As restrictor plate racing goes, Saturday night’s Budweiser Shootout at Daytona was fairly typical.  Lots of bumping, several cautions and a last lap scramble that opened the door to a winner who came from deep in the field at the end.  Unfortunately, Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Racing team, while positioned to win and on a run to the front, were unlucky to be caught up in the last-lap wreck and were relegated to a 13th place finish.

“This #11 FedEx Camry was very good tonight and this team did all we could do to put ourselves in the right place at the end,” said Hamlin.  “We were there and we would have had a real shot at the win but, unfortunately, we were taken out and that was that.  The silver lining is that we have really good cars and I know we’ll be very good in the 500.”

Kevin Harvick, no stranger to winning at Daytona, managed to stay out of the frays and deep in the pack for much of the night, moving forward only at the end and claiming the win on the last lap.  Jamie McMurray finished second while Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and AJ Almendinger rounded out the top-ten.  Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Joey Logano finished tenth and 28th, respectively.

The teams start the long and complicated process of qualifying for the Daytona 500 on Sunday afternoon.  The teams will be attempting to lock in a spot on the front row before heading into the Duels on Thursday.

Hamlin started from the fifth spot on the grid based on the draw conducted Thursday evening and wasted little time pushing the #11 Toyota to the front.  By lap three he was scored in second place and then took over the lead before the first wreck of the evening occurred on lap four. 

Crew Chief Mike Ford made the call to keep Hamlin on the track and he lined up fourth for the restart on lap nine and then charged on the outside up to second.  As the field morphed from a single file line, to two wide rows, to three wide mayhem, Hamlin always had the speed and the partners to stay where he wanted.   He did eventually find himself without any help and he slid back to 13th place as the second caution flew.

Following the restart Hamlin again pushed forward, grabbing sixth place on lap 31 and holding that position until the caution flag came out for the third time.  He turned the FedEx Camry onto pit road and Ford made the last-second call to take fuel only.  The plan worked and Hamlin lined up in first for the restart on lap 34.

Hamlin held a spot in the top five through the middle portion of the race, having no problem finding drafting partners and comfortably moving the #11 car from the top line to the bottom and vice versa.  It wasn’t until lap 53, when struggling for grip on old tires, that he found himself loose and falling back in the draft.

A caution flag on lap 54 rescued Hamlin and he hit pit road for four tires and fuel, then restarted 15th on lap 58.  Within ten laps, Hamlin was again running in the top ten and then a lap 65 caution offered one last strategic opportunity.

Ford called Hamlin in and fitted the car with four fresh tires and sent Hamlin out for one last shot at catching the leaders.  With the laps counting down, Hamlin fought his way to the front – assisting eventual winner Kevin Harvick along the way – and held down the fifth spot when spinning cars brought out one last caution.

With a green white checkered finish on tap, Hamlin made one last push but after Casey Mears caught the bumper of Jimmie Johnson, the #48 Chevrolet had nowhere to go but into Hamlin causing significant damage to the FedEx Toyota and relegating Hamlin to a 13th-place finish.