Hamlin hoping to finish the deal at Bristol Motor Speedway
By SceneDaily Staff
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
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Denny Hamlin has led 275 laps at Bristol Motor Speedway, but he has yet to post a Sprint Cup victory at the 0.533-mile track.
Hamlin led 177 laps in the March 2005 race at Bristol, but while leading on a green-white-checkered restart, Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing entry suffered fuel-pickup problems and faded to sixth.
Earlier this year, Hamlin led 98 laps before another fuel-pickup problem knocked him from the lead to 14th place at the checkered flag.
And in the August race last year, while he didn’t lead, Hamlin charged from the back of the field because of an engine change to run sixth by lap 103. But he later blew an engine.
“This is one of those tracks where a win means a lot to the teams and all of the drivers because of the history and just how big the races here are,” Hamlin said. “We've had some shots to win here, but things haven't gone our way. Whether it’s engine or fuel pick up, we've been good here and should have a win to show for it. Before the engine went last fall at Bristol, that car was a dominant race car, so even though we didn't get to race for a win, we felt like we had a really good car, and we could take that and put it towards the next race there.
“I've had some awesome cars at Bristol, and it's just a matter of time until we get a complete race put together. This is a very good track for this FedEx team; we just need the results to show it."
To date, Hamlin’s best finish has been sixth, which he’s accomplished twice. After an engine failure last weekend at Michigan International Speedway, Hamlin slipped to 12th in the Cup standings, perilously close to losing a berth in the Chase For The Sprint Cup.
"It's hard not to look at the standings and check where you stand against the cutoff, but you can't let that force you to race a certain way,” Hamlin said. “If it makes you take less risks in terms of fuel mileage or things of that nature - that makes sense - but you have to race like you know how to race, no exceptions. It only ends up throwing you off."
Hamlin was frustrated after blowing an engine last weekend and his emotions spilled over with criticism of his team.
“We've gone through this before, and it's a really bad feeling,” Hamlin said. “I didn't think we had a race-winning car at Michigan, but we did what we had to do to make it better each and every stop, had quick stops on pit road and were going to have a good points day, and that's what we needed with the Chase coming up.
“Then, to have a mechanical failure like that, when we had only six laps to go, is almost unbelievable. It's painful for me and the crew because we're all putting everything we've got into these races, and to see it get away like that at the end is really hard to accept. Everyone is looking for answers, and I know we'll get it figured out."
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Denny Hamlin
Comments
1 response to "Hamlin hoping to finish the deal at Bristol Motor Speedway"
4da88 said:
Aug 21, 2008 at 8:44 PMI knew he would get over his pouting and be ready to race this weekend.
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