NASCAR Hamlin Takes the Checkered Flag in Kansas Leaving Martin Truex in the Wind

Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag at Kansas on Sunday after passing Martin Truex Jr with 30 laps to go and holding him off until the checkered flag.

The #56 NAPA Auto Parts car piloted by Martin Truex looked untouchable.  For most of the day he was, leading mosre laps in one race than he has in 2 season previous in total, Martin Truex looked like he ws the one to beat, and then the sun came out.  When the sun came out it loosened up everyone in the field, but for Truex it spelled the end as Denny Hamlins #11 Fed EX car improved enough under the new track conditions that, with 30 laps to go, he was finally able to make the pass and hold off Martin Truex Jr. right up to the checkered flag.  Truex gave it all he had making 2 serious dive bomb attempts at retaking the lea but it simply was too little and too late to catch Hamlin before the checkered flag.

Whether it was coincidence or not, our car definitely seemed like, [relative] to the field, was better once the sun came out, Hamlin said. I felt like our car lost a lot of grip when the sun came out, but I guess a lot of guys did when that happened. I felt like all day I was behind the No. 56 [Truex], and his car looked so superior to the field.

We just needed some kind of change weather or adjustments or something to get where he was at and we kind of got both of them. In overcast conditions, the cars run a little bit tighter, the grip levels higher in the race car, and its more of a track-position type race. When the suns out, the drivers, in my opinion, are more prominent.

You move around, find the grip, do things in the car to make up for what you dont have. The slicker the conditions are, the better it tends to [be] for our race team. Luckily, we had that run in sunshine.

Martin Truex was very dissappointed with his second place finish in Kansas

For Truex the 2nd place finish was the most disheartening second place finish he has ever felt.  After being the dominant car all day long, to lose because of something as simple as sunshie really burned the leader of the MWR team.

I guess if we can be this disappointed with second, it shows how far weve come as a race team, he said.

I felt like [Sunday] was kind of a day where I thought I was back, and felt really strong that wed have a car that could contend for the win going into the race. And then to be able to do that all day long, it was a good feeling.

I know our wins are going to come. We just need to keep running like we are. Its been a long time since Ive won, and I know Im capable of it, and thats the most disappointing thing, letting one slip away [Sunday]. If I had made a mistake or wed made a bad adjustment or something, it would probably be a little bit easier to swallow, to be honest. But to put tires on, and not touch the car, and all of a sudden the car drives worse than it has all day, it is pretty frustrating when you havent won in a while. But again, Ive got a lot of confidence in this team right now. Good things are in the future for us, and Ive just got to keep looking at that direction.

When asked about his moves at the end while trying to retake the leads, Truex hinted at his frustration in his desperate moves.

Desperation, Truex said wryly. I was a little bit faster than Denny at the end, but he was running against the wall right where I needed to be, and I was just trying to gain a little bit of ground.

It was desperation last-ditch effort just trying something. There was no chance to make it work.

Im just not really sure what to think of that last set of tires, Truex said. The car had been really good all day, we put the last set on, and I was just wrecking loose for the first 20 laps of that last run.

Denny was able to get by me, and once he did, the race was over. The car got better longer in the run, and I was able to get back to him, but Id get three or four car-lengths from him and pick up the aero push

Jimmie Johnson feels his 3rd place finish is showing that his team is ready to be back in contention.

Jimmie Johnson however feels strongly that his 3rd place finish was a show that he and his race team are back and ready to be in contention.

This week it doesnt register, Johnson said. To me, last week at Texas [and] the week before, to lead a lot of laps at Martinsville and have our cars be one, two, three and not get the victory [Sunday], to get near the end and not close the deal does sting. We ran well but we werent a dominant car and kind of finished where we should have.

[Sunday] doesnt bother me. Sure, Id love to [win the 200th], but the No. 56 [Truex] and the No. 11 [Hamlin] at the end had more pace than we did.

I commend Chad for trying something a little different, strategy-wise, Johnson said. If things wouldve played out different at the end, maybe we couldve put two on while the other guys were putting four something, just trying to give us some options.

I dont think it affected our finish. We got basically back to where we were [before the stop]. I think I was ahead of the No. 11 but the No. 11 was real strong that last run and went up there and got the win.

Dale Earnhardt Jr had another strong showing with a 7th place finish, good enough to keep him in 4th in the overall points.  Steve Letarte, in an intervfiew with Claire B. Lange from Sirius / XM NASCAR radio, said it isnt how far you are frm teh top, theyre more concerned with not falling past 11th in the standings.  64 points ahead of 11th place is the way they are thinking right now.  If they can remain as consistant as they have been so far this season, the wins will happen, as long as they dont get ffrustrated before they get there.

Tony Stewart, the reigning 2011 champion had another off day with the #14 Mobil 1 car.  Starting back in the field in 29th he never really seemed to gain any traction in his move towards the front.  Coming on strong at the end of the race he managed to improve his position up to 13th dropping him to 8th in teh overall points.

Next week we head to Richmond for the first of 2 races there.  Richmond being a short track is usually as very aggressive race, however the feeling doesnt really seem to be there for the first race of the season.  Drivers and crew chiefs both expect to see a lot of green flag racing in comparison to what we will see in the fall.  Only time will tell.

 

Related posts:

1. NASCAR Hamlin Takes His First Checkered Flag of the Season Dale Jr. Shows The Passion Fans Have Been Waiting For
2. NASCAR Jimmie Johnson Takes the Checkered Flag and Proves He Is Always Relevant in the Chase
3. NASCAR Martin Truex Sets The Pace in Texas for the Samsung Mobile 500
4. NASCAR Stewart Takes His Fourth Checkered Flag of the Chase, With 2 Races Left Its Definitely a Two Man Chase
5. NASCAR Truex Jr Brings Home the Pole for the Third Chase Race of 2011 at Dover

Marcelli takes fourth in Long Beach

Team press release

(Long Beach, California) April 17th 2012 It was a street fight Saturday afternoon during the 38th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach as the American Le Mans Series Presented by Tequila Patron roared around the 1.9 mile temporary racing circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Merchant Services Racing driver Kyle Marcelli and co-driver Anthony Downs raced to a 4th place finish in the LMPC category.

For the drivers of the American Le Mans Series, it was a race weekend that offered zero dry practice laps prior to taking the green flag for the two-hour sprint race.

Teams and drivers had a two-hour free practice session on Friday morning to learn the circuit and test set-ups. Unfortunately, it was under very wet conditions. For 22-year old Kyle Marcelli, he had no problems coming to grips with the circuit under the miserable conditions. Marcelli posted the fastest lap in the LMPC category which impressively was second fastest overall behind the Muscle Milk Honda LMP1 of Lucas Luhr and Klaus Graf.

If you ask me, I rather enjoyed it. Said the Canadian racer Kyle Marcelli. Ive driven many permanent road courses in wet conditions but never a temporary street circuit. The car was very good under braking and on turn-in, I suffered most just trying to get the power down as the car has no traction control.

American Le Mans Series qualifying is divided into a fifteen minute qualifying session per class beginning with the GT cars and ending with the Prototypes. For the first time in a long time, ALMS qualifying was cancelled as mixed weather conditions provided a dry track for GT and a wet track for Prototype. Race officials made the right call as this would have inverted the grid making for an unsafe race.

According to the rulebook, the starting grid was then based off overall point standings. Unfortunately, for the #8 Merchant Services Racing LMPC driven by Kyle Marcelli and Anthony Downs, this meant a back of the grid starting spot as a DNF at the first round in Sebring, Florida left them with zero points.

Race strategy for the #8 Merchant Services Racing LMPC appointed Anthony Downs behind the wheel to start the race with Kyle Marcelli in to take the checkered. For Anthony, this marked his first time racing on a temporary street course and in the American Le Mans Series.

140,000 fans were on their feet as thirty-five of the worlds most exotic sports cars and prototypes roared down lakeshore to take the green flag. Downs was P8 in class but running strong and clocking consistent lap times close to the leaders pace. However, struggling with a lack of rear grip, Downs spun the car on the exit of turn six. Luckily avoiding the walls, Downs kept the car in the race but fell two laps down. Soon thereafter, it was about the forty-five minute mark in the two-hour race when the first and only caution came out. Merchant Services Racing as well as most teams utilized this caution to pit for a driver change. The team opted to take only fuel. Marcelli was now behind the wheel but two laps down. Racing out of the pits and back onto the circuit, Marcelli found himself positioned behind the LMPC class leader of Ryan Dalziel. Consistently clicking off fast laps, Marcelli past Dalziel getting one lap back then charged through to P4 in class. Everyone on the Merchant Services Racing team including Marcelli was praying for another caution which would allow them to hopefully get another lap back and challenge for a podium, however the race remained green until the end. The #8 Merchant Services Racing LMPC driven by Marcelli crossed the stripe P4 in class with the second fastest race lap.

All in all, it was a good weekend for us in the #8. Although we dont have any pretty hardware to show for it, we certainly proved to have winning pace. Well just have to put it all together in the next one. Said Kyle Marcelli.

Next up is the American Le Mans Series Monterey Presented by Patron. Held at the beautiful Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, this 6-hour endurance race will be a spectacle for the fans. Be sure to watch on May 13th 2012 at 5:00pm EST on ESPN2, Canadian fans can watch all the action on Rogers Sports Net.

Race Driver Kyle Marcelli is supported by: MBRP Performance Exhaust, Lafarge, Braille Battery, Merchant Services Ltd, Barrie Trim & Mouldings Inc, Pfaff Automotive Partners, The Garage, OGIO and Larche Communications Inc.

For information on the American Le Mans Series visit: www.americanlemans.com

For information on Kyle Marcelli visit: www.kylemarcelliracing.com

Related posts:

1. Marcelli: Becoming Quite Familiar to the Front Row of ALMS
2. A character building weekend for Kyle Marcelli at Mosport
3. Disappointment For Marcelli At Road America
4. Kyle Marcelli to partner with Pfaff in Porsche GT3 Cup
5. James Hinchcliffe wins Indy Lites race in Long Beach