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HAMPTON, GA (October 29, 2007) - This wasn’t the type of water problem expected at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend, as the area continues to deal with drought conditions throughout the region. But, unfortunately a water situation within the car hampered the #11 FedEx Racing team’s solid run on Sunday, as the bad luck continued for Hamlin and the team during the 2007 Chase.
After struggling to find speed and proper handling early in the weekend’s practices, the #11 team believed they had a top-five car when racing began on Sunday afternoon at the 1.54 mile track. They were right, but only to have their hopes of a second trip to victory lane in 2007 extinguished by water entering the gas tank. Solid pit stops by the #11 team, and a car that responded appropriately on long runs helped Hamlin climb from his eighteenth starting position to a place in the top-five with only a few laps to go. But, an issue with moisture in the fuel that was discovered earlier in the race, ultimately ended Hamlin’s day during a restart on lap 322. Although the #11 team had enough fuel to finish the race, water in the system had diluted the fuel and Hamlin experienced engine failure as the green flag dropped, resulting in a wreck with Martin Truex Jr., and a 24th-place finish.
The #11 team unloaded another new car this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and made several changes in their spring and shock combinations in order to find the right setup after a sluggish practice on Friday. Hamlin managed to qualify the #11 FedEx Express Chevrolet in the 18th spot on Friday night, and the #11 team took both practices on Saturday to fine tune the machine for Sunday.
When the green flag dropped on the Pep Boys 500, Hamlin found the car to be a little tight in the center of the turns, but as a result the #11 car was turning the fastest laps of any car on the track early in the race. Hamlin gained eight spots and entered the top-10 by lap 30. Hamlin pitted under caution on lap 33 for a slight air pressure adjustment, but crew chief Mike Ford knew they would be walking a dangerous line if they tried to free up the car too much on this track. Hamlin entered the pits in tenth and would restart seventh when green flag racing resumed.
Hamlin stayed out when the caution flew on lap 40, and would hover in the seventh and eighth position before pitting under caution on lap 58. Ford made the call for four tires and fuel, and the #11 team turned in a 13.3 second pit stop to get Hamlin back out in sixth as the race went green on lap 62.
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The fourth caution of the day came out on lap 64 as David Gilliland and Mark Martin were involved in a wreck. Hamlin would not pit, but radioed to Ford that something was not right with the motor and he felt like the car was pulling an anchor. This would be the start of the water and fuel issues that would cause issues for the #11 team, and other cars on the track, the remainder of the day. The team drained the gas cans and held discussions with NASCAR officials before Hamlin reported five laps later the engine problems had gone away.
Hamlin was fifth when the green flag dropped on lap 69, but would fall a few positions to ninth over the next 25 laps before the fifth caution of the day came out on lap 98. Hamlin informed Ford the car had a tendency to drift towards the apron on long runs, which had Ford make the call for a small track bar and air pressure adjustment. Another 13 second pit stop by the #11 team had Hamlin in sixth for the restart on lap 103.
The #11 machine continued to be strong on long runs, and Hamlin had worked his way up another two spots to fourth before the yellow flag flew on lap 148. Although Hamlin informed Ford he was too tight in the center of the turns, Ford was hesitant to make any major changes after seeing the drop in times for the other teams that made more significant changes to loosen their cars up. Hamlin brought the #11 FedEx Chevy down pit road under caution in the fourth position for a small air pressure adjustment along with four tires and fuel. Another quick stop resulted in Hamlin gaining a spot on pit road to restart third on lap 153.
Another caution flew on lap 163 as Bobby Labonte hit the wall, and Hamlin pitted for another small air pressure adjustment. He would restart fifth and stay out during one more caution before informing Ford for the first time that his car had become a little free on lap 192. After pitting under caution on lap 197 for a track bar and tire pressure adjustment, Hamlin continued to have a tight car over the next 30 laps and on lap 225 informed Ford the balance in the car was gone. A caution on lap 233 brought Hamlin down pit road for another wedge and air pressure adjustment. He would restart 11th on lap 239.
Hamlin was able to get back some of the balance during the next run, but was still a little too tight. Ford made the call for another small air pressure and track bar adjustment when Hamlin pitted under caution on lap 268. Hamlin again would restart 11th.
By lap 300, Hamlin had got himself back inside the top-10 and was informed by Ford that he was really close on gas, but should have enough to finish the race. Running sixth on lap 318, the decision was made to stay out under caution when the leaders pitted. As a result, Hamlin took over first when racing resumed on lap 322. But, Hamlin lost power as the green flag dropped and was hit hard from behind by Martin Truex Jr. Having initially thought the car ran out of gas, it was later determined there was water in the carburetor stemming from the issues earlier in the race. With less fuel in the tank, there wasn’t enough fuel to dilute the water, therefore resulting in engine failure.
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Hamlin was pushed to pit road by teammate J.J. Yeley, and made two pit stops under caution to try and re-fire the car in order to finish the race. The #11 team would get the car back on the track for the finish under caution, but would take the checkered in 24th position.
“It’s just a continuation of our bad luck during this Chase,” said Hamlin. “We came here to win and we took the risks to do so. We had a solid run out there until the end, and I’m really proud of our team and the stops we had today. I know we probably ruined a lot of guy’s good runs out there today and I feel horrible about that, but we thought we could finish the race after looking at our fuel situation. If we knew that was going to happen we wouldn’t have tried it…obviously. I'm happy about the way we ran. That's the one thing we can take out of here. This is the best car we've had here. This is the best that we've been.”
Jimmy Johnson took the checkered flag under caution to sweep both Atlanta races this year. Carl Edwards, Reed Sorensen, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Burton rounded out the top-five.
Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Tony Stewart and J.J. Yeley finished 30th and 35th respectively.
The twenty fourth-place finish drops Hamlin back to 10th in the Chase for the Nextel Cup standings. He currently trails leader Jeff Gordon by 424 points with three races remaining.
The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series heads to Texas later this week.