Bristol Post Race Report
Early Contact, Damaged Race Car Cause 33rd-Place Finish at Bristol
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returned to action Sunday after an off-weekend with the first true short-track race of the 2011 season at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, a day spoiled early for the FedEx Racing team as Denny Hamlin finished 33rd in a bruised and battered #11 Toyota.
A group of cars slowed and made contact with each other just in front of Hamlin on Lap 29. Hamlin spun trying to avoid the wreck, and was tagged from behind by another driver behind him. Initially, the damage looked to be only cosmetic, as the FedEx crew made repairs to the left-rear of the car. Further inspection during the next pit stop revealed the impact knocked out the rear alignment of the car, making the already loose condition much worse for the remainder of the 500-lap event.
"There were a bunch of guys that checked up in front of us and I just couldn't get slowed down," said Hamlin, following the race. "Someone got me in the left-rear and knocked the tow out and it was everything I could do to not spin out the rest of the race. It was a long day, for sure."
Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch won his first race of the season, holding off Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson to the checkered flag.
Hamlin started 25th in the #11 FedEx Express Toyota and battled a loose race car from the outset. NASCAR and Goodyear changed right-side tire compounds after Friday's qualifying, allowing teams just one set of the new tires for Saturday's practice and making the start of Sunday's race a guessing game for drivers and crews.
Unfortunately for the #11 team, no adjustments on pit road could help the handling of the car after the damage, making for a long day on the half-mile, high-banked oval. Hamlin finished 12 laps down to the lead group.
With the finish, Hamlin dropped nine spots to 17th in the Sprint Cup Series standings following Bristol. He is 44 points behind leader Kurt Busch heading into next Sunday's race at Auto Club (Calif.) Speedway.
