FedEx 400 Race Review
By lap 60 Kyle has lapped right up to 22nd place and the next car in his firing line is last years winner Jimmie Johnson who had a poor qualifying session starting 24th and has yet to find a competitive set up. Sure enough and to the surprise of many before the weekend started there is nothing Johnson can do to about the hard charging 18 car and he is put a lap down. With green flag stops about to get under way Johnson takes this opportunity to be the first driver on to pit row with the hope that a change in setup and fresh tyres can allow him to make up some ground on the rest of the pack. The day gets slightly worse for Hamlin who is still struggling for pace as he misses his approach into the pits forcing him to have to go another lap before coming in. Luckily the field is a little spread out and after the stops have cycled through he has only fallen too 7th, while Kyle is still out in front. The 48’s tactic of pitting early appears to have paid off as he has managed to unlap himself and is up to his highest position of the day so far in 18th.
Jun 2, 2013; Dover, DE, USA; A view of turn one during the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
There is no time though for Kyle to work on extending his lead as on lap 80 the first caution of the day comes out for debris on the track and gives a much-needed break to Tony Stewart who was a lap down and now gets the lucky dog to get back onto the lead lap. With the caution being so soon after the green flag stops the front-runners all elect to stay out. The restart poses no problems for Kyle who quickly gets clear from second place Kenseth who appears to spin his tyres and is lucky to not be taken out by Truex Jr who is directly behind him and has to lift to avoid hitting him.
It is also a good start for Jamie McMurray who was took four fresh tyres at the caution and is putting them to good use by moving up three places to seventh and starts to work his way through the field and by a quarter race distance he is into the top five which stands at Kyle, Kenseth, Truex, Kahne and McMurray.
Cloud cover starts to roll in over the track which can start to affect how the car handles as track temperatures drop, something that the teams haven’t experienced throughout the entire race weekend. But the changing conditions aren’t troubling Kyle who’s lead is back out to over a second, nor Johnson who enters the top ten for the first time in the race. Before either of them can make any more significant progress the yellow flags are out again for caution number two as debris is spotted in turn three. Kesenth is able to win the race off pit row from the 18 car and will restart on the outside. While most teams have solid stops it is a mixed stop for the two Earnhardt Ganassi cars as McMurray falls from 4th to 7th but Juan Pablo Montoya goes from 8th to 5th. The restart is almost a complete mirror to the earlier one as this time Kenseth gets away cleanly as Kyle spins his tyres and narrowly avoids getting his by the 56.
Jun 2, 2013; Dover, DE, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Matt Kenseth (20) leads Kyle Busch (18) during the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O
The weather seems to only be affecting Hamlin as he reports that he car he can barely touch the throttle for lack of grip and quickly finds himself running outside the top 10 for the first time in the race. While one JGR car falls away the other two are running very strongly out front with the 18 now right on the rear bumper of the 20. But he doesn’t sit there for very long as the 20 reports that he is losing engine power and starts to fall off the pace allowing the 18 to retake the lead. The race is done though for Kenseth whose car starts pouring smoke out of the exhaust and he has to take it to the garage. The engine letting go also brings out the third caution of the day as a substantial amount of oil was laid down on the track and needs to be cleaned up. The leaders all come to pit row, with Kyle winning the race off pit row from Truex Jr and McMurray, Montoya exits in fifth but will be the first car with four fresh tyres on and it was also a good stop for Hamlin who only took 2 tyres and went from 11th to 4th.