Wrecks, penalties, mechanical failure hurt team
RELATED: Hamlin goes for wild ride | Edwards crew member pulled out of pit box
DOVER, Del. -- After the Sprint Cup Series FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway came to a close, Clint Bowyer walked right up to Denny Hamlin on pit road and offered him a sincere apology.
"I'm so sorry," Bowyer said repeatedly.
The Michael Waltrip Racing driver had gotten into the back of Hamlin's No. 11 on Lap 386 of 400, turning the Joe Gibbs Racing driver loose and sending him into the wall. Hamlin had led 118 laps, the second-highest in the race behind Martin Truex Jr.
“We were on those new tires and I thought we were going to really make some hay and we got clear of the 15 (Clint Bowyer)," Hamlin said post-race. "I thought we were going to make a run at it. We never even got a corner through before we got turned around. Disappointed, but we really didn’t have a winning car there at the end of the race.”
Hamlin wasn't the only JGR driver to face troubles at the "Monster Mile." In fact, all four of the teammates did.
It began with Carl Edwards on pit road around Lap 164, when he pullled away from his pit box with a wedge wrench still stuck in the car, taking a crew member with him who was trying to remove it. Edwards was penalized for taking equipment out of the pit box. Trouble found Edwards again at Lap 254 when he was penalized for speeding on pit road. The No. 19 driver worked hard to make up the time, but ultimately finished 19th and three laps off pace.
"We had a couple problems on pit lane," Edwards said. "But the biggest problem was my speeding. I didn’t realize I couldn’t speed in that segment so I was being a little aggressive and that cost us. I just feel bad for all of my teammates. They were running really well and we all had bad luck. Overall, the JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) cars were very fast this weekend and I still believe we’re on a big upward swing with our Toyotas."
Next to face hardship was Matt Kenseth.
The No. 20 driver was first penalized for too many crew members over the wall on Lap 355 and then on Lap 367, the suspension on his Toyota broke, taking him out of the race and causing him to finish 39th.
Then with 25 laps to go, Kyle Busch collided with Brian Scott, forcing the No. 18 out of the race with a 36th-place finish.
MORE: Scott apologizes after spoiling Kyle Busch's run
While a lot of what the JGR drives experienced was misfortune, Hamlin spoke about the struggles they've faced as a team to gain speed.
"Our cars fade in the middle of the race it seems like," Hamlin said. "We had some good raw speed while the track is clean, but it seems like our cars -- they were fifth-place cars for the most part. The 20 (Matt Kenseth), 18 (Kyle Busch), those guys got a little better at certain points of the race, but I still think we have work to do. We’re not the best organization, we’re not the fastest cars by any means right now."
The Sprint Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway next weekend where Hamlin has the best record of the JGR squad with four wins, nine top-fives and 12 top-10 finishes.