JOHNSON WINS DOVER: Hamlin Makes A Statement, Too

Notebook: Hamlin makes a statement, too


By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

DOVER, Del.—Despite a performance he described as “mediocre,” Denny Hamlin felt he made a strong statement in Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway—perhaps as strong as the one made by race winner Jimmie Johnson.
Hamlin, after all, got past the track that has haunted him in the past with a 35-point lead over Johnson in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup standings.
“I think a lot of people are just waiting for us to slip up, like we have done in the past,” Hamlin said after finishing ninth Sunday. “I just don’t see that happening this time around. I just think our team is too focused at this point, and we’re running too well for that to happen.
“I think it’s going to go all the way to the wire. My opinion—I think there’s going to be a handful of guys that are going to be racing legitimately for this championship at Homestead (in the season finale). Hopefully, we’re one of those groups. That’s a really good track for us.
“I just don’t see anyone really running away with it this year. The competition’s just too strong.”
Hamlin won at Homestead last year and has finished third there twice.
Allmendinger ready to lead RPM
According to owner Richard Petty, a third Sprint Cup team at Richard Petty Motorsports is still an option, and the fact the organization is downsizing from four teams to two or three gives RPM more time to make a decision.
“Like everybody else, we’re trying to do as much as we can,” Petty said. “We’ve talked to a lot of people about a third car, but our main deal is make sure we’ve got two really good cars, and then we try to do a third deal.”
RPM has AJ Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose under contract to drive Fords in the Cup series next year. With the departures of Kasey Kahne, Paul Menard and Elliott Sadler, Allmendinger is the only holdover from the 2010 driver lineup.
Asked whether there’s a deadline to launch a third team, Petty said, “Right now, no. We’ve got ’til the end of the year. If we’re downgrading from four teams to three teams, we’ve still got plenty of everything it would take to run that third car.
“It wouldn’t be like just having two, and then all of a sudden we’ve got to go out and get cars, people and trucks and all the equipment to run the third car. We can wait a pretty (long time), I think, as far as being able to get cars ready.”
Petty thinks the addition of Ambrose, the Australian driver who comes to RPM from JTG/Daugherty Racing, will energize the organization.
“I’ve always liked him, because, I guess, he’s a little bit different from us,” Petty said. “He’s so energetic. You never seen him where he wasn’t bouncing around, and I like people like that who are enthused with the project they’ve got in front of them.”
Petty said Allmendinger, who drives the No. 43 inextricably associated with Petty’s seven Cup championships, already has progressed toward taking a leadership role.
“With Kasey leaving, AJ’s going to be the lead dog, more or less, of Richard Petty Motorsports, and so far, he’s already stepped up,” Petty said. “We feel it’s getting his mind-set to where he’s not going to have to follow anybody—he’s going to be the leader—and with Marcos coming along, Marcos will make him go. So we feel like that’s going to be a real good team.”
Allmendinger underlined Petty’s confidence Sunday. He led 143 laps (100 more than he had led previously in his Cup career) before a slow leak in one of his tires forced him to pit road prematurely and cost him a lap. Allmendinger nevertheless rallied to finish 10th.
The $1 million was safe Sunday
Chase drivers Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle were trying to give away $1 million Sunday to their respective small business owner finalists as part of an Office Depot small business promotion. To do so, one of the drivers had to win the race.
Neither came close. Stewart went two laps down early, thanks to a pit road speeding penalty. Biffle was trapped two laps down when Roush Fenway Racing teammate Matt Kenseth blew a tire and caused a caution right after Biffle had made a green-flag stop 15 laps before the halfway point.
“We were running on the lead lap, and I thought I had a top-10 car,” Biffle said. “It’s unfortunate. That probably right there was probably our Chase hopes. We’re not out of it, but those two finishes (19th Sunday and 17th last week at New Hampshire) are not the way to start the Chase off.”
Stewart came home 21st.