Jason Leffler picked up speed from the first practice, but it wasn't enough. Credit: Autostock

Leffler, Hamilton Jr. fail to qualify for Coke 600

CONCORD, N.C. -- The whispers that have dogged Jason Leffler all season long got a little bit louder Thursday night after he failed to qualify for the Coca-Cola 600.

Jimmy Spencer, who was next to last to go out of the cars that had to qualify on speed, reeled off a lap at 189.381 miles per hour, knocking Leffler out of the race.

	Jason Leffler
	Lineup Coca-Cola 600 Pos. Driver Make 1. Ryan Newman Dodge 2. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 3. Matt Kenseth Ford 4. Kasey Kahne Dodge 5. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Complete lineup, click here

He knew it when he got out of the car in the tech line.

"I don't know if it's good enough," Leffler said of his 187.611-mph lap. "It might be too little, too late."

It was, and Leffler has been hearing the footsteps as he and rookie crew chief Dave Rogers have struggled to make races on time.

This is the first time Leffler has missed a race this season.

"That [qualifying lap] was the best the car has felt," Leffler said after his run. "Obviously it was cooler [when he ran].

"We struggled all day, but the guys did a good job. We had a little bit of an issue with the engine before qualifying. There was a vibration, and the guys changed that and they worked hard. That's all you can ask for."

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Leffler then turned and walked to the team's transporter.

Bobby Hamilton Jr., on the day his team announced the hiring of Ron Fellows for the June race at Sonoma, also missed the race.

Team owner Cal Wells stated in the announcement that Hamilton was his driver, and that Fellows was hired to make sure the team qualified on the road course.

Bobby Hamilton Jr. Credit: Craig Jones/Getty Images

"We had an engine problem," said Wells. "That, I'm sure, kept us out of the race, but we need to be better anyway. I don't know -- it just wouldn't run.

"We had the problem earlier today and we thought we had it fixed but we didn't. I don't know if it was running out of gas or too much gas, but in the corners, it was missing and popping and banging."

Hamilton was the next-to-last car bumped when Spencer laid down his lap. Wells said the qualifying system bit the No. 32 team as well.

"The thing that's so surprising is that we ran a .50 here in testing (28.50 seconds)," Wells said. "It was cool like this, it wasn't in the sun.

"And we had a good run last week, qualified reasonably well and ran really well in the Open. I was really excited for the race and thought we'd be good.

"You know, when it's all about one lap, the draw is critical and horsepower is critical. We didn't get either one tonight.

"I'm looking forward to Dover, because it's a good track for Bobby and for us. I think we'll bounce back and dig in. We'll claw our way back."

There was no comment from Hamilton Jr.