Hamlin Leads Laps but Loses Engine Early at Auto Club Speedway
Denny Hamlin started second, drove to the lead and looked like a contender for the win Sunday at Auto Club Speedway, but wasn't around for the finish, as a valve train issue in the engine of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota ended the team's day early at the two-mile track in Fontana, Calif.
Hamlin took the green flag alongside polesitter Juan Pablo Montoya, and needed just seven laps to grab the lead and distance himself from the field.
Hamlin led 15 laps before being chased down by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch near the end of the first green flag run, and the FedEx crew got its first opportunity to work on the car in second position. The race stayed green for the first 76 (of 200) laps, and Hamlin radioed a tight race car to crew chief Mike Ford.
A caution for debris flew to bunch the field with Hamlin running fifth, giving the team another chance to get the car ideal. Differing pit strategies shuffled the #11 back to 12th for the restart, and Hamlin quickly jumped to ninth with passes high and low.
Just three laps later, however, Hamlin noticed an issue with the car and quickly fell off the pace, back to the tail end of the lead lap. Working with Ford to try and diagnose the problem, Hamlin limped around before a second caution period on lap 104 allowed him to head to pit road.
On pit road, the team discovered the problem was with the engine, and pushed the #11 to the garage for a closer look. That revealed a terminal issue in the valve train, ending the FedEx team's day after just 105 laps.
"We've got pistons beat up pretty good," said Hamlin, in the garage. "It's tough to say what problem came first, but it was definitely internal and it ended our day. It's frustrating, because Mike (Ford) and the team did a great job setting up the car and we had a fast car. It doesn't matter in the end if you can't finish the way you're supposed to."
Kevin Harvick was the race winner.
With the finish, Hamlin dropped four spots to 21st in the Sprint Cup Series standings as the team heads east for a 500-lap event at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, April 3.
