Hamlin, FedEx Racing Outlast Field for Second in Texas


After a frustrating Chase run, one seeming void of any luck at all, Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx Office team will feel like they finally got the result they deserved on Sunday. Executing a perfect fuel strategy, Hamlin and the FedEx team watched as the leaders pulled off for fuel or ran out on the track, then took the checkered flag for an impressive second-place finish in the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.


With Crew Chief Mike Ford reminding him to “save fuel – keep saving fuel” over the final laps of the 334 lap race, Hamlin certainly heeded the advice and he turned an average day into a great one.  As the laps ticked off Hamlin moved up through the standings as other drivers ran out of fuel and when the checkered flag waved, only Hamlin and race winner Kurt Busch were able to make it to the finish on fuel from their final scheduled stops. A car that ran in the top 12 for most of the day was all of a sudden a second-place car – much to the delight of Hamlin and the entire FedEx team.


“We needed it, we definitely did,” smiled Hamlin after the race.  “Hats off to Mike Ford and this whole FedEx Office Camry team.  We have a really good car and we just had to learn to stay in the pits.  We just lost too many spots on pit road that we couldn’t overcome that track position.  I was trying to make something happen and got in the wall which ended up killing our car.  The good part about that is I was able to save fuel because there was no pressure from behind.  I was able to save fuel and our FedEx Camry got the best fuel mileage it got all day.”


“Usually these fuel mileage races don’t go our way,” said Hamlin.  “It’s a bad feeling being on the other side of these kinds of races where you are the one running out or needing to pit so we feel like we had this one coming.”


Kurt Busch led 89 laps on his way to his 20th-career Cup Series win.  Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin and Kevin Harvick joined Hamlin in the top five.


Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch led a race-high 232 laps in dominating fashion but was short on fuel at the end and settled for a disappointing 11th-place finish.  Rookie Joey Logano took 19th place while David Gilliland, piloting a fourth JGR entry, finished 28th.


Hamlin started his day off from the 25th position on the grid, much deeper in the field than he had hoped given how competitive the car had been in practice.  Shortly after the green flag flew, as the field exited turn two, NASCAR Sprint Cup point leader Jimmie Johnson slid into the wall suffering major damage and changing the complexity of both the race and the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.


Johnson’s damage would sideline him for the next 115 laps and he would eventually rejoin the race finishing in 38th place.


When the race restated on lap eight Hamlin ran in 19th position and he slowly worked his way through the field while battling an ill-handling car.


With adjustments made to dial in the car on his first two pit stops, Hamlin was able to run as high as sixth by the 100 lap mark.  Prior to his third pit stop on lap 146, Hamlin stayed out longer than his competitors to lead his only two laps of the afternoon before taking four tires, fuel and making a wedge adjustment.  Hamlin rejoined the running order in 13th-place and fought what was a loose car for the remainder of the race while running just outside the top-ten.


The final yellow of the day flew on lap 207 and Hamlin made his fifth pit stop of the day on lap 208.  On pit road he slid through the pit box and had to be pushed back, losing valuable time and positions before restarting in the 18th position on the lap 212.  Hamlin saved his best restart of the afternoon for the perfect moment, gaining three spots as the green flag came out.


With approximately 80 laps remaining in the 334-lap event and Hamlin eager to make up spots, he slightly overdrove the car and made right-side contact with the wall.  Thankfully most of the damage was cosmetic and did not significantly slow him down.  Hamlin made his final pit stop on lap 270 and knew immediately he had to go into fuel conservation mode.  Mike Ford was constantly reminding him to “save fuel, conserve where you can.”


Hamlin was told he was only half of a lap to the good if the race remained green until the finish.  He ran in tenth on lap 316 when other cars started pulling off the track for fuel and the outlook for the FedEx team started to improve greatly.


Hamlin ran in sixth on lap 328, and then picked up almost one spot per lap as the race neared the end.  By the time the checkered flag flew, Hamlin ran second only to Busch.


Hamlin who had pitted on lap 270 for the final time had successfully saved enough fuel to run 64 laps and take second place on a day that was earlier filled with frustration and adversity.  It was Hamlin’s best finish at Texas Motor Speedway in nine starts and his fourth top-five finish in what has been a very up and down Chase for the Sprint Cup.  He started the day 11th in NASCAR Sprint Cup points but, by virtue of the great finish, will head to Phoenix sitting in eighth.   With two races remaining Johnson leads Mark Martin by 73 points and Jeff Gordon by 112.