Would Hamlin have stayed with teammate, or have gone for the win?
TALLADEGA, Ala. – Denny Hamlin was in position to alter the outcome of the Aaron’s 499 when the caution flag waved on the final lap at Talladega Superspeedway.
So instead of possibly helping Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch or eventual runnerup Juan Pablo Montoya or going for the win himself, Hamlin finished in third place.
What would’ve happened had the yellow not come out?
“Depends if the 18 [of Busch] was going to block [Montoya],” Busch said. “I definitely was going to push Juan beside the 18, and if those two bogged each other down enough, I would try to get by and go for the win.
“If [Montoya] stayed, I was going to have stay on his bumper. If [Busch] moved to block the bumper, then I was going to make [it] three wide.”
Hamlin said circumstances dictated his actions in the final laps since Montoya separated the two JGR teammates.
“Ultimately, would I have backlash if I would have pushed Juan into the win? Absolutely, but that's just part of it,” Hamlin said. “He had a teammate up there one time, and I'm sure he wasn't going to push the 18 by him. So I mean, it's just all circumstantial.
“I think my move probably would have been the same. If it wasn't a teammate, I probably would have pushed Juan out to the outside if the guy stayed on the inside simply because we worked really well to stay together. My car really stayed tucked up on the 42 really good. I was going to go for the win myself if the door opened that last probably 200 yards.”
As it was, Hamlin’s third-place finish was his second in a row and his fifth consecutive finish of sixth or better. He moved up two spots to fourth in the Sprint Cup standings and is 99 points behind leader Jeff Burton.
