For Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota, Sunday's Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway felt eerily familiar. For the first 150 laps of the wild 188-lap event, Hamlin clearly had the car to beat. He was comfortable in the draft and, when hooked up with a willing partner, was able to charge to the front where he led seven times for 27 laps. Unfortunately, contact suffered on a lap 181 multi-car incident caused damage to the #11 machine and also dropped him deep in the field. As the laps counted down and the frantic pace picked up even more, Hamlin did all he could to move forward but ultimately settled for a disappointing 21st-place finish.


“It was frustrating for sure, but that’s the way these races go,” said Hamlin. “This FedEx team brought a good car, and we could push anyone out to the front but all that matters is where you are at the end and after we had that damage we just couldn’t get back to the front.”


Brad Keselowski pushed, and then passed Carl Edwards for the win on Sunday. In a frightening reminder about the speed at Talladega, the contact between the two cars sent Edwards airborne and into the catch fence. He was eventually scored in 24th place while Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman, Marcos Ambrose and Scott Speed filled out the top five.


Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing rookie teammate Joey Logano crossed the line in ninth place to score his first career Sprint Cup top-ten finish. Kyle Bush led 42 laps before spinning on lap 173. He finished the race in 25th place.


Despite the number of cars involved in on-track incidents there was only a minor shakeup in the Sprint Cup standings. Hamlin holds on to fifth place, 109 points behind new leader Kurt Busch, who takes the overall points lead from Jeff Gordon.


The series continues next weekend when the teams head to Richmond International Raceway - Hamlin's hometown track.


Hamlin rolled the FedEx Freight Toyota off from the 21st spot on the grid and wasted little time pushing forward Sunday afternoon. By the time the field had completed its second lap around the 2.66-mile track Hamlin had pushed Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the point and ran comfortably in second.


The first major event of the afternoon occurred on lap eight when several cars got together and the ensuing wreck sent notables like Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Mark Martin to the garage with major damage.


With the caution flag out and the clean-up crews working on the track, #11 team Crew Chief Mike Ford called Hamlin to pit road for four tires and fuel, and the crew worked quick to send him out in tenth for the restart.


Hamlin led his first lap of the race on lap 20, when he linked up with the Chevrolet of Jeff Burton and Dodge of Kurt Busch to make a push to the front. With the five bonus points for leading a lap banked, Hamlin then set about getting a feel for the #11 FedEx Toyota, working both lines, dropping to the back on occasion and working his forward again, all in the name of preparing for the end.


A debris caution flew on lap 30 and once again Ford called Hamlin onto pit road for tires and fuel. The crew worked quick, but several teams made fuel only or two-tire stops leaving Hamlin to restart 18th on lap 34.


Another caution on lap 44 brought Hamlin to pit road and this time Ford called for right side tires and fuel only. Hamlin lined up in the 17th spot but once again pushed forward quickly – linking up with Brian Vickers and then Earnhardt Jr. to force his way to the front. By lap 56, Hamlin ran in second and the entire field formed a single-file line along the top groove.


Kurt Busch spun on lap 60 to bring out the fourth caution of the day and Hamlin turned onto pit road for four fresh tires and fuel. He was very happy with the performance of the car and the crew held up their end by sending him out to restart eighth.


Through the midsection of the race, Hamlin and the FedEx team continued to show their strength. From lap 75 to lap 110 Hamlin led four times, working with different drafting partners to push each other to the front, and then back off to start the process again. In that same period of time, quick work and smart calls on pit road kept Hamlin near the front through the caution periods.


Hamlin restarted from the sixth spot on lap 127 after a debris caution brought the field to pit road and shortly after, he linked up with Kyle Busch and the two again went to the front before the caution flew on lap 146.


Ford called for fuel only and the quick stop ensured Hamlin would be near the front when the race went green.


As the laps counted down and the pace picked up, the inevitability of another major incident became certain. On lap 180, Hamlin and Juan Pablo Montoya made contact on the backstretch and set off a ten-car wreck that certainly altered the outcome of the race.


Following the race, Hamlin looked back on the incident:


“It looked like I was in the middle, I had someone underneath me and Montoya was up in the third lane and he was coming down just to get a push from me, but I was already in there. It all started with me and the 42.”


With some damage to the car, Hamlin made three trips to pit road so the crew could make minor repairs – with the primary goal to keep the fenders away from the tires. When the field went green with four laps remaining everyone, including Hamlin pushed forward but it was Edwards and Keselowski that held the lead coming to the stripe.