The engines that couldn't: JGR has trouble at Charlotte
By Rea White - Associate Editor
Sunday, May 18, 2008
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David Griffin / NASCAR Scene
CONCORD, N.C. - Tony Stewart had trouble first, changing his engine prior to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. The change forced him to start at the end of the 24-car field at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
By race’s end, his teammates were wishing that had been the lone penalty they were dealt. By race’s end, both Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin were in the garage with similar engine problems.
The setback wasn’t entirely unexpected JGR was doing a little research and development in the race, bringing an engine that had more horsepower but less on-track testing. The drivers had worked with it in a recent test session at Lowe’s, but didn’t plan on using it in the upcoming Coca-Cola 600 yet. Right now, they’re just trying to learn as much as possible about the engine for future use.
And right now, they have to be among the favorites in the 600. Just look what they did in the all-star race before suffering the engine setbacks.
Kyle Busch led the opening 38 laps of the event, pulling away for leads of more than two seconds on the challengers before he began to lose engine power. He nursed his way to the end of the second segment, dropping only to sixth, but was unable to return to the track.
“It was a great race car and a pretty much dominant race car and just had something break within the valve train,” he said. “A rocker arm first, then a coupld of valves.”
Busch said they had a problem with his motor in testing, but had over 800 miles in the engines and felt safe bringing them to the all-star race.
When his failed, he admitted that he felt frustrated.
“You want to go out there and you want to win,” he said. “… If we were running second or third to somebody that was dominating like us or running like us, that wouldn’t have hurt as bad. It’s just unfortuntate for all of us. Not just me, but the team.”
Thirty-four laps later, Hamlin was echoing similar sentiments. He may not have dominated the race, but he led seven laps before watching his engine expire as well.
He didn’t seem too surprised by his engine problems after watching his teammates and brushed aside his disappointment.
“This is definitely experimental all-star-only racing,” he said. “We came out here with our guns loaded and unfortunately our gun went off a little bit before the end of the race … We knew this engine wasn’t going to go 500 miles. It was built for just a few more laps past 100 and it just didn’t make it.”
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Denny Hamlin
Comments
2 responses to "The engines that couldn't: JGR has trouble at Charlotte"
Wayne Powers said:
May 18, 2008 at 8:16 PMI'm glad Busch didn't win but I am sorry for the Gibbs Team. You have explained their problems very well. I wonder now if that was just an excuse. Stewart and Hamlin are fine with me but not Busch. I think I speak for ManyMany fans, when I say I think he is a good driver but, he should watch what he does to other driver while racing, drivers have very good memories, and they have a tendencies to remember when he is least expecting it. This is my view only.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportSTEVEN SPARKS said:
May 19, 2008 at 6:14 AMLast year Toyota could not find the track and were allowed more horsepower. This year they drive away from the field on every start, and they are being allowed more horsepower. What gives NASCAR? Just bow down to toyota since races are boring enough. Kyles's head is getting too big with all media praising his antics sooner or later a real driver will remember a previous altercation and put him in his place!
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