More important, the victory was the third of the season for Hamlin and moved him into a four-way tie for the top seed in NASCAR's championship race. There's two races left before the field is reset for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, and seeding is done by "regular-season" wins. Hamlin is tied for the series victory lead with defending champion Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski. The race was the first since Smith ordered a grinding of the top groove around the track in an effort to narrow the racing surface. Stewart rallied from a lap down early in the race to put himself in position to challenge for the lead, but he ran out of track while running with Kenseth and the two cars collided. The damage briefly knocked Stewart out of the race and sent Kenseth to pit road for repairs. Stewart then showed his displeasure with Kenseth with a two-handed toss of his helmet directly into the front grill of Kenseth's car. Kenseth was confused with Stewart's anger, claiming he gave Stewart room earlier to avoid a wreck and Stewart didn't do the same. Patrick, who struggled mightily in Friday's two practice sessions, had climbed to 19th on the board and was on the lead lap when her night ended. Drivers had mellowed the last several years at Bristol, and Smith figured narrowing the track surface would bring back the bumping and banging that put fans in the seats.
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