Denny Hamlin went ahead in the closing 12-lap shootout for a victory at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth yesterday, holding off Jimmie Johnson at the end to win another rain-delayed race.

Hamlin won for the second time in three races, both victories coming in races that were postponed by rain before being run on the first day of the week.

It was the 10th career NASCAR Sprint Cup victory for Hamlin, who won a Monday race at Martinsville three weeks ago, then had surgery two days after for a torn ACL in his left knee. He ran every lap at Phoenix last week, and was still hurting in Texas.

"I'm trying to get it straight right now," said Hamlin, who gingerly climbed out of the car in Victory Lane. "I did it for the long run. Even though it was going to take some sacrifice, I knew once I came back I was going to be stronger."

Hamlin started 29th and never led until that final run, set up after a nine-car crash involving polesitter Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon.

Johnson finished only 0.152 seconds behind Hamlin. Kyle Busch was third.

KYLE BUSCH CLAIMS NATIONWIDE RACE

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

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

Only about an hour after finishing third in the Sprint Cup race earlier in the day — 501 miles over 334 laps — Busch led 153 of the 200 laps in the 300-mile Nationwide race, that was originally scheduled Saturday. Busch beat Joey Logano by 0.688 seconds.

ELSEWHERE

Boxing: Former boxing champion Edwin Valero, who had a spectacular career with 27 straight knockouts, hanged himself in his jail cell yesterday at Caracas, Venezuela after being arrested for stabbing his wife, Jennifer Carolina Viera, to death, police said. The 28-year-old former lightweight champion used the sweat pants he was wearing to hang himself from a bar in the cell, said his lawyer, Milda Mora.

College football: A person familiar with the result tells The Associated Press that Southern California tight end Anthony McCoy tested positive for marijuana at the scouting combine in Indianapolis. The person adds that every NFL team is aware of the result of the February test. McCoy is considered a likely second- or third-round pick in this week's draft.

College basketball: Duke's Kyle Singler, the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, announced that he will return to school for his senior season. Singler averaged 17.7 points and 7.0 rebounds while leading Duke to a 35-5 record and the school's fourth national championship.