting on the door frame. Stewart put his hand on Gordon's shoulder and they walked toward the pits talking to each other and trying to figure out what happened.

"Every second, every position counts on those restarts with that few of laps to go. I saw Tony backing up and then he got loose. I was trying not to get in to him. ... I got clipped in the right rear and turned me in the wall," Gordon said. "Gosh, what a race car we had. That is what I am bummed out the most about."

Gordon had led six times for a race-high 124 laps and was trying to get back to the front when the accident happened. He wound up 31st, one spot ahead of Stewart, who led 74 laps.

Johnson had damage on the front-left bumper when he got loose with 94 laps left and was hit by teammate Gordon, who is listed as the owner of the No. 48 car.

"It's going to happen in racing. Doesn't matter if it's teammates or not," Johnson said. "Jeff and I have been racing hard against each other for wins for a long time. We've had this issue in the past, so I really don't see it being a big deal."

Nationwide high-five for Busch

Kyle Busch ended a long NASCAR doubleheader by completing his drive for five.

Busch won his fifth consecutive Nationwide Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, joining Jack Ingram and Dale Earnhardt Sr. as the only drivers to win five consecutive races at the same track in NASCAR's second-tier series.

"That's cool," said Busch, who was third in the Sprint Cup race earlier.

Busch led 153 of 200 laps in the O'Reilly 300. Joey Logano was second and Biffle was seventh in the race that was scheduled for Saturday and postponed twice.

Busch, Biffle and Kevin Harvick each drove a combined 801 miles in Monday's two races.