Hamlin relieved to stay in Chase without help
3 teammates stay at back to advance, defend strategy.
TALLADEGA, ALA. — Joe Gibbs Racing used meticulous strategy when Denny Hamlin won the season-opening Daytona 500. To continue his championship chances, he was on his own.
JGR used a split plan Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, where three of its drivers lagged at the back of the field all day as Hamlin raced at the front to try to avoid elimination in NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup.
His third-place finish with a last-gasp pass of Kurt Busch at the finish line put him in a tie with Austin Dillon for the eighth and final spot in the third round of the playoff, which starts Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.
The berth went to Hamlin on a tiebreaker, and JGR got all four of its cars into the next segment. Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch f i n i s h e d 2 8 t h , 2 9 t h a n d 30th behind a conservative approach that put four Toyotas in the final eight. After three more races, the field will be cut to four for the finale at Homestead, Fla.
“It was very tough in there not having any teammates,” Hamlin said. “They had to do what they had to do to get in. You can’t sacrifice those three cars to try to get the last one in.”
It was a gut-wrenching race for car owner Joe Gibbs, who celebrated his first title in 10 years last season with Kyle Busch and wants as many chances as possible to repeat next month. The team had t wo cars eliminated from contention a year ago at Talladega, but now Gibbs has 50 percent of the final eight.
“They’ve got more to lose than I do, I guess, they’ve got four,” said Roger Penske, who has only Talladega winner Joey Logano in the third round. Brad Keselowski was eliminated Sunday by an engine failure, and Ford has just one slot.
But Penske felt fine with his chance, particularly after title favorite Martin Truex Jr. was knocked out Sunday with his own engine failure. Truex had won two races in the first round of the Chase and would have given Toyota five spots had he advanced.
“Truex was a real threat to everyone, and the fact that he’s not in, Brad, you take a couple of guys out that can really win ... it’s a level playing field,” Penske said. “We got some Toyotas, got some Chevys, we got a Ford. We’re satisfied where we are.” So is JGR. For fans who might have b e e n u p s e t , Ky l e B u s c h defended the team’s strategy of having three drivers stay out of trouble rather than try to win Sunday.
“Don’t hate the player. ... Hate the game,” Busch posted Monday on Twitter.
Two years ago, Busch went to Talladega in decent shape to advance in the Chase. He was involved in a wreck and eliminated from the playoff.
“There’s no reward to go race and get wrecked,” Busch said. “You’ve got to try to survive and do what you can.”
Kenseth was eliminated from the Chase at Talladega last year but acknowledged that the JGR strategy might have upset some fans.
“It goes against everything you ever want to do as a race car driver,” Kenseth said. “You can’t afford to go up there and get wrecked and not have a chance to race for a championship. I don’t think any of us had any fun and none of us enjoyed it, but it was just what we had to do.”
Stewart-Haas Racing has Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick in the final eight, while Hendrick Motorsports has Jimmie Johnson for three Chevrolets in the field.