Denny Hamlin's crew takes care of the No. 11 car that has everyone searching for speed. Credit: Autostock

Hamlin hanging his Indy hopes on Pocono car

Rookie bringing same chassis he drove to Victory Lane twice

SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- Denny Hamlin won both Pocono races this season from the pole. And he knows that he will have to qualify very well on Saturday to have any chance of a Pocono-Indianapolis sweep.

Track position, always critical in Nextel Cup, has taken on a new dimension of importance in 2006's flat-track races, and Hamlin said that Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard will be a textbook example.

Denny Hamlin has not lost in the car he's bringing to Indy. Credit: Autostock

Allstate 400 1st Practice Speeds Pos. Driver Speed Time 1. Schrader 180.321 49.911 2. R. Gordon 180.029 49.992 3. Bowyer 179.279 50.201 4. Hamlin 178.806 50.334 5. Mears 178.628 50.384 6. Earnhardt 178.614 50.388 7. Stremme 178.204 50.504 8. Wimmer 178.186 50.509 9. Harvick 178.137 50.523 10. Menard 177.855 50.603 • Complete 1st speeds, click here 2nd Practice Speeds Pos. Driver Speed Time 1. Ku. Busch 182.039 49.440 2. Kahne 181.995 49.452 3. R. Gordon 181.181 49.674 4. Riggs 181.097 49.697 5. Schrader 180.908 49.749 6. Bowyer 180.690 49.809 7. Johnson 180.296 49.918 8. Sorenson 180.256 49.929 9. Burton 180.238 49.934 10. Hamlin 180.234 49.935 • Complete 2nd speeds, click here

The rookie had a difficult time making his way around other cars in last month's open test at the 2.5-mile track, especially with the fleet of cars Joe Gibbs Racing brought to the test.

"It is hard to pass [and] it is hard to hit your marks looking through someone else's windshield," Hamlin said. "This track is going to be pivotal as far as track position and the top five guys are going to have the best advantage.

"We just did not test that well. We had cars that were inferior and didn't need to be on the racetrack at the time. We saved our best bullet for race time and it is time to bring out our best bullet and see what we got."

Hamlin's team has the same car at Indy that won both Pocono races. His win there in June came despite a violent spin through the grass that ripped apart the left side of his car. The team repaired the damage, won the race and then sent it back to Pocono in July, where Hamlin put the field to sleep by leading 151 of 200 laps.

"[The car] has a special place at Joe Gibbs Racing," Hamlin said. "It is just a car that is quite a bit better than anything they have built. We really cannot figure out why."

That car has made Hamlin the favorite to become the first rookie to ever win at the Brickyard. His crew chief, Mike Ford, won the Brickyard 400 in 2002 with driver Bill Elliott.

Hamlin would welcome the timely win. He is only 37 points ahead of 10th-place Tony Stewart with six races to go before the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

He has worked his way there with 11 consecutive finishes of 17th or better. Strangely, the streak started just after Hamlin cut his left hand in a freak garage horseplay accident. Since then, he has moved from 16th to eighth in the points.

"[A win] would be huge," Hamlin said. "It is something I am not even thinking about. I am just trying to get out of here with a top-10, top-15 finish like we have all year long.

"If we can do that I will consider it a successful race. We know we have a great car, I just have to make sure I get it done."