Kansas Post Race Report
Fuel Strategy Yields Third-Place Finish for Hamlin, FedEx Racing Team
Denny Hamlin led three times for 34 (of 267) laps in the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota, and used crew chief Mike Ford's perfect fuel strategy to finish third Sunday in the inaugural STP 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Hamlin was one of just two drivers (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) to make a pit stop under caution with 115 laps to go to get the team in its window to make it to the end on just one more stop. The race went green to the distance following the restart, and as the leaders peeled to pit road with less than 15 laps to go for a splash of fuel, Hamlin looked primed for his first victory of the season.
However, Brad Keselowski was able to stretch his fuel to the end for the victory, and Hamlin couldn't hold off Earnhardt for second, but earned a hard-fought third-place result.
"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."
"Our car was really good in the first two-thirds of the race," said Hamlin. "But, as the race went on, our car just got tighter and tighter. Although we finished third because of fuel mileage, it wasn't a fluke. We had a car that ran up front, and because of our strategy, we gave up third to make a stop, so we could go the distance. It was a great call by the team."
The race marked the 200th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start for Hamlin, who made his very-first start at the 1.5-mile Kansas track in October 2005. Sunday also marked the first time Kansas held a race in the summer, with a return trip scheduled for the fall.
Hamlin started 15th and quickly worked to the front. The FedEx pit crew was flawless on pit road throughout the day, picking up spots on each of the first few stops to work the car into the top-10. Hamlin took the lead for the first time on Lap 117, and led the second-most laps in the race (Kurt Busch led 152).
With the finish, Hamlin climbs one spot to 11th in the unofficial NASCAR standings following Kansas, 104 points behind leader Carl Edwards. Hamlin is just one point behind Ryan Newman for 10th and a guaranteed spot in the 2011 Chase.
The Sprint Cup Series returns to action at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway on June 12.
