The hottest driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series the last five races? It's not Kyle Busch, winner at Talladega last weekend. It's not points leader Jeff Burton. It's Denny Hamlin.

He enters this weekend's race at Richmond International Raceway with five consecutive finishes of sixth or better, including a victory at Martinsville. Hamlin has climbed from 19th to fourth in points during that run.

While Hamlin makes his move, many of the questions he hears are about teammates: Kyle Busch's early-season success or Tony Stewart's contract saga.

Consider the Chesterfield, Va., native, the forgotten driver at Joe Gibbs Racing.

"It's just motivation when we don't get the press that I feel like we deserve,'' Hamlin says.

Hamlin and his team are noted for using unfavorable preseason predictions as motivation.

Hamlin says his recent run is more about luck than anything. He notes that a pit-road incident hurt him at Daytona. He ran over the seeping water at California and wrecked early, finishing 41st. The loss of power steering derailed him at Atlanta.

"We've been performing really well, just haven't had that luck,'' he says.

The only drivers who come close to Hamlin's recent streak are Clint Bowyer and Burton. Bowyer has six consecutive top-10 finishes but only two of those have been in the top five. Burton's 12th-place finish at Talladega ended a streak of six consecutive top-10 performances.

New hope

Dale Earnhardt Jr. returns to Richmond International Raceway searching for his first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory in two years and but he comes with a different attitude.

Even a 10th-place finish at Talladega last weekend can't dampen his mood.

"If we don't have a significant incident or a situation mechanically, there's no reason why we shouldn't finish in the top 10 every week, and I don't think I've ever felt like that, much less been able to say it,'' he said.

Franchitti out again

Ken Schrader will replace rookie Dario Franchitti this weekend, as Franchitti recovers from the left ankle fracture he suffered in last weekend's Nationwide race at Talladega.

Chip Ganassi Racing officials announced the move Tuesday and said Franchitti's status will be evaluated weekly.

Back to basics

Stock-car racing returns to Rockingham Speedway this weekend for the first time since the NASCAR series left in 2004.

The Rock will host the inaugural Carolina 500 ARCA race at noon Sunday. Fifty cars are scheduled to start on the 1-mile oval. Tickets can be ordered by calling the track at (910) 205-8800.

Among the drivers set to compete: Scott Speed, a former Formula One driver who won the most recent ARCA race, Joey Logano and Marc Davis, development drivers for Joe Gibbs Racing and Austin Dillon, grandson of car owner Richard Childress.

New team

New England Patriot Randy Moss has formed Moss Motorsports, which intends to compete in the truck series later this year. No driver or sponsor has been determined.

Pit stops

Bill Elliott is listed on the entry list as the driver for the Wood Brothers this weekend. ... Johnny Sauter is back with Haas CNC Racing for this race. ... Crew chief Bob Osborne returns to the track for Carl Edwards for the first time since the Las Vegas race. NASCAR suspended Osborne six races after Edwards' race-winning car failed post-race inspection back in March. ... Lowe's Motor Speedway will add 340 feet of the SAFER barrier to the inside backstretch wall in time for its races later this month.