Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Racing Team’s up and then down weekend continued on race day, as a they charged to the front early in the race, but succumbed to handling issues late that saw Hamlin cross the line in 13th-place in Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Going into Sunday, Hamlin and the team had improved the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota in every practice session. He was 29th in Friday practice, placed sixth in qualifying and then rose to third on the chart in final practice on Saturday. On Sunday he worked his way up to second place 20 laps into the event but could do no better as he would ultimately finish 13th after battling a very, very loose car throughout the remainder of the race.
Sunday’s race was dominated by Kurt Busch, who led 234 of 330 laps and held off Jeff Gordon in a green-white-checkered finish to claim the win. Gordon remained the NASCAR Sprint Cup point leader through four races and Hamlin, who entered the race 14th in points, holds that position as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads into a rare off weekend.
“Only one time all day was the car tight – about ten laps into the race,” shrugged Hamlin. “When an event is 500 miles there is plenty of time to try to fix the car. We are struggling to find the handle on the car at intermediate size tracks. We were loose, loose, loose today and Mike Ford and the FedEx Ground team did just about everything they could to try to fix the car. We adjusted the shocks, added a spring rubber, wedge, track-bar messed with the air pressure in the tires. We’d get it right and then after 15-17 laps the car would go loose again. There were times I thought we were going to wreck. The right rear tire would just slide out from under me.”
“It is kinda an off week next week – we are testing for two days at Darlington then I want to go sit by the lake and relax. We were good at Bristol last year in both races and almost put the FedEx Toyota in victory lane – it would be nice to be there in two weeks.”
Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and rookie Joey Logano came home in 18th and 30th, respectively. The schedule picks up again in two weeks time when the Cup Series moves to the high banked half-mile of Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN.
Under sunny skies in Hampton, Georgia, Hamlin started in sixth on the grid and, after a quick first pit stop on lap ten, came out in third place then grabbed second place on lap 19 – his highest running position of the day. Busch preferred the high line all afternoon while Hamlin was content with the #11 Camry glued to the yellow line. During an extended green-flag run and prior to his stop on lap 65, Hamlin reported, “I’ve got my hands full and I am about to wreck,” and “I am just trying to keep off the wall.”
Two laps after Hamlin left the pits the caution flew as a crew member from Marcos Ambrose’s team ran across the pit road to retrieve a loose tire dangerously close to the race track. This temporarily put Denny a lap down. But once the field cycled through the stops Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Ground team were awarded the “Lucky Dog” and once again placed on the lead lap. At this point in the race, because of the extended green flag and the yellow flying just as the leaders were about to pit, only Denny and five other drivers were scored on the lead lap.
When the green flag flew on lap 72, Jimmie Johnson led followed by Clint Boyer, Martin Truex Jr., Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch and Hamlin. Over the course of the next 116 laps and four more pit stops, Hamlin suffered the same problem he’d fight all afternoon – a very loose car – however he lost only two positions on the track. Each time he came in the pits the team made major adjustments in lightening fast time to keep Denny on the lead lap and in contention, never going a lap down because of the problems. On his sixth pit stop on lap 188 the team made the most dramatic changes – adding a spring rubber to the left rear, adjusting both rear shocks and making air pressure adjustments to keep Hamlin in eighth place.
As the race continued Hamlin held strong through his troubles of fighting a loose car and the crew helped him gain track position in the pits. On lap 221 Hamlin was up to fourth and, then with 100 laps remaining in the event, Hamlin was scored in third position behind Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, with eventual race winner Kurt Busch right behind him in fourth.
On lap 228 Denny reported the car was “tight” but just a few laps later the term “loose” was back and remained a constant descriptor through the end of the race. Hamlin started to drop in the running order almost immediately and really struggled to keep pace. After a yellow and more attempts to tighten the car up Hamlin restarted 10th on lap 264 and Mike Ford and the team decided to take a chance when the yellow flew again on lap 271 and stay out and attempt to make it on fuel for the remainder of the race. Because some cars in front of him pitted, Denny was sixth when the green flew with 51 laps remaining in the race – but that didn’t last long as the car grew more and more loose and he was ultimately passed by seven cars before coming across the line in 13th place.
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