Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Racing team persevered through 75 laps of traditional Daytona restrictor plate racing Saturday night, showing both the performance to push the leader and the patience to save the equipment when needed. In the end Hamlin, who dropped back in the pack after a late-race pit stop, fought back to finish fifth to bring the Daytona 500 back up – and very good superspeedway car – home in one piece.

Hamlin waited to flex the muscle of the #11 until the second segment, when he started the process of working forward through the incredibly tight pack. On lap 46 Hamlin held the tenth spot, but then went about picking up one spot per lap for the next seven laps to claim the third spot and take a real shot at then leaders Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart. After being shuffled back to the tenth spot, Hamlin wasn’t able to find the front again, settling for an impressive fifth place finish as the race finished under caution.

“It was an anticlimactic ending, that’s for sure,” said Hamlin. “We fought our car a little. We didn’t have the best pit stop there at the end. We came in a pretty good position but we were going for four tires and then audibled for two at the end and that kind of slows up your stop. It’s a good top-five finish after starting last and we’ll just work on it and get our FedEx Camry better for the 500. The racing wasn’t nearly as crazy as I thought it would be. We are running so fast and handling is such an issue that everyone was being fairly cautious with each other and that was good. You would’ve liked to have seen a little bit more excitement. I would’ve liked to have seen it go green there at the end or at least have a green flag finish but we’re playing by the rules.”

Kevin Harvick led on five occasions for a total of 21 laps to win his second consecutive Shootout. Carl Edwards led 42 laps and appeared to have the car to beat before being shuffled back late in the race and collected in a last-lap multicar accident. Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Joey Logano also pushed forward from starting spots deep in the field to record fourth and seventh place finishes, respectively.

Hamlin started from the very back of the grid after a wreck early in the first practice session forced him into a backup car for the Shootout. The pace laps turned before the green flag flew were the first laps behind the wheel of that car for Hamlin, a daunting proposition in any race but especially so considering the perils of racing at Daytona.

Hamlin rode out the first segment of 25 laps in relative anonymity, slowing working the draft and finding opportunities to move the car forward. By lap five he claimed the 12th spot and his only feedback to the crew was that the car felt tight through the center of the turns, then loose as he turned onto the massive straights. With drafting help from Juan Pablo Montoya and Kurt Busch Hamlin stayed in the middle of pack until the first segment ended and the teams had a chance to work on the car. During the mandatory ten minute break crew chief Mike Ford called for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment and Hamlin lined up 14th to start the second segment.

The 50-lap second segment featured more action as the intensity increased and the drivers took more chances to improve their positions. With the increase in action came the expected cautions, and Kurt Busch was the first to bring out the yellow when he careened through the grass, then back across the track and into the wall after contact with Mark Martin on lap 33. With every team needing fuel to make the end, pit road became a busy place under caution and Hamlin took the opportunity to change tires and fill the car with fuel. He restarted 11th on lap 37 and then set about on his charge to the front. After being scored as high as third on lap 55, it was a lap 70 caution that ultimately decided the race.

Hamlin pitted for an expected four-tire stop but with so many teams opting for only two, the team switched strategy quickly to match the field. Despite a two-tire stop, Hamlin was forced to restart ninth and could only make it to the fifth spot before a multicar wreck brought out the caution flag on lap 74 and the race was ended under caution.

The teams return to the track on Thursday afternoon for the Gatorade Duel qualifying races.