The NASCAR Busch Series headed for a double whammy this weekend as they headed to the second road course race of the year and joined the Nextel Cup Series for the first time in three weeks.  With a field loaded with road course specialist and Nextel Cup drivers, the #20 team knew they would have to be on top of their game for a shot at a top-five finish.

With clouds looming in the distance the Busch Series got ready for their first of two practice sessions.  During the session, Hamlin was immediately slowed by smoke pouring out of his car.  Further review showed a loose oil line.  After the repairs, he went out and showed the strength of his machine by going to third on the speed chart.  Hamlin was forced to return to the garage later after the car continued to jump out of second gear.  As the practice session ended, the skies opened up and rained out the remainder of the on-track activities.  

The teams returned early Saturday morning and got ready for qualifying.  Hamlin had an early draw and was able to put up a lap of 74.140 seconds which would place him 14th on the starting grid.

“I am really disappointed with that lap,” commented Hamlin following his run.  “I really left a lot of speed on the table.  Most of the drivers who went out in front of us complained of the lack of grip, so I just tried to tip toe around the place and not make any mistakes.  At the last road course (Mexico City), I overdrove turn one and just killed my entire lap.  I wanted to make sure that I didn’t repeat that mistake.”

As Nextel Cup was concluding their qualifying efforts, the skies opened up again and delayed on track activities for 3 hours.  When the drivers fired their engines, the track was still considerably wet.  Spending the first 17 laps of the race under caution while safety crew worked on the race track to make sure it was dry, the teams aggressively began to recalculate fuel mileage.  When the race finally went green, several of the front runners ducked onto pit road for fuel.  With all the teams on different pit strategies, the field quickly became jumbled as Hamlin darted into the top-ten.  When the field was slowed for a caution on lap 32, Hamlin reported a serious vibration which he thought was from the drive train.

Crew Chief Cully Barraclough called for Hamlin to abandon his 4th place position and make his first pit stop of the day.  Taking four tires & fuel, he was the first to return to the racetrack in the 22nd position.  Using the new rubber he continued to work his way to the front.  He reported that the car was handling great, but he still had the vibration.  Under the next caution, he noticed that second gear seemed to be the main culprit of the vibration.  Using only first, third & fourth, he settled in for the restart from the 14th position.  As the leaders made pit stops, Hamlin was forced to wait until lap 54 due to fuel mileage.  After returning to the track in the 22nd position, Hamlin lost first gear.  

Forced to race in third and fourth gear only, it was just a matter of time until the transmission finally failed.  During the caution flag on lap 77, Hamlin struggled climbing the hill after turn four with only fourth gear.  In an effort to maintain the speed of the pace car, Hamlin burned up the clutch and was left helpless on the side of the track.  A wrecker pushed the #20 car back to pit road where the team determined it could not be repaired by the end of the race.  Hamlin would finish 33rd, four laps down to the leaders.

“We had a great car today,” said Hamlin following the race.  “This is the first road course car that this team has built in several years and it was one of the best in the field.  We were a little behind today due to fuel mileage, but if the race went green until the end, I think we would have seen a lot cars run out of gas.  We have a good team and this is the first mechanical failure that we have had all season.  Fortunately, we did not lose a lot of points and we will go to Michigan and keep trying to get into the top-five.”