Denny Hamlin had few bigger fans than his grandmother. She wore her No. 11 socks, held her No. 11 stuffed bear, and watched every race on TV -- even as she sat and squinted only inches away from a 30-inch screen.

When Thelma Clark died last week at 91, there was a part of Hamlin that didn't want to be at the track.

With a heavy heart, Hamlin came to Pocono Raceway and snapped a 50-race winless skid. He took the checkered flag at the Pennsylvania 500 yesterday in Long Pond and dedicated this victory to his grandmother.

"She understands the competition of the sport and she understands how much she means to me," Hamlin said. "Like today, she's pretty proud."

Hamlin held off Juan Pablo Montoya over the final riveting laps, then choked up with grief in Victory Lane.

Hamlin won for the third time in eight career starts at the triangle track that has become his personal playground. He has had three other top 10s there in the No. 11 Toyota.

He was in tears after the emotional race, the victory coming three days after his grandmother's death. There was a catch to his voice as he spoke, and he wiped his face with a towel before walking away for a subdued celebration.

"We definitely had some angels with us," Hamlin said.

This was Hamlin's first victory since Martinsville Speedway in March 2008. He predicted victory and backed it up to strengthen his bid for a spot in the Chase for the championship.

Hamlin, who swept Pocono as a rookie in 2006, is fifth in points and the only JGR driver in the top 12.

"I told him earlier, we're going to lobby for a few extra races at Pocono," JGR president J.D. Gibbs said.

The race had been delayed a day because of rain. Usually not known as a track that produces exciting races, this one was wild and unpredictable almost from the start.

Clint Bowyer was third. Sam Hornish Jr. was fourth for his best finish in a Cup car, and Kasey Kahne was fifth.

"Things haven't been going our way all year long so it feels good to have something swing our way," Bowyer said.

Three-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson battled an unruly car, falling three laps down and needing a carburetor change with 60 laps left before rebounding with a solid 13th-place finish. Johnson was scheduled to visit with President Barack Obama yesterday in honor of his 2008 Sprint Cup title.

Tony Stewart, who won Pocono in June, finished 10th and increased his points lead to 197 over Johnson.

Montoya rebounded nicely after the crushing disappointment of losing a victory last week at Indianapolis because of a pit road speeding penalty. Montoya insisted when he got to Pocono that he had moved on and kept his eye solely on the points standings. He went from 10th to eighth in the standings and is in good shape to make the Chase for the first time.

Montoya used the same No. 42 Chevrolet as last week.

"We brought it because it just ran good last week," he said. "We thought, just bring it back."

Bowyer, who wasn't won in 47 races, moved up to 15th in the Chase standings. There are five races left before the 12-driver field is set for the 10-race sprint for the title.

Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, recovering from a life-threatening crash sustained nine days earlier in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, arrived home in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Massa waved to photographers just before being admitted to the Albert Einstein Hospital in South America's biggest city, where he is expected to stay for at least two days to have further exams. ... Brazilian Nelson Piquet Jr. says he has been fired from Renault and blamed team principal Flavio Briatore for his failure to achieve significant results in the series. His best finish in 28 races was second at the German Grand Prix in 2008.