Tiring Time At Indianapolis

Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Racing team made the most of a truly unusual situation Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway - wisely displaying restraint but more than capable of putting it all on the line when necessary.

With tire issues changing the complexion of the race well before it started, NASCAR resorted to controlling the safety of the competitors by bringing out competition caution flags on an average of every ten laps for the balance of the race. Under caution, the teams were able to change tires that clearly weren't up to running much beyond ten laps, and certainly weren't capable of handling an honest thirty-plus lap fuel run at Indy.

With the race ultimately dictated by the short runs and mandatory cautions, the #11 crew led by Crew Chief Mike Ford made all the right calls to ensure Hamlin would have a chance for a win, and giving him a good car to race with the leaders at the end. When the final caution flew on lap 151, Hamlin was in the lead and only the two spots lost on pit road to Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards kept him from capturing the win.

"This FedEx team needed a good run today at Indy so to leave here with a third-place finish and to gain some positions in the standings will hopefully give us some momentum headed towards the Chase," said Hamlin. "I haven't seen anything like what happened today and it was too bad that we didn't get to put on a better race for the fans but everyone did the right thing out there today - that goes for NASCAR, Goodyear, the teams, everyone. It was unique circumstance and unfortunately there wasn't much we could do differently." The result sees Hamlin climb from twelfth to eighth place in the Sprint Cup standings - he now sits 91 points ahead of the Chase cutoff.

Heading into the race on Sunday, there was no shortage of speculation and concern about the tire situation in the Sprint Cup garage. The practice sessions on Friday and Saturday had shown high levels of wear on the tire Goodyear designed for Indy and the teams were informed by NASCAR that a competition caution would be thrown on lap ten so the teams and officials could inspect the tires and plan accordingly.

Hamlin rolled the #11 FedEx Office Camry off from the 23rd spot and immediately went to work on the field, claiming the 19th spot in only his second lap around the 2.5-mile speedway. The race didn't make it to the first scheduled caution before Michael Waltrip brought out the yellow with a spin off of turn four and Ford called Hamlin onto pit road for two right-side tires only.

The decision to change only two tires was very much a test to see how the car would perform under those circumstances - and if it could be useful later in the race. Hamlin restarted 32nd and once again forced the #11 forward, climbing up to 26th before the scheduled caution flew.

With all of the cars on pit road, the #11 team once again changed two tires and took a close look at those they pulled after only six laps of wear. A quick stop had Hamlin out to restart 21st and, with ten laps turned before two cars found the wall to bring out the caution, Hamlin charged into 15th place. On the radio Hamlin couldn't downplay how good the car was performing though, like the rest of the field, he could feel his tires giving out after even very short runs.

Under the caution, Ford called for the first four-tire stop of the day and the crew sent Hamlin out to restart ninth on lap 34. As Hamlin cut through the field, Ford reminded him that even though the tires pulled from the FedEx Camry were wearing better than much of the field, he would need to be extremely careful - and conservative at times - or risk a blowout and the chance of being forced from the race.

When Matt Kenseth lost his right rear tire to bring out the caution on lap 48, Hamlin had moved into third place and was well-positioned as one of the cars to beat. The team changed four tires and inspection of the tires they pulled off the car showed that the wear was severe - and the right rear close to falling apart after only 12 laps - meaning Hamlin would have to exercise as much patience as possible if he hoped to make the end.

As the race progressed, NASCAR called competition cautions on an average of every ten laps from lap 66 though the very end. The team worked extremely hard to manage the situation through their strategy and made the decision to keep Hamlin on four tires until the very end when they made the switch to two tires for one last shot at the win.

After Brian Vickers lost an engine and coated the track with oil on lap 107, the caution period gave the team the opportunity to set their strategy for the remaining 50 laps. On four fresh tires, Hamlin restarted 12th on lap 113 and climbed quickly to ninth when the competition caution flew on lap 123. On pit road, Ford called for only two tires and the team worked quickly to get Hamlin out in the lead for the restart on lap 127.

Out front, Hamlin's FedEx machine was absolutely dominant. He led two of the short stints for a total of 26 laps and it looked like the team had the car running its best at the right time.
The final caution of the day was called on lap 151 and Ford called Hamlin onto pit road for two tires and a literal splash of fuel. The crew worked quickly but the incoming #41 Dodge of Reed Sorenson - who was pitting one stall in front of the FedEx team - arrived just at the time Hamlin was looking to exit. The delay cost Hamlin the split second he needed and he pulled out behind Johnson and Edwards for the final restart and he wasn't able to keep touch with the leaders over the final laps.

The third place finish marks the best result for the team since a third-place finish at Pocono in June. The team heads back to the triangle superspeedway next week with hopes of building on their past success there.