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Hamlin, FedEx Racing team finish strong - Finish 10th at Texas
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FT WORTH, TX (November 6, 2006) - As he they have done on several occasions this season, Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Racing team produced some late race heroics to secure a top-ten finish at Texas Motor Speedway and turn a day of struggles into a day that keeps the Nextel Cup Championship within their reach.
Starting the race sixth, Hamlin fought handling issues for much of the race and fell as far back as 32nd in the first 100 laps. The crew made a variety of significant changes to the #11 throughout the race but it wasn’t until the last set of pit stops that Hamlin worked his way into the top-15 and within striking distance of the top-ten. With the race running to extra laps and a green-white-checkered finish tightening the field for one last time, Hamlin drove the #11 FedEx Kinko’s Chevrolet past three cars over the closing laps to record his 18th top-ten finish of the season.
The result drops Hamlin to fourth in the NASCAR Nextel Cup standings with only races at Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway remaining. He trails new leader Jimmie Johnson by 80 points and currently sits only two points behind Dale Earnhardt Jr in third.
““It was just a fight all day for the #11 FedEx team,” said Hamlin. “It’s just one of those things where we missed the setup a little bit and we spent a lot of the day back in the mid-20s, fighting back there with Matt (Kenseth) and Mark (Martin). In the end, to come out of here with a top-10 is a good finish for us and keeps us alive for another week.”
“It’s good to be able to bounce back like that and that’s what it’s all about - making something out of your bad days. We just want to have a chance at the Championship come Homestead so we’ll have to go out and have a really good day in Phoenix. We can’t help what the other guys do so we’ll see where we end up but no matter what this has been a great year for us.”
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Joe Gibbs Racing’s Tony Stewart won for the second straight week, dominating the field on the way to his first win at Texas. Hamlin and Stewart’s JGR teammate J.J. Yeley finished 20th.
The day at Texas Motor Speedway started with fears that rain throughout the region might keep the race from starting at all. With the drivers strapped in almost an hour behind schedule, the crews worked furiously to dry the track and get the 500-mile event in. The race was started under caution and with the drivers running laps single file, the command was given and the drivers moved side-by-side to take the green flag on lap four.
From the onset, Hamlin informed the crew that that #11 was extremely tight and he gradually slid back in the field. NASCAR called a competition caution on lap 40 to allow the teams to safely enter a still drying pit road and the FedEx crew went to work on the track bar and air pressure in hopes of freeing Hamlin up. He would restart 12th on lap 44.
Still tight on exit, his backward momentum continued for the first ten laps before he passed pole sitter Brian Vickers for 13th on lap 79. The #11 Chevy was better on the long run but Hamlin was still not comfortable. A lap 90 wreck brought out the second caution of the day and Hamlin turned on to pit road for air pressure and wedge adjustments, four tires and fuel. Unfortunately, the wrench was still in place for the wedge adjustment as Hamlin pulled away and he was forced to return to the pit, dropping him to the tail end of the lead lap. He would restart 32nd on lap 94.
The adjustments seemed to pay immediate dividends as Hamlin pushed the FedEx Kinko’s Chevrolet into the 29th place where he would ultimately trade position with Kenseth for 15 laps. By the time the next caution flag flew on lap 134 he was running in 25th place and radioed the crew that he was still fighting a very tight car.
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On pit road, crew chief Mike Ford ordered significant wedge, track bar, and air pressure adjustments in addition to taking on fuel and four fresh tires before sending Hamlin out to restart 24th on lap 140.
By the time a mid race caution flew on lap 165, Hamlin had the #11 in 22nd place but informed the crew it was getting tighter and tighter – likely due to the cooling conditions. The crew made another set of wedge and track bar adjustments intended to free Hamlin up and he lined up to restart 24th.
Only four green-flag laps would pass before the caution came out again and this time the crew made the decision to pit and insert spring rubbers in the left rear of the #11, also changing tires and adding fuel. The sacrifice of track position expected to be counteracted by the improved handling dropped Hamlin back to restart 28th.
Another quick caution on lap 181 kept Hamlin on the track and by the time the eighth caution of the day flew on lap 196 he had climbed up to 21st. On pit road for a wedge adjustment, tires and fuel, Hamlin’s handling was slowly improving and he set his sights on the top twenty.
On lap 220 he again found himself racing with Kenseth for several laps and when the caution came out on lap 232 Hamlin held 18th place – back in the top-twenty for the first time since the pit road incident on lap 88.
Restarting 15th on lap 236, Hamlin would hold the spot through a caution only 20 laps later and would fall as far as 18th before his handling came back to him and he began turning laps on pace with the leaders.
With no caution to tighten the field and allow the cars to pit, teams approached their fuel windows by lap 300 and began pitting under green on lap 310. Ford called Hamlin on lap 318 for two tires and fuel and when the field cycled through the #11 ran 13th.
A caution flag on lap 326 gave the FedEx team a shot at track position by staying while others visited pit road for tires and Hamlin lined up to restart eleventh on lap 330. Hamlin’s tires showed their wear as he fell to those on four new tires and ran in 13th when a late caution came out and forced the race into extra laps and a green-white-checkered finish.
Now on four fresh tires, Hamlin made his push over the final three laps and claimed 10th at the line – salvaging a trying day and staying alive in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.
More Hamlin:
“A top-ten is a great day, something we’ll always take but I am not sure a top-ten at this point is enough to win a championship. You really need to be running top-five or even top-three at this point of the season to challenge so we have a little catch up to do right now. Jimmie is running really well and is setting the bar pretty high but we are heading to Phoenix next and that is a track where I think we can be competitive and have one of those great days.”