NASCAR FINDS WATER IN THE RACING FUEL

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — NASCAR conceded Monday that water got into the fuel supply of more than two cars during the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, apparently leading to a crash that took out several top contenders in the closing laps.

Denny Hamlin was leading the Pep Boys Auto 500 with three laps to go when his car stalled while taking the green flag after a caution period. Martin Truex, who led the most laps Sunday, smashed into the back of Hamlin’s car and finished 31st. Hamlin slipped to 24th.

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“There are multiple teams that are showing positive for some level of water contamination level in their fuel,” said John Darby, NASCAR’s Nextel Cup director. “I can’t tell you the exact number. It’s more than two and less than 43 at the moment.”

Darby dismissed sabotage as a possible explanation, saying too many teams were affected for anyone to have been singled out.

“For those who have their evil, twisted conspiracy hats on, we want to put that to rest,” Darby said. “If it was sabotage, it would have to be the kind of thing where someone hates NASCAR racing across the board.”

He said extensive testing done by Sunoco, NASCAR’s official fuel supplier, showed no signs of problems in the underground storage tanks at the suburban Atlanta speedway. The problem likely occurred in the piping that runs from the tanks to the pumps, or in the pumps themselves.

“It’s a brownish-colored water,” Darby said. “If it was just water, it would be more clear. That should help us understand if it came from a failed pipe or a failed pump or some other source that allowed it to enter the fuel.”

In a “huge majority” of cars that tested positive for water in their fuel systems, the amount was so small that it didn’t affect performance. For example, winner Jimmie Johnson had some water in his carburetor during the post-race inspection.

But the amount of water was enough to affect at least two drivers: Hamlin and Dave Blaney, who had performance issues all day and finished 38th, 66 laps behind Johnson.

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Hamlin down to 12 in NASCAR NEXTEL Chase

AP Sports Ticker

Denny Hamlin’s weekend got off to a great start when he won Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series RoadLoans.com 200 at Dover International Speedway.

However, when Sunday night rolled around, his hopes for winning the Nextel Cup championship were all but dashed.

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Hamlin entered the second race for the “Chase for the Championship” ninth in the standings, but dropped three spots to 12th and last among contenders after a disappointing 38th in the Dodge Dealers 400. He sits 158 points behind leader Jeff Gordon with eight races to go.

Even more frustrating for Hamlin was the way things went wrong in the Nextel Cup race. He was enjoying a solid run until he ran into the back of Kyle Petty’s Dodge on lap 204.

“I was battling for position and I think Kyle was several seconds off the pace and trying to do his best to get out of the way and I think by doing that, the two cars made contact,” Hamlin said. “I ran into the back of him, absolutely. But he came off the corner 10 miles per hour slower than he had in laps before and I wasn’t counting on that happening. He’s trying to battle those few cars for a top 35. We’re trying to battle for a championship.”

Hamlin drove to his garage and sat in his car while his crew repaired the damage. The usually reserved Petty approached Hamlin, pulled down his window net, then slapped Hamlin’s face shield close before stomping away yelling.

Despite suffering from flu-like conditions that nearly forced him to use a backup driver in the Busch race, Hamlin jumped out of his car and made a move towards Petty before crew members separated them.

“Don’t smack me on the helmet. You smack me on the helmet and I’m going to punch you in the face, bottom line,” Hamlin said. “You don’t come to my car; you don’t come to my pit. You meet me somewhere else and we’ll settle it. I have the utmost respect for Kyle, but don’t lay your hands on my head.”

“I did not say one word to him. I asked him to come over and talk to me. He chose to slap my helmet. I have a short fuse. Don’t do that.”

Petty, in his own race to remain among the top-35 in the standings which ensures a starting spot in each race, sarcastically took the blame for the incident.

“We were a little bit loose. I guess it’s my fault,” Petty said. “I watched the Busch race yesterday and I knew Denny was sick – I just didn’t know he was hallucinating and needed three lanes to get up off the corner because he ran all over us.

“I guess he is in a race by himself.”

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — When Denny Hamlin refused to quietly take teammate Tony Stewart’s criticism, it marked a rare occasion of a young driver not rolling over for the two-time NASCAR champion.

And sending word through the media that he didn’t appreciate being publicly blamed for their accident in Daytona showed that Hamlin has the confidence — or ego — to go toe-to-toe with his teammate. After all, the budding young star is the future of Joe Gibbs Racing and probably believes he’s above being bullied.

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The public sniping forced team owner Joe Gibbs to interrupt his vacation and make a pit stop in Chicago, where he gave a 30-minute lecture on playing well with others to his top two drivers.

It was a strong stand by Hamlin. A power-play of sorts.

But when it was over, Stewart took to the track to prove he’s still the star of that team.

By driving his way into Victory Lane for the first time this season, and doing it a day after being chastised by Gibbs, Stewart again showed his remarkable ability to thrive during adversity. When the going gets tough, nobody is better than Stewart at ending a controversy by stepping up on the race track.

His resume is checkered with wins that came during controversy, such as the Watkins Glen victory in 2002, which came a week after Stewart punched a photographer, and Chicago in 2004 after he wrecked Kasey Kahne, which led to a fight in the pits between their crews.

Sunday’s win at Chicagoland Speedway proved that Stewart does his best work during the most chaotic times.

“You know, there is something to be said for that,” team president J.D. Gibbs acknowledged. “Of course, with Tony there’s always a lot of chaos going on.”

Most of it self-inflicted, including this spat with Hamlin.

The two were running first and second in the early part of the Pepsi 400 at Daytona a week ago when Stewart ran into the back of Hamlin, causing both cars to crash into the wall. Stewart immediately blamed Hamlin for the accident, claiming the lead driver slowed in front of him.

That explanation was ridiculed by rival drivers, and didn’t sit well with Hamlin.

“Even if it was a situation where I had wrecked him from behind, he still probably shouldn’t have thrown me under the bus as far as he did,” Hamlin said. “He’s still the leader at Joe Gibbs Racing, without a doubt. He’s the guy who really, when I need help, I’ll still go to regardless.

“But there’s a point where being a leader doesn’t make you right.”

Perhaps that’s the message Gibbs sent after escorting Stewart into a meeting with Hamlin that caused both to miss 30 minutes of valuable practice time on Saturday. Whatever the coach said worked, because the teammates were seemingly best buddies by the time it was over.

They laughed and joked during driver introductions, with Stewart playfully putting Hamlin in a headlock in a show for the cameras. And they worked together on the race track, too, using hand signals to communicate track position.

How long the harmony lasts remains to be seen.

It’s not in Stewart’s disposition to play second fiddle to anyone, especially a 26-year-old kid with less than two Nextel Cup seasons under his belt. But as Stewart’s winless streak stretched to 20 races, and Hamlin beat him to Victory Lane this season by winning at New Hampshire earlier this month, Stewart might have felt a bit threatened.

After all, Hamlin made the Chase for the championship last season and finished third in the points. Stewart missed the Chase and wasn’t eligible to defend his 2005 title.

And, Hamlin has spent most of this season locked into second-place in the standings, while Stewart has hovered around sixth.

If Stewart is the slight bit jealous, he’d never admit it. Besides, his handling of the Daytona disaster spoke volumes.

Barring a total collapse, both will be racing for the Nextel Cup title this season and it will be interesting to watch how the two handle the competition. Because when push comes to shove, Hamlin has shown he’ll shove back.

Stewart, with two titles and 30 wins, can take it right now. He’s earned his spot atop the JGR talent pool, and cemented his position Sunday.

But if Hamlin starts creeping back into Stewart’s spotlight, Gibbs might wind up playing mediator again before the season ends.

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