Hamlin, FedEx Racing Finish 14th at Michigan; Move Into Second in Championship Standings
The #11 FedEx Racing team had high hopes this weekend as they unloaded a new car from the Joe Gibbs Racing stable at Michigan International Speedway, but more miscues on pit road lead to a frustrating 14th place finish for Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Racing team.
Coming into the weekend, the #11 FedEx team knew they could run towards the front at Michigan’s big-motor track with their new Chevy R07 engine, it was just a matter of finding the right setup and balance for Denny Hamlin to feel comfortable on the two-mile track. Adjustments in practice gave Denny Hamlin the car he needed to be a contender in Sunday’s Citizen’s Bank 400, but a rear tire change mishap during a green flag stop on lap 37, and a jack issue on the left side during another green flag pit stop on lap 114 dashed the hopes of finding victory lane for the #11 team.
“Again, we find ourselves disappointed and frustrated knowing that mistakes in the pits are hurting our chances at winning races. The #11 FedEx Freight car was really handling well today and Mike (Ford) and the team gave me a great car to wok with…we really thought we had a top-five car, and our times were showing that we did. Hopefully we’ll continue to improve as a team and peak at the right time as we get into the second half of the season. The silver lining is that we moved up in points today, which will hopefully give us some momentum heading to Infineon.”
Carl Edwards celebrated his fifth Nextel Cup win, first since November 2005, holding off Martin Truex Jr. for the win.
Denny Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates J.J. Yeley and Tony Stewart moved through the field in opposite ways on Sunday. After claiming his first career pole, Yeley quickly dropped back in the field as the race went green, and ended up finishing in 28th-place. Tony Stewart made the best of his day and shot through the field to secure a third-place finish after starting 41st.
The 14th-place finish moves Denny Hamlin into second place in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup standings through fifteen weeks of the 2007 season. He currently trails leader Jeff Gordon by 264 points. Jimmy Johnson is in third and trails Denny Hamlin by 73 points. Denny Hamlin is the only driver in the top-six in points who does not have a Nextel Cup win in 2007.
The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series heads to the road course at Infineon Raceway in California on Sunday, June 24.
Denny Hamlin started the day on the inside of row four and battled Kurt Busch for 10 laps before taking over the sixth position. Denny Hamlin came on the radio early on lap 11 to inform crew chief Mike Ford the balance of the car felt really good and it was letting him get wide open on the throttle. By lap 13 Denny Hamlin was up to fifth, but informed Ford the car was starting to get a little tight. This didn’t stop Denny Hamlin from catching and passing Kyle Busch for fourth and running lap times faster than the leaders ahead of him.
Ford made the call to make a green flag pit stop on lap 37 to take on four tires and fuel. A slight issue with the rear tire change delayed Denny Hamlin’s exit off of pit road and cycled through in ninth. Denny Hamlin would gain as many as three spots before a caution for debris flew on lap 51 and the call was made to pit for four tires, fuel, and slight air pressure adjustment to help loosen the car up through the turns. Denny Hamlin brought the FedEx Freight machine in to the pits in seventh and restarted in eighth when green flag racing resumed on lap 55.
Twelve laps later the second caution of the day came out and the #11 team again chose to pit for four tires and fuel and another air pressure adjustment to the left front tire. The green flag flew for only two laps before the third caution of the day was thrown due to Ryan Newman spinning on the backstretch and taking out several cars. Great instincts by Denny and spotter Curtis Markham kept Denny Hamlin out of trouble and clear of any involvement in the wreck. The #11 would stay out on the track under caution.
Denny Hamlin continued to pick his way through the field and found himself battling the #07 of Clint Bowyer for sixth place on lap 82. After playing an intense game of cat and mouse and hide-and-seek with Bowyer, traffic held them up and Denny Hamlin was forced back to 12th place.
Denny Hamlin continued to be pleased with the car and his only complaint was the car getting a little tight towards the end of the runs. Ford made the call on lap 114 to bring the car in for a green flag stop to take on four tires, fuel, and another slight air pressure adjustment. Problems with the jack on the left side of the car had the car come down before new tires were on the car. After finally getting the car back up to complete the change, a caution flew as Denny Hamlin exited pit road. He would restart 22nd when green flag racing resumed on lap 120.
The remainder of the race became a struggle for Denny Hamlin to regain the lost positions and on lap 146 Denny Hamlin found himself running 20th and one lap down to race leader Carl Edwards.
Another green flag pit stop took place on lap 158 to take on four tires and fuel. No air pressure adjustments were made on this stop. Denny Hamlin would cycle through in 21st on lap 160.
Denny Hamlin would battle the three other cars ahead of him who were a lap down over the next 20 laps as fuel was starting to become a concern. It was time, not fuel, that ran out on the #11FedEx team as they had to settle for a 14th place finish at the Citizen’s Bank 400.
Denny Hamlin on his weekend at Michigan: “First and foremost, I’m happy we were able to move up in the standings, but we again leave the track disappointed and frustrated. We need to start winning some races, and we know we have the cars, the setups, etc. to do it, but we’re just not in championship form as a team. We need to have everyone on the team bringing their best each week and we can’t let mental mistakes get in the way…myself included. We don’t want to put ourselves behind the eight-ball when the Chase starts.”
