(Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)
With his top five finish last week in Bristol and just two races before the race to the Chase begins, Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin was looking to solidify his fourth-place points position entering Atlanta Motor Speedway.
With a victory at Pocono earlier in the year, eight top fives and 12 top 10s, Hamlin is having a quiet, successful 2009. The same can't be said for AMS, where despite a third-place finish in 2008, the driver of the No. 11 Farm Bureau Insurance Toyota held an average finish of just 16.5 coming into the first ever night race held at the track.
The first practice for Hamlin got off to a good start; he was third on the charts throughout, but struggled with comfort issues on what he called a "twitchy" car. The Joe Gibbs Racing team ran just 16 laps in Happy Hour on Saturday, where they ended the session 31st on the charts.
“We've got six or seven top fives the last ten races," Hamlin told Hermie Sadler during Race Day Built by the Home Depot. "We're coming on strong, we've just got to be a little bit better in a few more areas to be winners on a week in, week out basis.
“You're going to have to have a car that is adjustable. This race track does change quite a bit. Myself, Kurt, Jamie and Tony all tire-tested here and they came back with a tire none of us ran on. So it's tough to say what to expect, but I'm sure you're going to have to have a car that's adjustable.”
Hamlin started the Pep Boys Auto Parts 500 in 10th, and once the green flag flew he quickly found a home on the top lane and began picking up positions. Ten laps into the event, Hamlin was running eighth and steadily making his way threw the field.
The first pit stop for the leaders came on lap 37 for the first of two spins by Sam Hornish, Jr. Throughout the night the leaders, including Hamlin, took four tires and fuel, and Hamlin carried on in the top 10, coming off pit road in sixth.
Quietly, Hamlin gained a spot in the top five and another solid stop by his pit crew helped him retain it after the second set of stops on the night, coming on lap 60.
By the time the third caution of the race came out for oil on the track, Hamlin and his crew kept the No. 11 Farm Bureau Insurance Toyota in the top five, running fourth at the time.
Lap 110 was when Hamlin started making noise, roaring past Jeff Gordon in second and shooting toward his teammate, leader Kyle Busch.
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