The weekend for the Joe Gibbs Racing organization didn't start all that promisingly. All three teams were found to have unapproved oil pans on their Toyotas, each weighing about twenty five pounds. Later, in the final practice of the day, Joey Logano blew an engine. This was JGR's ninth engine failure of the season. Surly their race weekend would not be all that spectacular. Right?
The HelluvaGood 400 started when Kurt Busch (after winning his third consecutive pole award) led the field into turn one flanked by David Reutimann's Aaron's Dream Machine. It didn't take long to get exciting because withing the first several laps Jimmie Johnson spun his No. 48 Lowes Chevy off turn two. The Chad Knaus led team later discovered that they had sheered off one of their front sway bars in the spin and lost several laps making repairs. This cost the five-time defending champions any shot at the victory.
The Roush-Fenway Fords also flexed their muscles early on. Greg Biffle jumped out to an early lead and was joined up front by team mates Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth. The blue oval brigade has proven all season long that the FR-9 engines they have under the hood are unstoppable on 1.5 and 2 mile tracks.
Pit road and fuel mileage also proved impactful. Matt Kenseth's team failed to get their Crown Royal Ford full of fuel and had issues with hung lug nuts during their stops. Marin Truex, Jr had a top ten car, but was relegated to mid pack because a loose wheel forced him to pit his NAPA Toyota. Dale Jr also had a car that could have contended for the win, but a slow stop (where he lost eleven, yes eleven, spots) placed him in the middle of the pack. David Reutimann also encountered issues. Despite the car's speed, the engine lost all fuel pressure as the No. 00 car entered the straightaways. The team replaced the fuel cable and the carbourator which eliviated the problem. It also cost them about twenty laps on the racetrack and any chance of a top ten finish.
More controversy started when, late in the race, Mark Martin slid up the track off turn two and forced teammate Earnhardt, Jr into the outside wall. This led to Junior blowing a right front tire, hitting the turn two wall again, and setting up the final restart of the day. This time, Kenseth spun his tires, held up Edwards and allowed Hamlin to jump out to a pretty stout lead. The No. 17 Ford made one last run at Hamlin's No. 11 off turn two, but could no complete the pass when the air off the 11 caused the nose of Kenseth's car to push up the racetrack. But on the final lap, off the final corner, Kenseth made one final run at the FedEx Toyota. He got loose, almost wrecking his Fusion, and sealed the win for Denny Hamlin.
This was Hamlin's first win of the season, snapping the four year long jinx on drivers that have not won after finishing second in points the previous season. But the race this weekend will prove more difficult for Nascar regulars like Hamlin. The race this weekend will be in Sonoma, California, where drivers will have to make right and left turns on the Infineon Raceway and there will be some new faces up front because of that. Will Denny Hamlin make it two in a row or will a "road course ringer" finally conquer the twists and turns of the Napa Valley road course?
No comments:
Post a Comment