Daytona qualifying strategy almost pays off for Hamlin, Kenseth
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth made gambles against the clock in Sunday's chaotic Daytona 500 qualifying session and almost made them work.
In the sort of wacky qualifying strategy that was a first in the 57-year history of the 500, Hamlin and Kenseth tried to time their qualifying runs to cross the start-finish line at the last possible instant. That approach would have put them on the qualifying clock while at the same time slowed Hendrick Motorsports drivers Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson enough to prevent them from crossing the line in time to make the Chevrolet drivers' laps count.
The last group of drivers, including the four in question, crossed the line with the final seconds ticking away. Gordon and Johnson made it with milliseconds to spare and had enough speed to claim the 500's first two starting spots. Hamlin and Kenseth wound up third and fourth.
"It worked exactly as I thought it would," Hamlin said. "I was trying to back up to zero time (on the clock). I wanted to be the last one to cross the line.
"I had points on the race track that I knew I needed to be at. I tried to back up the 24 (Gordon) and the 48 (Johnson) to where they would miss it, but with the track and the speed, I had to cross the line before it got to zero.
"This is all part of it. It's crazy."
Even crazier for Hamlin, his No. 11 Toyota ended up failing post-race inspection. Hamlin's car was found with a track bar split that was too wide (3.75 inches; only 3 inches are allowed).
Still, Hamlin and Kenseth have at least sewn up provisional berths for the Feb. 22 Daytona 500, though Hamlin will have to start at the back of the field Thursday in the Budweiser Duel at Daytona (7 and 8:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1), which sets the remainder of the lineup.
Kenseth, who won Saturday night's Sprint Unlimited, said Sunday's final-session strategy was all about balance — getting on the track in time to run a full, fast lap while also trying to prevent other contenders from doing the same.
"Everybody was going to wait until the last moment and take the green flag without running out of time," Kenseth said. "Those guys (Johnson and Gordon) were really, really close. I thought Denny was going to be the last one to make it and we'd be on the front row. I didn't think those other guys were going to make it. It was tight.
"We wanted to be at the back so we could get the biggest run on the cars in front of us and get the fastest lap we could. Yeah, we knew if guys don't cross they're not going to beat you, so you wanted to be the last ones to cross.
"We were trying to lay back and get a good run, but we also were afraid we might run out of time."
It was a new and convoluted qualifying landscape for stock car racing's biggest event — one that had drivers and teams timing their actions down to fractions of a second.
PHOTOS: 2015 Daytona 500 pole qualifying