It's not a win, but it sure helps hard-luck Hamlin (cont'd)

As pole winner, Johnson had first choice of pit stall, and took the first one, at the far end of the frontstretch toward Turn 1. Hamlin pitted in the middle of pit road, where there was more traffic, and it took longer to get in.

"It's tough to say where we lost time. It could've been on exit. It could've been on entry," Hamlin said. "It's tough to say, because we pitted so far down pit road the 48 probably could've sped up once he passed us and once he cleared us. He could've gained it there. He could've gained it on the stop. We don't know whether our stop was just slow or not. This is still a solid run."

Brickyard to dust

A debacle like the one that happened Sunday shouldn't happen anywhere. But it absolutely cannot happen at Indy, writes David Caraviello.

• Complete story, click here
• Determining the cause

This Brickyard was a chaotic event, full of two-tire stops as teams jostled for track position, and starts and stops that made it difficult for drivers to find a rhythm. Hamlin knew his car was strong up front in clean air. But with so many cautions and so many pit stops, it wasn't easy to stay up there.

"You knew what you had and you knew how to pace yourself," Hamlin said. "You knew you had to take it easy for the first three laps [on new tires]. Really, we only ran as hard as what our tires would let us run. We never really pushed our car until that last run. But it's just one of those things. A guy goes out in clean air and he's had a good car all day, and it's going to be hard to beat him."

But third place was good enough, especially after a four-week stretch that saw Hamlin finish 26th or worse in three of four events, and plummet from sixth to 12th -- the Chase cutoff line -- in championship points. Sunday's results moved him back up to eighth, giving him some breathing room.

"Looking back over the last two and a half months, we've had really good racecars, and haven't been able to finish where we felt like we could finish," Ford said. "Our shot at beating those guys was to keep the car out front. We had a shot at it. Going into a race you just want a shot at winning, and we had that [Sunday]. You can't be miserable with that. We could have had a little better car; if we had, we might have been a little closer. We could have had a little better pit stops that would have put us a little closer. You go back and you realize those things, and you go to work on them and you move forward. But to come out of a race like this [Sunday] and finish third ... we're very pleased with that."

It didn't hurt that Matt Kenseth and Brian Vickers, two drivers Hamlin is battling for Chase berths, had issues. Kenseth's car was shredded by a blown tire, and the engine in Vickers' vehicle expired. With just six events remaining until the Chase opener, time is growing short.

"We knew we needed a top-10 day," Hamlin said. "We knew that at the beginning of the day. This race only comes around once a year. It is prestigious, so you hate to let a win slip away. In the back of your mind, you have to be happy knowing you had a good points day. That's where we are."

Also
• Out of last pit first, Johnson wins Brickyard 'competition'