In his second race with 2011 Sprint Cup championship crew chief Darian Grubb on his pit box, Hamlin held off Kevin Harvick in a 53-lap green-flag run to finish the 312-lap race at the one-mile track and took over the series points lead for the first time since surrendering it in the final race of 2010 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Harvick lost fuel pressure with fewer than two laps left but had enough momentum to retain the second position, 7.315 seconds behind the race winner.

Greg Biffle came home third, followed by Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski. Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon, pole-sitter Mark Martin and Joey Logano completed the top 10.

Hamlin surged into the lead after a restart on Lap 254, passing Harvick and pulling away. Ryan Newman’s hard contact with the Turn 4 wall two laps later caused the seventh caution of the afternoon, but Hamlin again stretched his advantage over Harvick after a restart on Lap 260 and held on the rest of the way.

“I don’t know where this came from,” Hamlin said. “We were solidly off in practice. We were off, but we kept getting it better and closer and closer to being competitive, but I had no idea that we were going to fire off like we did today.”

With an opportunity to secure his first title in the next-to-last race of 2010, Hamlin led a race-high 190 laps but fell victim to pit strategy from other teams, finished 12th and lost 18 points of a 33-point advantage over Jimmie Johnson. A week later, a shell-shocked Hamlin spun early and saw the championship escape him.

Hamlin admitted there might have been a lingering malaise in 2011, when he made the Chase for the Sprint Cup as a wild card and finished ninth in the standings but didn’t come close to matching his 2010 stats.

“We just never got going (in 2011),” Hamlin said. “Yeah, maybe there was a hangover effect for the first half of the year — you can claim that — but it didn’t have anything to do with how bad I ran the last 10 races. We just didn’t have it all together . . .

“We’ve still got work to do. I’m going to push for more and more and more — things within our racecar — that’s the attitude you’ve got to have to stay on top, and when I come back here, it just puts 2011 to rest. That year is done. It’s a year I’d just as soon forget about, and we’re focused on winning a championship.”

Jettisoned by Tony Stewart in favor of Steve Addington despite leading the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team to its first Cup championship — and Stewart’s third — Grubb savored the victory as much as Hamlin did.

“I guess you could say it is a little bit of vindication, but I really don’t think that way,” Grubb said. “I try to just think the high road all the time. I feel like I came into a very good situation. Mike Ford (Grubb’s predecessor) built one heck of a team here with the No. 11 car.

“I’m proud to be able to come in here and lead this bunch of guys.”

Notes: Hamlin leads the series standings by six points over Biffle, who also finished third in the Daytona 500 . . . Stewart turned his engine off after NASCAR threw the yellow flag for the seventh caution and couldn’t get the No. 14 restarted. The defending Cup champion finished 22nd, two laps down . . . Daytona runner-up Dale Earnhardt Jr. posted a nondescript 14th-place result and left PIR fifth in points, 17 behind Hamlin.

Zippadelli will join SHR as competition director. There was speculation during the season that Zipadelli would join SHR as Stewart’s crew chief, as the two won two Sprint Cup championships together. But, following the firing of Darian Grubb, Stewart chose Steve Addington to sit atop the pit box. Grubb joined JGR as crew chief for Denny Hamlin, with Mike Ford getting released.

JGR confirmed Zipadelli’s release. No word on who will replace him as crew chief for the No. 20 car.

Update: In another tweet, Utter reported that Jason Ratcliff will serve as crew chief for the No. 20 team. Ratcliff climbed the ranks in the Nationwide Series, working at Sadler Racing and Brewco Motorsports before joining JGR in 2005 as crew chief for JJ Yeley. He then went on to serve as crew chief for Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, winning the 2009 Nationwide Series championship with Busch.

Update 2: JGR issued a press release indicating the moves.

Team owner Roger Penske said:

Our first priority is always to look within the walls of Penske Racing when making personnel decisions. We want to reward success. The path we are taking with Todd mirrors what we did with Paul Wolfe who led the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge to a Chase berth in 2011. We think Todd can get the job done in the same manner.

Gordon said:

I can’t thank Roger and everyone at Penske Racing enough for this vote of confidence. It’s an honor to step into a race-winning team. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but this is an organization full of talented people that know how to get the job done. I look forward to getting the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge back in Victory Lane.

Gordon replaces Steve Addington, who left the team at the end of the season to join Stewart Haas Racing as crew chief for Tony Stewart, after SHR let go of Darian Grubb. Grubb has since moved on to Joe Gibbs Racing.

Penske is still seeking a driver for the No. 22 team, as Kurt Busch and Penske mutually agreed to part ways, after a series of high-profile outbursts, including a video in which Busch berated respected media member Dr. Jerry Punch.

Candidates are said to include Sam Hornish, David Reutimann, David Ragan, and Brian Vickers.

Team owner Joe Gibbs said:

Darian is a great addition to our organization and person to lead our No. 11 FedEx team. Obviously he has proven the ability to guide a team to a championship and we are excited to have him working with Denny toward achieving that goal here at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Grubb said:

I’m thrilled to join Joe Gibbs Racing. The chance to work with Denny is something I’m excited about. When you sit down with Joe and [president] J.D. Gibbs, you can’t help but be excited about this opportunity and the team aspects of JGR. There is no question about the level of support you get here and I’m looking forward to working with everyone across the entire organization.

Grubb was told halfway through the Chase that he would be fired from Stewart Haas Racing at season’s end. Following that discussion, Stewart went on a tear, winning the championship as the result of a tie-breaker with Carl Edwards. SHR released Grubb, as they said they would. Steve Addington replaced Grubb at SHR as crew chief for Tony Stewart.

Following his release, the Associated Press reported that Mike Ford had been let go as crew chief for Hamlin, citing Hamlin’s struggles this season, and the release of Grubb as factors.

After his release, Ford said:

I’m kind of relieved. It had been dragging on for so long, I’m actually relieved there’s finally a resolution.

Team owner Joe Gibbs issues a statement:

Everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing appreciates what Mike has done for our organization over the past six seasons as crew chief with our No. 11 team. We’ve decided it was best to make a change with the team now to allow Mike the opportunity to pursue other opportunities.

Addington informed Penske Racing that he would not return to the team as crew chief for Kurt Busch and the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Dodge next season.

Stewart said of Grubb, who has been with SHR and Stewart since the team’s inception:

Darian was a very important part of the success we’ve had at Stewart-Haas Racing. I’m very proud of everything he helped accomplish, especially this year when we all rallied to win the championship. He’s a great person and I know he’ll continue to be successful in this sport.

The move is somewhat surprising, considering that SHR informed Grubb of the decision to let him go after he helped Stewart win the first two Chase races. Even more surprising is that SHR went through with the move considering that since he was informed of his impending firing, he helped Stewart win three more races and the title.

Ironically, Grubb led Stewart to five Chase victories and his third Sprint Cup title, despite being let go. It is hard to believe that Grubb will be unemployed for long.

Addington joined Penske before the start of the 2010 season after spending two seasons as crew chief for Kurt’s younger brother, Kyle, at Joe Gibbs Racing.

With Kurt Busch, Addington won four races in two seasons, but the relationship was rocky, with Busch’s radio rants garnering much media attention.

The elder Busch may have to reevaluate his behavior and attitude if he wants to attract a quality crew chief, as his relationships with Addington and his previous crew chief Pat Tryson have both been rocky. Any candidates are bound to know this and it will surely affect their decision.

Grubb left his position at Hendrick Motorsports as engineering manager to take the position with SHR.

Grubb served as interim crew chief in 2006 for Jimmie Johnson as Chad Knaus served a four-race suspension. During that time, Grubb and Johnson earned two victories. He also served as crew chief for Casey Mears when he won his only career Sprint Cup victory at the Coca-Cola 600 from Lowe’s Motor Speedway last year.

The move also further solidifies the bond between Hendrick and SHR, as the team will use Hendrick engines and chassis  

ESPN quoted Grubb as saying:

It’s a very huge moment for me, everything I’ve looked forward to in my life. Just to get the opportunity with [Stewart], the capability he has as a driver and past champion, the future heading forward is very bright.

Stewart said:

This is another key step in the equation of us getting on our feet next year and getting pointed in the right direction. We’ve got a team leader now, somebody I feel very confident and comfortable with.

Jimmie Johnson said in a NASCAR.com article:

Without a doubt, it’s a loss for Hendrick Motorsports. Darian’s been in a managerial role, and I think he’s had his eye on crew chiefing all along, and didn’t want that opportunity to go away. So I’m excited for him, and wish him the best. He’s going to do a great job for those guys, and it’s going to be good for us with the relationship Hendrick has with Stewart-Haas, to have somebody over there that we know and can communicate with and is talking the same language. That can be a very useful tool.