Pocono Post Race Report
Hamlin Leads the Most Laps, but Flat Tire Spoils Pocono Finish for FedEx Racing Team.
Denny Hamlin led four times for a race-high 76 (of 200) laps Sunday afternoon at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, but a flat left-rear tire under caution with less than 50 laps to go led to myriad problems for the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota down the stretch and a 19th-place finish.
Starting fourth and staying amongst the top-five as the laps clicked, Hamlin was third when the caution flew on Lap 156. Crew chief Mike Ford called for four tires and an adjustment on pit road, and quick work by the FedEx crew kept Hamlin in third.
However, Hamlin radioed a potential flat tire before the green flag. As the crew confirmed it, the outer liner came off the wheel causing left-rear quarter panel damage and snapping the rear brake line before Hamlin came back down pit road for repairs.
With a wounded car, no brakes and restarting back in the pack in 21st, Hamlin did his best to gain spots before the checkered flag behind eventual winner Jeff Gordon.
"We were just trying to save our stuff for the end to fight for the win," said Hamlin, following the race. "I was conserving the brakes and the motor and just cruising around early on. It's disappointing to have a flat tire under caution cause so many issues to the car, especially when we had a car that was capable of winning."
Hamlin was the class of the field for the first half of the 500-mile event on the 2.5-mile "Tricky Triangle," taking the lead for the first time on the second lap. A pair of early cautions bunched the field, and differing strategies early on saw Hamlin restart eighth on Lap 22, but passed all seven cars in front of him by Turn 3 to reclaim the lead.
The 30-year-old Virginia native led through a handful of green flag pit cycles, only giving up the lead to Juan Pablo Montoya on fresher tires. The #11 Toyota began to tighten up on longer runs, but it was still a race contender through the event's midpoint.
The finish dropped Hamlin one spot to 12th in the NASCAR standings following Pocono, now 84 points behind leader Carl Edwards.
The Sprint Cup Series returns to action at Michigan International Speedway on June 17.
