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Domination Denied - Hamlin, FedEx Racing 24th at Richmond
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On a night that appeared to be capping a dream weekend for Virginia native and driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, Denny Hamlin, one small turn of fortune in the form of a cut tire spoiled not only Hamlin's homecoming, but also one of the more dominating runs in recent Sprint Cup history.
After leading all but one of the first 381 laps of the Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond International Raceway, a cut right front tire forced Hamlin onto pit road and out of contention with less than twenty laps to go. It was a cruel fate for a FedEx team that had built an incredibly fast car and a crew that rattled off four near perfect stops. And, for Hamlin, who was looking to complete a Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series weekend sweep in front of his hometown fans, the 24th-place finish was hard to comprehend.
"I guess it just wasn't meant to be," said Hamlin. "There's a better time for us to win, evidently. Today is just not our day. Dominating days like this just don't happen. Usually, when it does you have an issue at the end. To me, it almost wasn't that surprising. This FedEx team built an incredible car and it's just too bad we aren't celebrating a win right now."
By leading 381 laps, Hamlin set the record for the number of laps led in a 400-lap race at Richmond. He eclipsed the mark of 369 set by Bobby Allison in September 1979.
Clint Bowyer held off Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch through the green-white-checkered finish to claim the contentious win. Mark Martin finished third while JGR's Tony Stewart and the #20 team made gains all evening to claim a very good fourth-place finish.
Hamlin's domination started with the wave of the green flag, and from that very first lap he proceeded to stack the laps-led column and put considerable distance between himself and the cars trying to chase him down.
An extended green flag run to start the race allowed Hamlin to show just how good the #11 was, while giving the crew a chance to gauge everything from tire wear to fuel mileage. Hamlin's lone communication to the team was that the car was very loose off the corner. When the first caution flew on lap 67, crew chief Mike Ford call Hamlin on to pit road for air pressure and track bar adjustments to go with four tires and fuel.
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The #11 team had Hamlin out quick and he continued exactly where he left off. As the field raced through another uninterrupted green-flag run, Hamlin added to his total of laps led and the crew looked for any opportunity to improve a #11 FedEx Camry that was already very good.
Debris on the track brought out the second caution of the day on lap 129 and Ford called Hamlin to pit road for another round of air pressure adjustments. The crew, just as they had on the first stop, rattled off another quick stop and Hamlin left pit road the leader.
When Juan Pablo Montoya spun to bring out the caution flag on lap 139, several teams pitted while the #11 team decided to stay out. The Nationwide Series race the night before showed that new tires would be invaluable, however the FedEx crew was determined to keep the car out in front knowing Hamlin would be very hard to pass - if the field could catch him.
Hamlin held his lead until the next caution and then only relinquished it for a single lap when A.J. Allmendinger stayed out to turn one circuit out front. Another quick stop had Hamlin out on fresh tires and with another small air adjustment aimed at helping him get back to the throttle. He restarted first on lap 210, held off a two lap challenge from teammate Kyle Busch, and then pulled away once again.
As the laps counted down, the action certainly picked up at RIR. A two car incident on lap 221 brought out the caution but that was just the start. Five laps after the restart on lap 231, eleven cars piled up heading into turn three and the ensuing melee brought out a red flag.
Once again the decision was made for Hamlin to stay out and, once again, it proved to be the right call. He easily pulled away from the chasers and had opened up a two-second gap back to second place when the caution flag came out on lap 262.
In need of fresh rubber and another crack at improving his grip off the turns, Hamlin pulled on to pit road and the team snapped into action, changing four tires, adding fuel and making a slight air adjustment before sending Hamlin to restart first on lap 267.
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Building up a healthy lead again, it appeared the combination of the quick car, Hamlin's driving and the stellar work on pit road was making it virtually impossible for the other cars to compete. Ultimately, the caution flags were the only thing that brought the field within reach of Hamlin's bumper.
A caution flag on lap 355 gave the team the chance they needed for one final stop. Another quick track bar adjustment and four fresh tires for Hamlin and he was out to restart the race from the point again.
With the checkered flag now less that fifty laps away, Hamlin surged to a comfortable lead before the race was stopped for a ninth time on lap 365. Hamlin kept the #11 FedEx Express Camry on the track and restarted first, now needing only 30 laps to make the end and win his second race of the season.
However, just as Hamlin hit the twenty-laps-to-go mark, he radioed to the team that he thought he may have a flat tire. He did his best to ride out the flat but was quickly caught and passed by Busch and Earnhardt Jr. He made it ten more laps before the tire gave way and Hamlin stopped on the track just past the pit road exit.
The caution flew and Hamlin turned onto pit road so the crew could change the tire. Adding insult to injury, NASCAR assessed Hamlin a two-lap penalty for stopping on the track and Hamlin would restart in 25th place, three laps down. Though he would gain one spot before the checkered flag came out, it was no consolation for a driver and team that dominated the race in such stunning fashion.
The Sprint Cup Series continues next weekend when the teams visit the newly repaved, and very fast, Darlington Raceway for the Dodge Challenger 500 on Saturday, May 10.