CP MOTORSPORTS - HAMLIN GOES FROM SPIN TO WIN; ADVANCES IN CHASE
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Denny Hamlin didn't dominate Sunday's MyAFIBRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway but he came out on top when it mattered the most. But before Hamlin was celebrating in victory lane he was on pit lane trying to stay on the lead lap.
Hamlin, who is racing with torn ACL suffered in a non-racing accident, spun after he appeared to make contact with the No. 47 car of A.J. Allmendinger on lap three of the 267 lap affair. His big break, however, came on lap 259 when the race's final caution came out and when the race restarted with five to go in the race.
The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota passed then leader Kurt Busch to continue Joe Gibbs Racing's reign of dominance.
"This is a great day for us," Hamlin said. "We obviously came back from adversity and did a lot of great things throughout the day, with the exception of lap two. I will tell you, it's just amazing that we were able to come back the way we were and do the things that we were able to do. I knew we had a really fast car. I didn't think starting in the second row with old tires we were going to have a chance. But the opportunity came in turn one to make a move, and we capitalized and our car took off."
The win for Hamlin is the second on the season but more importantly advances his team to the next round of the Chase. Hamlin, who led just 9 laps, currently sits second place in the Chase standings.
Hamlin believes the Chase is setup for him to emerge victorious.
"I've been telling people, look at our finishes going into the Chase; we've been strong," Hamlin explained. "Everyone else gets the headlines, but we have been chipping away at some really good finishes here lately and doing a lot of great things. Our Toyotas have been really fast. Joe Gibbs Racing has given us some really good cars here lately. This is no exception. Obviously we just were very fortunate with the late-race restart and we were able to capitalize on it. I honestly didn't like our chances when I saw two cars had stayed out versus one. But we made the best of the situation.
"So I think we can make a run. I've told everyone these Chase tracks set up better for nobody than it does for me as the Chase goes on. I think the next round is the most challenging for us personally. You just get us to that final eight round and I'm pretty confident we'll be at Homestead with a chance."
Joe Gibbs Racing as a whole recovered from what appeared to be a bleek run in the beginning to reasserting their muscle in the Sprint Cup. Carl Edwards also recovered from being a lap down early to grab the runner up spot, the finish puts Edwards in third in the Chase standings.
Edwards gained confidence from watching teammate Kyle Busch, who led a race-high 121 laps.
"I didn't see in the front for a while, but looked like Kyle (Busch) was fast," Edwards said. "He had a really fast car there for a long time. That gave us a lot of hope. We knew if we maybe we get our lap back, get back up there, we'd be all right. I had a speeding penalty. I set us back there. Overall we planned on the racetrack changing a lot. I felt like my guys did a great job getting the car tuned in for the end. I felt like all of us as a group at JGR worked great together this weekend."
Kurt Busch, who led 37 laps, challenged Edwards for the second position late in the race but was forced to settle for a third place finish. Ryan Newman, who made it to the final round of last season's Chase, grabbed a fourth place finish.
Matt Kenseth gave JGR another car inside the top five with his fifth place finish. With the bonus points from his four regular season wins, Kenseth sits atop the Chase points standings.
Kenseth thought his team was marginal at best but knows overachieving is a recipe for success in the Chase.
"We really struggled," Kenseth said. "We had probably a 15th-place car at best and barely hung onto the lead lap all day and got the right line on the restart. Jason made some good adjustments, guys never quit. We were in the right line at the restart. Everybody got bottled up. I think passed seven or eight of them in the first corner, another two or three the next set of corners.
"Somehow we wound up fifth. We definitely finished way better than we deserved today. But that's what you've have to do in these things, you have to try to take your days and try to make them the best you can."
Joey Logano grabbed a sixth place finish with Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola rounding out the top ten finishers.
Hendrick Motorsports Dale Earnhardt, Jr, and Jimmie Johnson finished 11th and 12th respectively.
Kevin Harvick, who entered the Chase in a secure position, leaves in the opposite standing. Harvick appeared to receive a flat tire from contact with Jimmie Johnson on a lap 134 restart. The driver of the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet now sits 22 points out of the 12th place elimination spot heading into next week's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 27
Unofficial Race Results for the 15Th Annual Myafibrisk.Com 400 - Sunday,
September 20, 2015
Chicagoland Speedway - Joliet, IL - 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 267 Laps - 400.5 Miles - Purse: $6,144,256
Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Winnings Status Tms Laps
1 29 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota 267 47 4 111.8 $306,315 Running 2 9
2 14 19 Carl Edwards Stanley Toyota 267 43 1 99.9 $213,655 Running 1 6
3 9 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 267 42 1 125.6 $195,005 Running 3 37
4 6 31 Ryan Newman Caterprillar Chevrolet 267 40 98.8 $180,280 Running
5 12 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 267 40 1 89.4 $170,641 Running 1 1
6 2 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 267 39 1 110.9 $162,903 Running 1 1
7 18 42 Kyle Larson Clorox Chevrolet 267 38 1 90.8 $144,478 Running 1 2
8 3 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford 267 36 89.6 $158,111 Running
9 7 18 Kyle Busch M&M Crispy Toyota 267 37 2 130.6 $163,361 Running 4 121
10 20 43 Aric Almirola Eckrich Ford 267 34 89.7 $146,381 Running
11 11 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet 267 33 99.7 $152,321 Running
12 19 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet 267 32 92.7 $122,025 Running
13 4 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet 267 32 1 110.9 $131,670 Running 1 39
14 10 24 Jeff Gordon AXALTA Chevrolet 267 31 1 109.9 $148,986 Running 2 41
15 28 55 David Ragan Aaron's Partners of the Year Toyota 267 29 76.3 $131,664 Running
16 13 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald's/Cessna Chevrolet 266 28 75.1 $138,141 Running
17 16 27 Paul Menard Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet 266 27 72.2 $110,350 Running
18 27 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fastenal Ford 265 26 69.3 $110,250 Running
19 26 15 Clint Bowyer PEAK Anti-Freeze & Coolant Toyota 265 25 63.2 $135,108 Running
20 24 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet 265 24 58.8 $126,903 Running
21 17 16 Greg Biffle Safety-Kleen Ford 265 23 63.2 $131,078 Running
22 21 33 Brian Scott(i) Jewel-Osco Chevrolet 265 0 66.4 $115,003 Running
23 31 51 Justin Allgaier Brandt Chevrolet 265 21 57.0 $120,278 Running
24 8 5 Kasey Kahne Great Clips Chevrolet 264 20 67.8 $112,320 Running
25 23 14 Tony Stewart Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet 264 19 67.0 $124,034 Running
26 25 10 Danica Patrick Aspen Dental Chevrolet 264 18 62.8 $104,095 Running
27 36 40 Landon Cassill(i) CRC Knock'er Loose Chevrolet 263 0 51.3 $95,495 Running
28 30 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 263 16 52.5 $136,470 Running
29 33 35 Cole Whitt MDS Ford 263 15 46.7 $105,853 Running
30 22 9 Sam Hornish Jr. SlimFast/Natrol Ford 262 14 44.0 $119,290 Running
31 38 34 Brett Moffitt # CSX Play It Safe Ford 262 13 39.2 $92,745 Running
32 35 38 David Gilliland Love's Travel Stops/Children's Miracle Network Ford 262 12 39.0 $108,592 Running
33 40 32 Josh Wise BeerFrost.com Ford 261 11 38.2 $90,845 Running
34 37 46 Michael Annett Allstate Peterbilt Group Chevrolet 261 10 38.5 $90,645 Running
35 34 26 JJ Yeley(i) Dr Pepper Toyota 261 0 32.8 $90,410 Running
36 15 47 AJ Allmendinger Food 4 Less/Scott Products Chevrolet 260 8 43.6 $108,220 Running
37 32 7 Alex Bowman Jewel-Osco Chevrolet 259 7 44.4 $89,953 Running
38 41 23 Jeb Burton # Estes/Draft Kings Toyota 259 6 28.3 $84,528 Running
39 39 83 Matt DiBenedetto # Cosmo Motors Toyota 258 5 30.3 $80,465 Running
40 42 98 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Ford 258 4 27.3 $76,465 Running
41 43 62 Timmy Hill(i) ChampionMachinery.com Chevrolet 255 0 24.2 $72,465 Running
42 1 4 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John's/Budweiser Chevrolet 209 3 1 90.1 $126,690 Running 2 10
43 5 3 Austin Dillon American Ethanol Chevrolet 198 1 78.0 $101,901 Running
Race Comments: Denny Hamlin won the myAFibRisk.com 400, his 26th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to the start of the race, the following car dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: No. 34 (transmission change).
Failed to Qualify: (3) 21, 95, 30.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 51 Mins, 30 Secs. Average Speed: 140.117 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.962 Seconds
Caution Flags: 6 for 28 laps: Laps: 3-6 (#11, 47 accident turn 3 and 4 [None]); 124-128 (Debris on backstretch [42]); 131-134 (#3 accident turn 2 [55]); 139-144 (#4 accident turn 3 [1]); 192-196 (Debris turn 4 [78]); 259-262 (Debris turns 1 and 2 [55]).
Lead Changes: 17 among 10 drivers: K. Harvick 1-5; J. Logano 6; M. Truex Jr. 7-45; Kyle Busch 46-128; K. Harvick 129-133; Kyle Busch 134-143; J. Gordon 144-183; Kurt Busch 184; Kyle Busch 185; K. Larson 186-187; C. Edwards 188-193; Kyle Busch 194-220; Kurt Busch 221-239; D. Hamlin 240-243; M. Kenseth 244; Kurt Busch 245-261; J. Gordon 262; D. Hamlin 263-267.
Top 16 Driver Points: (1) M. Kenseth 2,052;(2) D. Hamlin 2,050;(3) C. Edwards 2,049;(4) Kyle Busch 2,049;(5) Kurt Busch 2,048;(6) J. Logano 2,048;(7) J. Johnson 2,045;(8) R. Newman 2,040;(9) B. Keselowski 2,039;(10) D. Earnhardt Jr. 2,038;(11) M. Truex Jr. 2,035;(12) J. Gordon 2,031;(13) J. Mcmurray 2,028;(14) P. Menard 2,027;(15) C. Bowyer 2,025;(16) K. Harvick 2,009.
3M Lap Leader : Kyle Busch, #18 121 Laps American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award : Matt Kenseth, #20
Coors Light Pole Award : Not awarded, # Duralast Brakes "Brake in the Race" : Kevin Harvick, #4
Ingersoll Rand Power Move : Jamie McMurray, #1 6 positions Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Toyota Racing Development (TRD), #11
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race : Denny Hamlin, #11 Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race : Kurt Busch, #41 crew chief Tony Gibson, 0.519 seconds
Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap : Kyle Busch, #18 Sunoco Rookie of the Race : Brett Moffitt, #34
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: Sep. 27, 2015 - New Hampshire Motor Speedway
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