Hamlin doesn't back down from comments about debris cautions; Dale Jr. vs Shaq

Denny Hamlin maintained his belief that NASCAR throws debris cautions when it wants at times, echoing similar statements after last weekend's win at Michigan.

 

I asked Hamlin on Friday at Infineon Raceway about any feedback he had heard from his comments last week about how he expected a debris caution late in that race (as he held a 10-second lead) and how he understood it was best for the fans to have the field closer. Here's what Hamlin said Friday:

 

"At no point was I the one to get pissed off about that caution because I knew it was going to happen,'' Hamlin said. "Legitimate or not, the odds are that we were going to have some non-wreck caution in the last half of the race. Pocono it was the same way (the last of 3 debris cautions in the race came 25 laps from the end), we had a long green flag spell and I knew it was going to be a matter of time before we see a caution for one reason or another.

 

"I think there's always debris around the track. Without a doubt you can call anything debris. I can look out right now and I can see debris pretty close to the race track (as he looked out the window to the track). You can say that's a legitimate safety hazard. I think it's the timing there. It is right there. Let's pick it up to tighten things up. Let's regroup.

 

"For the sake of show, it's OK but the sake of competition it's not always the right thing. I think if we weren't talking about that last week, if NASCAR would have let it go,then people were going to be talking about a boring race. That's something that we don't need right now.''

 

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DALE EARNHARDT JR. VS. SHAQ

 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will race Shaquille O'Neal at 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 23 at Concord (N.C.) Speedway as part of O'Neal's TV show "Shaq Vs.'' That's the show where O'Neal competes against other folks in various sports or events.

 

Said Dale Jr.: "He's going to get a handicap. It's going to depend on whoever plays the best poker hand sandbagging prior to the race. I'm looking forward to meeting him. I just built this little basketball court in my house to have something to do. I'm excited to see what he thinks about that.''

 

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RED BULL CHANGES

 

Red Bull GM Jay Frye said that Reed Sorenson will drive the next three races in the No. 83 car, starting next week at New Hampshire. That puts Sorenson in the car for New Hampshire, Daytona and Chicago. No decision has been made for Indy or beyond. Mattias Ekstrom is in the car this weekend. This is the Swede's first Cup race. He replaces Casey Mears, whose finishes were not promising and he wrecked teammate Scott Speed, which did not help his cause.

 

Said Frye: " “With Casey it just didn’t work. I think it would look sillier if we didn’t make a change to try to do something different.’’

 

Frye also said the team is taking a close look at Speed, who is in his second full Cup season since leaving F1.

 

“The second half of this year is big,’’ Frye said. “Then, it’s the third or fourth time (in Speed’s career) to these race tracks. He’s a year and a half into this now. We need to see continued improvement, no doubt. He can do this. Again, you’ve seen him. He’s fast. The racing part of it has been a struggle. He’s learning. We have expectations that he’s going to be fine and be good at this but he’s got to go. It’s a professional sport. We get paid to perform.’’

 

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HENDRICK TALKS

 

Rick Hendrick talked to the media on Friday at Infineon Raceway. Here's some of what he said:

 

On where Kasey Kahne will drive next year: "No new news there.''

 

On if Hendrick knows where Kahne will be next year: "I've had a lot more options than I thought I would and a lot of it just waiting for the right time and the right deal. I haven't been in a hurry. We've got some good options. There's new deals coming out every day. We're just not ready to pull the trigger.''

 

On if it's written in stone that Kahne will be in a Chevy next year: "Oh yeah. ... I don't know that. I think so.

 

On the rumor of him working with James Finch to put Kahne in the 09 next year: "I don't know where that came from. I don't know how that got started.''

 

On if the emphasis put on Dale Jr.'s team hurt Mark Martin's team: "No, I dont' think so. I think if you asked Alan (Gustafson) and Mark, I don't think so. That's a mystery to me, but they're gaining back, but they clearly, clearly were hurting in our organization more than anyone else with this change (from rear wing to spoiler). It's a real surprise to me. It's a real surprise to them. The three of us have scratched our heads and said we don't understand it but we're going to figure it out.''

 

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ODDS AND ENDS

 

# Kasey Kahne, the defending race winner, won the pole for Sunday's race at Infineon Raceway. Jimmie Johnson starts second.

 

# Michael Waltrip failed to qualify. As did Brian Simo and Brandon Ash.

 

# Jeff Gordon's team discovered something wrong with their fuel. The fuel typically is bluish in color but this was clear. Team notified NASCAR, flushed the car and then ran without any issues Friday. Only other team with a similar issue was Dale Jr.'s team. They hadn't put the fuel in the car yet. Series officials suspect teams got their fuel from the wrong pumps at the track.

 

# Tony Stewart on where he wants to be good Sunday: "Everywhere because as crazy as these guys will be driving on Sunday, you have to be good everywhere. If you are weak at some point, somebody is probably going to go in there and probably door-slam you or something. I was watching tapes this last week. If you get back ... fourth on back, it is a no-holds barred wrestling match.''

 

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