Coming off their first off weekend in 16 weeks, the #20 Rockwell Automation / JGR Team headed to Dover, DE refreshed and ready to attack the Monster Mile.  Dover International Speedway is a one mile concrete oval that is known for fast speeds and hard wrecks.  Unfortunately Denny Hamlin’s weekend would begin and end with a spin in Turn Four.

During the first practice on Friday morning, Hamlin instantly knew his hands were full.  Wrestling a loose car around the track, the #20 car got away from him and sent him spinning down the front stretch.  Hamlin was able to keep the car off the wall and return to the garage.  The team immediately made some adjustments that allowed Hamlin to improve his lap times and finish the session with a car in the top-ten on the speed chart.

“I thought we were going to have to pull the backup off for the first time this year,” said Crew Chief Dave Rogers.  “Denny did a great job of keeping the car off the wall.  It is a tough balance here.  If your car is too tight, you really can’t get a good run down the front stretch, but if you are too loose you lose a ton of speed.  We were just too loose and the track was too green.”

Hamlin was able to qualify the car in the tenth position and would take the green flag from the outside of the fifth row.  As the field took the green flag, Hamlin was confident that his car was capable of a top-five finish.  Hamlin quickly went on the move gaining five spots by lap 10.  Reporting the car was a little loose, the team chose to protect their track position and leave Hamlin on the track until around lap 50.  Unfortunately, on lap 19, while racing the #35 car, Hamlin was a little quick to get back on the gas and rear end of the #20 car jumped out from him.  Making contact with the wall and suffering major front end damage, the car was taken to the garage for repairs.  Hamlin would return on to the track on lap 80, 60 laps down from the leaders.  Hamlin was able to ride around the remaining laps avoiding trouble and finishing 40th, 66 laps down.  Hamlin would be able to protect his third place in the NASCAR Busch Series Points Standings but did lose some ground on leader Kevin Harvick and second place Carl Edwards.