Hamlin struggling at MIS in car that won in June

BROOKYLN, Mich. -- If lap times from this weekend's qualifying and practice sessions at Michigan International Speedway are any indication of what lies ahead, Sunday could be a long day for Denny Hamlin.

Hamlin, who won at Michigan in June, has struggled to find the right setup for the No. 11 Toyota. He qualified deep in the field, 33rd, for the Carfax 400 on Friday and was 24th-fastest in Saturday's final practice, posting a lap time of 39.306 seconds (183.178 mph).

Michigan Speeds

Practice 2

Pos.	Driver	Speed	Time
1.	G. Biffle	187.052	38.492
2.	R. Newman	186.466	38.613
3.	K. Kahne	186.191	38.670
4.	J. Burton	186.157	38.677
5.	Ku. Busch	186.133	38.682
17.	D. Hamlin	185.004	38.918
19.	Ky. Busch	184.762	38.969

• Complete Speeds

Happy Hour

Pos.	Driver	Speed	Time
1.	J. Johnson	185.845	38.742
2.	D. Ragan	185.214	38.874
3.	J. Gordon	184.971	38.925
4.	K. Harvick	184.772	38.967
5.	G. Biffle	184.743	38.973
24.	D. Hamlin	183.178	39.306
28.	Ky. Busch	182.857	39.375

• Complete Speeds

Hamlin, who was 30th in the opening practice leading into the qualifying session, didn't seem overly concerned when asked about it Friday.

"It's going all right. We were about like we were here in [June] as far as speed," Hamlin said. "We're a little bit slow on speed as far as qualifying, but we feel like the race stuff is pretty competitive."

Hamlin is racing the same car the team won with in June. He has gone winless since.

"We felt like there have been a few opportunities for us to win between these two races," said Hamlin, who sits sixth in the Sprint Cup point standings. "We are excited that we are back at a track that we had really good success in just a few weeks ago.

"It's a double-edged sword, I guess you could say. We're getting close to the Chase so our mind-set is a little different than what it was probably eight weeks ago so we're just trying to get geared up and going for the Chase."

Tied with Jimmie Johnson for the most victories in the Cup Series with five, Hamlin is looking to add to his bonus total when the points are reset for the Chase.

"At this point, it's about nothing but getting race wins and if we don't get a race win then it's about building setups that are going to work on these type of race tracks like once we get to California in the Chase," Hamlin said. "We have to just keep our eyes on the prize and make sure we don't get frustrated one way or another over these next few weeks."

Despite his slow times, Hamlin has settled into a groove on the 2-mile oval because he says the track conditions are virtually the same as before.

"The speeds are picked up a little bit more just from gains that guys have from the first race to the second race," he said. "But really, it's pretty much the same track that we had here in [June]. The only difference is that it's a little bit hotter simply because it's a little clearer than it was in [June]. We had a little more overcast."

Kyle Busch also struggled in Saturday's two practices -- 19th in the morning session (38.969 seconds, 184.762 mph), 28th in Happy Hour (39.375 seconds, 182.857 mph) -- but, like Hamlin, said his No. 18 Toyota should be good in race trim.

"Our [car] was loose off. We jumped back and forth in practice from tight to loose," said Busch, who qualified 18th. "We picked up from practice, but we couldn't rotate the center like I wanted to."

The two Joe Gibbs Racing teams used the the morning practice to swap drivers in search for additional information. Dave Rogers, crew chief for Busch, said it was a helpful exercise and might be something the teams continue to do in the future.

"Sometimes we have our drivers' meetings and on paper we look at our setups and we listen to what our drivers say and sometimes it doesn't correspond," Rogers said. "Mike [Ford, Hamlin's crew chief] and I are sitting there trying to figure out if it's car differences or driver differences, what's the deal? We just talked about it and said it would be really neat to switch drivers and just see what they feel."

NASCAR's competition officials approved the temporary switch and Ford said the exercise was especially beneficial for his driver.

"It's a test over time so when you bring the same car back and you didn't progress over that time and then you see other guys that did progress, it gives you a benchmark of how far you need to work," Ford said.

Greg Biffle was the only driver to post top-five speeds in both practices Saturday, leading the morning session with a lap time of 38.492 seconds (187.052 mph). He was fifth in Happy Hour (38.973 seconds, 184.743 mph).

Johnson led the final session, posting the fastest lap time of 38.742 seconds (185.845 mph).

Related:
• Michigan: Race Lineup | Practice 1 Speeds