Denny Hamlin is a bubble boy no longer. He clinched his spot in the Chase for the Nextel Cup after capturing his third consecutive third place finish while back home in Richmond, Virginia for the Chevy Rock and Roll 400.Hurricane Hanna forced a rainout of qualifying and the field was set by points which saw Hamlin start Sunday's race from the eleventh spot on the grid. He quickly went forward and, with a car that was able to run the low line, climbed into the top-five by the time NASCAR threw a competition caution on lap 35.
On pit road, crew chief Mike Ford called for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment, and the FedEx crew worked quick to send Hamlin out fourth. Immediately following the restart on lap 40, Hamlin dove past Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon to claim the second spot on lap 47. Thirty laps later he passed Kevin Harvick for the lead but it would last only four laps.
A caution on lap 96 brought Hamlin to pit road again and the team worked to get him out to line up second for the restart. Through a series of cautions, Hamlin held the position and didn't drop out of the top-five until the seventh caution of the day came out on lap 203.
With more and more teams taking two tires or risking longer runs on older tires, the field shuffled during a lap 226 caution and after stopping for four tires, Hamlin restarted 17. It was at this point, however, that Hamlin put some of his best driving on display, slicing through the pack and working his way into the top ten by lap 250.
The FedEx crew earned him another spot on pit road on lap 297 and Hamlin lined up to restart eighth on lap 303. Despite fighting a really loose car and working with the crew to improve the handling, Hamlin held the spot until the second-to-last caution of the day on lap 360. Ford called for four tires, a splash of fuel, and an air pressure adjustment. Hamlin lined up eighth for the restart and then went to work on the field again. He caught the lead cars of Johnson and Stewart and, as the #48 and #20 ran side by side for several consecutive laps, Hamlin closed the gap but ultimately couldn't catch the pair.
As the laps counted down, Hamlin held the third spot and was happy to post a much-needed and well-deserved finish with the Chase on the line.
"Our first goal today, of course, was to get in the Chase but we also managed
to keep the FedEx Camry up front all day," said Hamlin. "It's great for this team. We've been up and down this season but we are clicking now and had some good runs at Bristol, California and now here in Richmond. We worked hard to get back into this Chase. This was our goal at the start of the season, to make the Chase and win some races. We like the tracks we visit over the next ten weeks so we’re just excited to see what we can do - and hopefully keep this momentum going."
"Our first goal today, of course, was to get in the Chase but we also managed
to keep the FedEx Camry up front all day," said Hamlin. "It's great for this team. We've been up and down this season but we are clicking now and had some good runs at Bristol, California and now here in Richmond. We worked hard to get back into this Chase. This was our goal at the start of the season, to make the Chase and win some races. We like the tracks we visit over the next ten weeks so we’re just excited to see what we can do - and hopefully keep this momentum going."Quite an impressive run by Hamlin in the Nationwide Series race as well. The #18 Farm Bureau Insurance Toyota started deep in the field from 27th place. The field was set by owner’s points and with the 18 car only running a limited schedule Hamlin had his work cut out for him.
But he didn’t take long to get to the front. He finished 4th and was pleased with his performance. It was a long day for the double duty drivers, but ultimately it worked out well for Denny Hamlin and his entire Joe Gibbs Racing crew.
Denny and the FedEx team head to Loudon, New Hampshire for the first race in the Chase. Look for Hamlin to be a force to reckon with in the final 10 races of the season.
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