Last Lap Blues at Bristol - Hamlin, FedEx Racing Finish Sixth
Sitting still in the beat up #11 FedEx Express Camry minutes after the Food City 500 ended, Denny Hamlin looked like he'd had the wind knocked out of him. On a day when Hamlin led 98 laps, looked to have the car to beat, and led the field to green with only three laps to go - it seemed that day would ultimately end in victory for the FedEx team.
Unfortunately, the fuel pick-up on the #11 malfunctioned when Hamlin led the field to green on a lap 504 restart and what should have been three laps of close racing on old tires and with everything to race for, ended in the #11 coasting to the line and a sixth-place finish.
For Hamlin it was a bitter pill to swallow and eerily similar to the Bristol finish last spring. For the team, another day with a dominant car was spoiled within sight of the finish.
"It was another really frustrating day for us," said Hamlin. "I know I could have held those guys off there at the end but we had a fuel pick-up problem just like we had here last year. By all of our calculations were good on fuel to the end, including a green-white-checkered, but we just couldn't seem to pick all of it up. It's been that kind of season for us. We can't get a break. It's really too bad because we had a great FedEx Express Camry today. We led a bunch of laps, and then had to battle all the way back to have a shot at the end. Once we got it, we just couldn't finish it off."
All three Joe Gibbs Racing entries were strong on the day and the team will be disappointed to leave Bristol without any of the three cars in Victory Lane. Tony Stewart led a race-high 267 laps but had to settle for 14th place after a lap 498 incident with Kevin Harvick. Kyle Busch led seven laps but was forced to battle through a loss of power steering to finish 17th.
Jeff Burton capitalized on Hamlin's misfortune to take the win at Bristol while Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle, and Dale Earnhardt Jr, rounded out the top five.
The sixth-place result, though disappointing, catapults Hamlin up four spots in the standing to 15th heading to Martinsville in two weeks time. Despite a seemingly never-ending string of bad luck, the #11 team has steadily moved up the points and will look for a good run at Martinsville to push the team closer to Chase contention.
With the field set by 2007 Owner Points because rain cancelled qualifying at the famous half-mile track, Hamlin wasted little time showing the field that the #11 FedEx Express Camry was going to be a factor over 500 laps. That said - 500 laps at Bristol rarely pass without incident.
By the time the competition caution waved on lap 50, Hamlin had carved his way up to eighth place. His feedback to the crew was that he was tight through the center and loose off so crew chief Mike Ford called for air and track bar adjustments to go with fuel and tires before sending Hamlin out to restart sixth on lap 57.
Long green-flag runs that showed the strength of the #11 car were supported by very quick stops on pit road that added up to Hamlin sitting in the top five by lap 160. With the car now handling very much to Hamlin's liking, he caught and passed the leader Tony Stewart on lap 190. Stewart would regain the point on pit road only three laps later but then let Hamlin by only moments after the restart. Hamlin then held the lead for 85 laps.
It was at that point that a caution flag flew and Hamlin slowed to avoid contact with cars in front him but couldn't get out of the way of the onrushing #42 of Juan Pablo Montoya. The ensuing contact damaged the right rear fender of the #11 and forced Hamlin onto pit road for repairs. Quick work by the crew on successive laps (284 and 285) repaired the damage and had Hamlin out to restart 15th on lap 288.
From that point, Hamlin and the #11 team put on a clinic as they sliced their way back into contention. Forced to deal with lapped traffic, in addition to the lead lap cars they were racing for position, Hamlin battled through the field. He methodically picked up positions after restarting in 13th place on lap 305, passing Aric Almirola, Matt Kenseth, Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch to claim eighth place by lap 357.
A caution on lap 376 allowed the crew a chance to work on the handling which Hamlin described as "as tight as we have been all day."
Immediately after the restart, Hamlin pushed past Carl Edwards for seventh place, then he picked off Greg Biffle and Jimmie Johnson to claim a place in the top five with 87 laps to go. With 60 laps to go, Hamlin had the #11 in third position behind only Stewart and Harvick and he was certainly feeling that he had a car capable of passing the #20 and #29 car.
When the caution flag flew with ten laps to go, Hamlin and Ford discussed the pros and cons of pitting for tires before ultimately deciding to stay out. Harvick, then running in third, made the dash onto pit road and when the cars restarted Hamlin and Stewart knew they would have their hands full with the fresh rubber behind them. It didn't take long for Hamlin to pass Stewart, but when Harvick reached Stewart's bumper, contact between the two ended up spinning the #20 Home Depot Camry and bringing out yet another late-race caution.
Now in a green-white-checkered flag scenario, Hamlin was looking to hold off Jeff Burton with only three laps to go. Unfortunately, as Hamlin brought the field to green, the fuel pickup failed and Hamlin sputtered. As several of the frontrunners passed, all Hamlin could do was ride out the remaining laps and settle for sixth place on the day.
Sitting still in the beat up #11 FedEx Express Camry minutes after the Food City 500 ended, Denny Hamlin looked like he'd had the wind knocked out of him. On a day when Hamlin led 98 laps, looked to have the car to beat, and led the field to green with only three laps to go - it seemed that day would ultimately end in victory for the FedEx team.
Unfortunately, the fuel pick-up on the #11 malfunctioned when Hamlin led the field to green on a lap 504 restart and what should have been three laps of close racing on old tires and with everything to race for, ended in the #11 coasting to the line and a sixth-place finish.
For Hamlin it was a bitter pill to swallow and eerily similar to the Bristol finish last spring. For the team, another day with a dominant car was spoiled within sight of the finish.
"It was another really frustrating day for us," said Hamlin. "I know I could have held those guys off there at the end but we had a fuel pick-up problem just like we had here last year. By all of our calculations were good on fuel to the end, including a green-white-checkered, but we just couldn't seem to pick all of it up. It's been that kind of season for us. We can't get a break. It's really too bad because we had a great FedEx Express Camry today. We led a bunch of laps, and then had to battle all the way back to have a shot at the end. Once we got it, we just couldn't finish it off."
All three Joe Gibbs Racing entries were strong on the day and the team will be disappointed to leave Bristol without any of the three cars in Victory Lane. Tony Stewart led a race-high 267 laps but had to settle for 14th place after a lap 498 incident with Kevin Harvick. Kyle Busch led seven laps but was forced to battle through a loss of power steering to finish 17th.
Jeff Burton capitalized on Hamlin's misfortune to take the win at Bristol while Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle, and Dale Earnhardt Jr, rounded out the top five.
The sixth-place result, though disappointing, catapults Hamlin up four spots in the standing to 15th heading to Martinsville in two weeks time. Despite a seemingly never-ending string of bad luck, the #11 team has steadily moved up the points and will look for a good run at Martinsville to push the team closer to Chase contention.
With the field set by 2007 Owner Points because rain cancelled qualifying at the famous half-mile track, Hamlin wasted little time showing the field that the #11 FedEx Express Camry was going to be a factor over 500 laps. That said - 500 laps at Bristol rarely pass without incident.
By the time the competition caution waved on lap 50, Hamlin had carved his way up to eighth place. His feedback to the crew was that he was tight through the center and loose off so crew chief Mike Ford called for air and track bar adjustments to go with fuel and tires before sending Hamlin out to restart sixth on lap 57.
Long green-flag runs that showed the strength of the #11 car were supported by very quick stops on pit road that added up to Hamlin sitting in the top five by lap 160. With the car now handling very much to Hamlin's liking, he caught and passed the leader Tony Stewart on lap 190. Stewart would regain the point on pit road only three laps later but then let Hamlin by only moments after the restart. Hamlin then held the lead for 85 laps.
It was at that point that a caution flag flew and Hamlin slowed to avoid contact with cars in front him but couldn't get out of the way of the onrushing #42 of Juan Pablo Montoya. The ensuing contact damaged the right rear fender of the #11 and forced Hamlin onto pit road for repairs. Quick work by the crew on successive laps (284 and 285) repaired the damage and had Hamlin out to restart 15th on lap 288.
From that point, Hamlin and the #11 team put on a clinic as they sliced their way back into contention. Forced to deal with lapped traffic, in addition to the lead lap cars they were racing for position, Hamlin battled through the field. He methodically picked up positions after restarting in 13th place on lap 305, passing Aric Almirola, Matt Kenseth, Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch to claim eighth place by lap 357.
A caution on lap 376 allowed the crew a chance to work on the handling which Hamlin described as "as tight as we have been all day."
Immediately after the restart, Hamlin pushed past Carl Edwards for seventh place, then he picked off Greg Biffle and Jimmie Johnson to claim a place in the top five with 87 laps to go. With 60 laps to go, Hamlin had the #11 in third position behind only Stewart and Harvick and he was certainly feeling that he had a car capable of passing the #20 and #29 car.
When the caution flag flew with ten laps to go, Hamlin and Ford discussed the pros and cons of pitting for tires before ultimately deciding to stay out. Harvick, then running in third, made the dash onto pit road and when the cars restarted Hamlin and Stewart knew they would have their hands full with the fresh rubber behind them. It didn't take long for Hamlin to pass Stewart, but when Harvick reached Stewart's bumper, contact between the two ended up spinning the #20 Home Depot Camry and bringing out yet another late-race caution.
Now in a green-white-checkered flag scenario, Hamlin was looking to hold off Jeff Burton with only three laps to go. Unfortunately, as Hamlin brought the field to green, the fuel pickup failed and Hamlin sputtered. As several of the frontrunners passed, all Hamlin could do was ride out the remaining laps and settle for sixth place on the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment