-
Home
-
Latest Headlines
-
- TV Shows
- TV Schedule
- NASCAR
-
Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
-
Latest Headlines: Moto-Racing
-
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Games
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
- Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
- Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
Sprint Cup
CUP: Next – The Whirlwind Of Talladega
The Sprint Cup point race is the tightest after six races in Chase history...
Denny Hamlin (Right), driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, celebrates with car owner Joe Gibbs (Left), in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)
Now it’s really a race.
But it’s also really Talladega.
Denny Hamlin won Sunday’s Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway and did so in convincing, championship-caliber fashion. The victory, coupled with Jimmie Johnson's fifth-place run, cut Johnson’s point lead over Hamlin to six.
The virtual dead heat fires new interest into the championship race as the Sprint Cup tour moves on to its version of Armageddon – next Sunday’s Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Talladega is the track Chasers love to hate because its tight drafting packs, dangerous bump-drafting and frequent multi-car accidents make it exceptionally unpredictable.
A big wreck could snag the championship plans of Johnson, Hamlin and third-place Kevin Harvick. No amount of planning, engine-tuning, crew preparation or race strategy can alter the fact that Talladega can bite anyone at any time.
Asked how he might approach what could be the most important race of his life to date, Hamlin replied, “I don’t know. We’ve got six days to figure it out. Mike’s [crew chief Mike Ford] approach and mine are two different things. He wants me to go like hell. I want to be conservative. We’ll get on the same page before next week.
“Honestly, it’s the only Chase race we have that you can’t necessarily control your destiny. You see some of the same guys running up front, but it’s so hard to know the right place to put yourself in. Anybody can lead that race, but it’s about who decides to put yourself in positions that don’t work out.
“You never know. We could come out of there with a 50- or 60-point lead, or we could be that far behind. You just don’t know.”
Martinsville on Sunday was virtually the opposite of Talladega as far as Hamlin is concerned. The race worked out perfectly for him.
Hamlin, who scored his series-high seventh win of the year, fell from first to 15th early in the race as he wrestled with handling issues on his Toyota. When the race’s first caution fell on lap 49, he finally got a chance to drop into the pits and address the issue. Ford said the problem was caused by track buildup on the left rear tire and that most of the difficulties were solved with a four-tire change.
“As soon as we bolted on that second set of tires, that probably was the best run we had all day,” Hamlin said.
“I was really looking for debris on the track [at the first of the race]. I thought, ‘Man, there’s got to be something out on this race track to cause a caution.’ Had it gone a full green-flag run, we probably would have gone a lap down.
“But we’ve had these issues before at the start of races. That’s why I didn’t panic.”
Although the new tires solved much of the issue, Hamlin said his crew made adjustments throughout the race.
“This is probably the most gratifying win I’ve had so far because we didn’t have the best car all day,” he said. “We fought and fought and fought and kept working on it. I needed that long run [at the end]. The car was really good on long runs.
“It was a great day. It’s what we set out to do.”
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
But it’s also really Talladega.
Denny Hamlin won Sunday’s Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway and did so in convincing, championship-caliber fashion. The victory, coupled with Jimmie Johnson's fifth-place run, cut Johnson’s point lead over Hamlin to six.
The virtual dead heat fires new interest into the championship race as the Sprint Cup tour moves on to its version of Armageddon – next Sunday’s Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Talladega is the track Chasers love to hate because its tight drafting packs, dangerous bump-drafting and frequent multi-car accidents make it exceptionally unpredictable.
A big wreck could snag the championship plans of Johnson, Hamlin and third-place Kevin Harvick. No amount of planning, engine-tuning, crew preparation or race strategy can alter the fact that Talladega can bite anyone at any time.
Asked how he might approach what could be the most important race of his life to date, Hamlin replied, “I don’t know. We’ve got six days to figure it out. Mike’s [crew chief Mike Ford] approach and mine are two different things. He wants me to go like hell. I want to be conservative. We’ll get on the same page before next week.
“Honestly, it’s the only Chase race we have that you can’t necessarily control your destiny. You see some of the same guys running up front, but it’s so hard to know the right place to put yourself in. Anybody can lead that race, but it’s about who decides to put yourself in positions that don’t work out.
“You never know. We could come out of there with a 50- or 60-point lead, or we could be that far behind. You just don’t know.”
Martinsville on Sunday was virtually the opposite of Talladega as far as Hamlin is concerned. The race worked out perfectly for him.
Hamlin, who scored his series-high seventh win of the year, fell from first to 15th early in the race as he wrestled with handling issues on his Toyota. When the race’s first caution fell on lap 49, he finally got a chance to drop into the pits and address the issue. Ford said the problem was caused by track buildup on the left rear tire and that most of the difficulties were solved with a four-tire change.
“As soon as we bolted on that second set of tires, that probably was the best run we had all day,” Hamlin said.
“I was really looking for debris on the track [at the first of the race]. I thought, ‘Man, there’s got to be something out on this race track to cause a caution.’ Had it gone a full green-flag run, we probably would have gone a lap down.
“But we’ve had these issues before at the start of races. That’s why I didn’t panic.”
Although the new tires solved much of the issue, Hamlin said his crew made adjustments throughout the race.
“This is probably the most gratifying win I’ve had so far because we didn’t have the best car all day,” he said. “We fought and fought and fought and kept working on it. I needed that long run [at the end]. The car was really good on long runs.
“It was a great day. It’s what we set out to do.”
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
Shake and Bake: Recent Posts
-
Dale Earnhardt Sr., Father of the All-Star Paint Scheme »
-
Charlotte Television Schedule: Sprint All-Star Weekend »
-
Trickle Was A Legend »
-
Last Lap: Trickle Dead At 71; Harmon Denies Stealing Cobb's Trailer (Video) »
-
Charmin Billboard: Skid Marks Are For Racetracks (Not Your Underwear) »
-
It's A Pillow. It's A Pet. It's On Trevor Bayne's Car »
-
Here's Your Crash Course On The NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star Race (Video) »
-
Smoke On Danica - Someone "Tell Her How In The (Expletive) To Run Traffic" (Video) »
Kansas Speedway
LATEST HEADLINES: NASCAR
-
TRUCKS: It’s Kyle Busch – Again
Kyle Busch rallied from a pit-road problem to win Camping World Truck… -
CUP: Friday Charlotte Notebook (UPDATE 14)
Kyle Busch wins the North Carolina Education Lottery 200... -
CUP: Edwards Wins All-Star Pole
Carl Edwards has good speed and a good pit stop to win All-Star pole…… -
HAMMOND: All-Star Race Is A Classic
Wild West frame of mind takes over... -
TRUCKS: Burton Snares Another Pole
Jeb Burton has three poles in five NASCAR Camping World Truck Series… -
CUP: Format Changes Shuffle Strategies
‘Average finish’ format twists approaches to All-Star… -
CUP: Truex Aids Catwalk For A Cause Benefit
Martin Truex blends charity with racing effort... - More News
