Hamlin’s Day Goes Wrong

November 16th, 2010

THE HUNTED: Denny Hamlin holds a 15-point advantage over Jimmie Johnson entering the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla. (HHP/Erik Perel Photo)

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Denny Hamlin appeared to be strengthening his grip on the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup title in Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500. He had the best race car on the track with his FedEx Toyota in front four times for 190 laps and was destined to leave Phoenix with a comfortable lead heading into next Sunday’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

But as the laps wound down under green, he was told by his crew chief Mike Ford he didn’t have enough gas to make it to the finish and would have to pit one more time. Rather than risk his huge lead and try to make it the distance, Hamlin had no other choice but to pit with 12 laps to go, dropping him to 19th place. He drove up to 12th place at the finish, but when he realized his rival and four-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson made it to the end without pitting, Hamlin was furious.

That has set up the closest finish in NASCAR’s Chase for the Championship history as Hamlin clings to a mere 15-point lead over Johnson heading into the final race of the season next Sunday.

The previous closest margin was Kurt Busch’s 18-point lead over Johnson in 2004 — the first year of the Chase format. He also leads third-place Kevin Harvick by 46.

Hamlin was despondent afterward, but vowed he would “leave Phoenix in Phoenix” and move on to Homestead and a chance to end Johnson’s championship streak at four straight.

“We had a great car and that was real important,” Hamlin said. “We did what we had to do. The strategy at the end just didn’t work our way. That’s all I can ask for, is to have the better car than those two guys — and we did. But unfortunately the strategy bit us. We’re just going to have to go there and do it the old fashioned way next week and try to beat them on the race track.

“I’m frustrated — trust me. This is one of the bigger let downs I’ve had. I can tell you — I’m going to use this as motivation for next week to go out there and try to win. I feel I’ve done a good job of that this year. I won’t need a pep talk. Of course, I’m going to be disappointed for the next couple hours. But trust me, when I get home, I’m done with it. I’m going to move on and try how to figure out how to win next week. This is fuel for me.”

Hamlin realized winning a championship and stopping the best driver of his era for a championship was going to be difficult. But the fact he had to pit while Johnson didn’t led him to question how the other cars could make it the rest of the way while Hamlin’s Toyota couldn’t. Hamlin, Johnson and Harvick all pitted at relatively the same time, and Johnson and Harvick didn’t pit again at the end.

“Well, we don’t know if it’s the final caution,” Hamlin said of his previous pit stop that came when the final yellow flag waved on lap 235 after David Gilliland spun. “We could have made it. There were a ton of guys that made it that pitted at the same time we did. Usually, we have the best fuel mileage. That part I just don’t understand. I can save fuel pretty well. But I was never alerted to save fuel. So, I assumed that everyone was going to have to pit. I didn’t even think it was a question. Like I said, I did my job.”

It was Ford’s call that Hamlin pit rather than gamble. After all, as the point leader there would be far too much to lose if he had stayed on the track and ran out of fuel than to play it safe and ensure a reasonable finish.

It was also Ford who criticized Hendrick Motorsports’ decision for benching Johnson’s regular pit crew midway through last week’s race at Texas Motor Speedway and replacing the over-the-wall crew with Jeff Gordon’s. Ford called it an act of desperation, but it was the Joe Gibbs Racing team that was left with desperate measures at the end of Sunday’s Phoenix race.

“It wouldn’t have made that much of a difference — you weren’t going to save that amount of fuel,” Ford explained why he didn’t tell Hamlin to ease off the throttle during that span of the race. “Had you pit when the other guys pit there, we were still short. Give up that track position and then try and save, you’re not moving forward anyway and you’re going to end up probably further back at the end. It was two bad spots for cautions to fall for us.

“It was encouraging; that was the best we’ve ever run here at Phoenix. We had a good car and, quite frankly, that salvaged the day. Had we not been way out front it would have been harder to gain spots and we probably wouldn’t have the points lead still if we didn’t have a good car. That was very encouraging. The mileage deal is discouraging. Our mile-and-a-half program is fairly close to where it needs to be, but here today it was not. Discouraging, but to come out of here — those results on the board could have been straight up racing from what we’ve run here in the past. You can’t wish it to be any different. The situation was what it was and I feel like we made the most of that situation to still maintain the point lead.”