Box Score Info:
RACE: Oral-B USA 500
TRACK: Atlanta Motor Speedway
DRIVER: Denny Hamlin
CAR: No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota
START:17th
FINISH: 3rd
LAPS: 335/335
LAPS LED: Six Times for 37 Laps
POINTS POSITION: 19th
Post-Race Highlights:
- Racing under the lights at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota Camry team rolled off the starting grid in the 17th position and quickly set sail to the front of the field.
- Hamlin moved into the top 10 by lap 20 and was scored in the eighth position on lap 37 when the first caution of the race waved. Making their first stop of the race, the No. 11 Sport Clips team proved they would be a strong staple all night as they gained Hamlin four positions on pit road.
- As the race continued under long-green flag runs, the team made multiple stops throughout the race continually adjusting on the car to improve its handling. With every stop, the No. 11 Sport Clips team delivered top-notch performances, gaining positions on pit road each time and putting Hamlin as the leader following several stops.
- Hamlin ran the majority of the race in the top five, leading the field six different times to lead 37 laps.
- With two late cautions extending the race with two attempts at a green-white-checker finish, Hamlin was able to contend for the win, but came up two positions short to finish the race in the third position.
- Kasey Kahne won the race followed by Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards.
Denny Hamlin’s Post-Race Thoughts:
“We really didn’t have the fastest car after halfway by any means. We really overachieved with our pit stops — those guys just kept me in it all day long and it’s a great feeling when you come to pit road and you know you’re going to come out first pretty much every time. If it wasn’t for our pit crew, it was a tough fight for us, but they did a good job, the whole Sport Clips Camry team did today. A little disappointing, I thought we had a little better car than this overnight and was pretty optimistic. Still it puts us in position to win. That top line, you just can’t accelerate up there for whatever reason. It’s no different banking than the bottom, but for whatever reason, you just can’t get going.”
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