Mixed Results For Hamlin, Keselowski In Charlotte

Mixed Results For Hamlin, Keselowski In Charlotte

Denny Hamlin’s relationship with Charlotte Motor Speedway has seen its rough patches but has trended upwards in recent seasons.
Hamlin posted top-10 finishes in his first two trips to Charlotte in 2005-06. But after another top 10, the Virginian went through a dry spell – five finishes of 16th or worse – before posting a fourth-place finish in the fall of 2010, Hamlin’s "near-miss" title year.
He’s riding a four-race top-10 streak highlighted by his second-place finish in May’s Coca-Cola 600.
Hamlin’s Charlotte Driver Rating (89.3) is fifth-best among active drivers.
For Chase leader Brad Keselowski, the 1.5-mile track is a work in progress. Keselowski will start just his seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup race at a track on which he has one NASCAR Nationwide Series victory. His numbers aren’t great – 21st best Driver Rating (76.8) and average finish of 16.5. He won the Coors Light Pole for last year’s Coca-Cola 600.
Keselowski, however, has proved to be a quick learner. He knocked down his first top-five finish (fifth) in May’s race.
Keselowski has been a model of both speed and consistency. A 30th-place finish at Bristol in August is his only placing outside the top 10 in 14 consecutive races – a streak that began June 30 with a victory at Kentucky Speedway.
By emerging largely unscathed from Talladega’s final-lap chaos, Keselowski became the first in 2012 to lead the Chase in back-to-back weeks. With a seventh-place finish, he increased a single-point lead to 14 over Johnson and 23 over Hamlin.
The leader after four races has gone on to claim the championship five times in the Chase era.