Coke 600 Post Race Report
Fuel Falls a Half-Lap Short for FedEx Racing Team at Charlotte
Denny Hamlin was in third for a "green-white-checkered" restart Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway and up to second on the backstretch of the final lap when the #11 FedEx Express Toyota ran out of fuel and coasted to a 10th-place result behind winner Kevin Harvick.
The 400-lap Coca-Cola 600 was eventful for the FedEx Racing team, as Hamlin was the best car on the track at times, leading 24 laps in the race, and also on pit road with 100 laps to go to change the #11 Toyota's carburetor. Falling to 27th in the running order, Hamlin sliced through the field to get in position to win.
A caution flew with four laps remaining, and the entire lead group was conserving fuel for the two-lap shootout to the finish. Hamlin restarted third behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne. Kahne ran out of fuel on the restart and Hamlin was right behind Earnhardt at the white flag. However, both drivers ran out of gas on Charlotte's backstretch, opening the door for Harvick to steal the victory.
"You can't run second on the back straightaway and be happy with 10th," said Hamlin, following the race. "But it was a great day in our FedEx car. We had a race winning car today. We battled our way back to the front of the pack. We'll keep fighting -- this is a step in the right direction, we're back being competitive like we should be and we're going to win some races here soon."
Hamlin started fourth and was never lower than seventh during the first few runs. On Lap 139, Hamlin radioed to crew chief Mike Ford that something was amiss in the motor, saying he was losing RPM on the straightaways. The team went through its checklist of possible problems before narrowing it down to the carburetor.
Hamlin maintained his top-10 position during the race's midpoint, and when a caution flew with 100 laps to go for an on-track incident, Ford called Hamlin to pit road and ordered the crew to change the carburetor. The team worked flawlessly to change the part in less than 90 seconds, keeping the #11 from losing a lap.
Hamlin restarted 24th and put on a magnificent drive, picking off positions and heading to the front.
David Ragan, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch and A.J. Allmendinger rounded out the top-five.
The 10th-place finish moves Hamlin up one spot to 12th in the NASCAR standings following Charlotte, 106 points behind leader Carl Edwards.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to action at Kansas Speedway on June 5.
