It's not a win, but it sure helps hard-luck Hamlin

• Video: Hamlin talks about his third-place finish at Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS -- With about 30 laps remaining in a bizarre race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin allowed himself to think that the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard was his to lose. Even on two new tires, he was faster than his closest pursuer, Jimmie Johnson, was on four. If he could stay out front in the clean air, that big gold brick of a trophy would be his.

Denny Hamlin

2008 Results

First 10 Races	Second 10 Races
Daytona............17	Darlington........7
Fontana.............41	Charlotte.........24
Las Vegas.........9	Dover...............43
Atlanta..............15	Pocono.............3
Bristol................6	Michigan..........14
Martinsville.......1	Sonoma............27
Texas.................5	New Hamp. .....8
Phoenix..............3	Daytona...........26
Talladega...........3	Chicago...........40
Richmond...........24	Indianapolis.....3

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"I knew if there was an opportunity at the end of the race, if we could take the same tires he did, we could outrun him," Hamlin said. "I held my hand all race long. I was taking it easy, taking it easy, waiting to really push it. And when we did push it, we were able to pull away. We just didn't get out on pit road the way we needed to."

Hamlin had the closest thing to the dominant car at the end of Sunday's Sprint Cup event at Indianapolis, which was marred by concerns over tire failures. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver led 26 of 27 laps until NASCAR issued the last of six competition cautions to check for tire wear. The No. 11 car dropped from first to third after the final pit stop, and couldn't catch Johnson in the 10-lap sprint to the end.

It's been that kind of season for Hamlin, NASCAR's hardest-luck driver this year. He led 98 laps at Bristol before going out with the same power-steering pump failure that had plagued him the previous week at Atlanta. He led 381 laps at Richmond before going out with a tire failure. He lost five positions in the standings two weeks ago at Chicagoland when he was knocked out early with an electrical problem.

And then came Sunday, when his bid to win one of NASCAR's biggest events was undone partly by a tipped tire. On the pit stop during the race's final competition caution, Hamlin entered first, followed by Elliott Sadler and Johnson. On the ensuing two-tire stop, the car of Reed Sorenson made slight contact with one of Hamlin's old tires. It wasn't much, but it was enough to delay the tire carrier by a few more fractions of a second. Hamlin exited pit road third, behind Johnson and Carl Edwards, and finished in the same spot (watch video).

It's been that kind of year for crew chief Mike Ford and the No. 11 team.

"The 41 car was coming around us, and the last two tire stops we made, [Sorenson] came in and hit our right-front tire," Ford said. "We needed to make sure we got that tire under control so we didn't get penalized. We needed to make sure that tire was back. It cost us a little bit of time on pit road, but it's just one of the things that can happen. We didn't get any damage from it, but our guys had to hesitate and that cost them a little bit of time. I don't know if we'd have gotten the 48 [car of Johnson] off pit road with the stall that he had. But I think we would have definitely come out at least second."

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'