Motor Sports Update
Late Race Contact Forces Hamlin to Settle for 12th
Las Vegas, NV (March 10, 2007) — Coming off their best run of the season, the #20 Rockwell Automation / Joe Gibbs Racing Team headed to the newly reconfigured racetrack at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Although the team had a successful test at LVMS in late January, NASCAR officials changed the size of the fuel cell and Goodyear officials changed the tire compound for the race, making a lot of what they learned at the test no longer applicable.
Practice session proved to be interesting. On his second lap on the track, Denny Hamlin was in the middle of turn three when the car broke loose and he made slight contact with the wall. The damage was able to be repaired and the team was not forced to go to a backup car, but they did lose significant practice time.
"I am not sure what happened," commented Hamlin after the wreck. "The car was pretty good and then out of nowhere, it just snapped loose. The tire they brought this weekend is so hard, that is just does not grip the race track. It is like driving on ice out there."
Hamlin was not the only victim of the new track surface versus tire issue. At least six other cars were involved in some sort of practice incident, setting up a scary picture of what was in store for the teams on race day. Hamlin was able to put up a respectable lap in qualifying and would start the race from the 16th position.
As the race started, Hamlin was able to make some quick progress. Slowed by two cautions in the first 13 laps, Hamlin was able to get into the top 10 although struggling with an extremely tight race car. With the new fuel cell size (13 gallons), the teams would get a lot of chances to work on their race cars due to twice as many pit stops. Hamlin’s first stop came on lap 15 where the team opted for two tires and fuel while making an aggressive adjustment on one of the shocks.
The change seemed to help the car, but Hamlin still struggled with the nose of car turning the way he had hoped. Benefiting from the ongoing caution periods, Crew Chief Dave Rogers used several different theories to attack the #20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet. Trying two tires, four tires, air pressure adjustments, wedge and trackbar, the car seemed to get better but just could not find the grip the Hamlin was looking for. By lap 140, the field had suffered their 9th caution period of the day setting a track record for caution periods with more than 60 laps remaining.
During the final 50 laps, Hamlin would climb as high as 3rd and was running 5th with 4 laps to go, when the tightness in the car made it difficult to turn and Hamlin made slight contact with the wall. With the damage to his racecar, Hamlin slipped back to the 12th position by the time the checkered flag flew. With the finish, Hamlin remains in second place in the driver's points, only 68 markers behind Carl Edwards.
This weekend, the NASCAR Busch Series heads to Atlanta, GA to tackle one of the fastest tracks on the NASCAR circuit. For the first time in three seasons, someone else other than Denny Hamlin will be behind the wheel of the #20 Busch Car. Tony Stewart will make his first start in the #20 JGR Busch car with sponsorship from Goodies. The Nicorette 300 will begin at 3:00 p.m. EST and be broadcast on the ABC network. Look for Rockwell Automation to return to the track in two weeks at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 24.
