DENNY HAMLIN
No. 20 Rockwell Automation CHEVROLET
HOMESTEAD Quotes and NotesStrong
EVENT: FORD 300 DATE: NOVEMBER 18, 2006
TRACK: HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY TV: TNT 7:00 PM ET
LAPS/MILES: 200 / 300 RADIO: MRN 7:00 PM ET
QUOTES
Driver Denny Hamlin on racing at Homestead…
“I really like the Homestead track. Last year, we were flying through the field until I got caught up in someone else’s mess. I am not sure why I run so well there, but I guess it is because I never ran the old configuration. The only track I know is the current one. I really like tracks that give driver’s different lines and give them the freedom to take it up against the wall. I look at tracks like Darlington, Atlanta and Charlotte as some of the places I like to run because you can be extremely competitive running right next to the wall.
I had hoped to come into Homestead with a chance at two championships, but Harvick never let up all season. We still have a chance at third, but we probably need to have some bad luck from Clint. It seems like every time we have great run, we have the 2 car in our mirror, so we only are able to gain a handful of points. But where most teams are going into this race looking to celebrate the end of the year, we are looking at this as our last chance this season to lead a lot of laps and take home a trophy.”
Crew Chief Dave Rogers on Homestead-Miami Speedway….
“This will be my first race as Crew Chief at this track. Early in the season, I might have been worried, but I found out this year that we have run some of our best races at places where I have never been. Mexico City, Nashville, Kentucky, Milwaukee, Gateway and IRP are tracks that we either won poles or won races and this year was the first time I saw them. I think it has something to do with a clean slate, where you just focus on the driver’s feedback to work on the car. Sometimes the notebook can cloud your judgment and make you try to force something that may have worked in the past, but doesn’t help this year. I am real excited about the Chevrolet Monte Carlo we are bringing this weekend. It is a new design out of our fab shop and had a great run at Texas a couple weeks ago, so I expect it to be fast right off the truck.
NOTES
Points Race …When Denny Hamlin starts the race this weekend, he is guaranteed to finish no worse that 4 th in the NASCAR Busch Series Points race. If Carl Edwards starts the race and finishes higher than 40 th , he is guaranteed to finish ahead of Hamlin. Hamlin must erase a 46 point deficit from Clint Bowyer in order to finish 3 rd. Either 3rd or 4th will eclipse his previous best of 5th (2005), his only other full Busch Series Season.
Car History … This week the #20 team is bringing car #1973. This is a new car that has only raced once during the 2006 campaign. This car was raced by Tony Stewart at Texas Motor Speedway (Fall 2006) where he qualified 5 th and finished 2nd.
