Hamlin's Pocono mastery intact heading into Sunday

LONG POND, Pa. -- Denny Hamlin had people seeing visions of 2006 Saturday afternoon at Pocono Raceway as the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet driver was quickest in Happy Hour for Sunday's Pocono 500.

Last season, as a rookie, Hamlin won both Pocono races from the pole.

And Hamlin was at the top of the sheet for virtually the entire final hour of practice Saturday, swapping off with Gibbs teammate Tony Stewart, who led the first practice in his No. 20 Chevy.

The two practices were Chevrolet benefits, as the top three and seven of the top eight were Chevrolets in Practice 2 and the top seven in Happy Hour were Chevrolets.

Three's a crowd

Pocono's three turns make things unique at the track, but it's Turn 3 that may be crucial.

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Stewart's best lap was at 167.367 mph, barely ahead of two-time Pocono winner Jimmie Johnson's 167.348 mph effort.

As ambient temperatures rose, Hamlin's best lap was 165.770 mph, just ahead of Richard Childress Racing teammates Jeff Burton (165.706 mph) and Kevin Harvick (165.557). Stewart was sixth (164.856).

Hamlin ended his final on-track preparation, via a 10-lap run, with oil and water temperature gauge readings, a clean cut for a plug check and a stop on pit road for tire temperatures.

On his debrief he expressed a concern over Turn 1 with crew chief Mike Ford, but general satisfaction.

"It was tight in [Turn] 1, and the more we went the worse it got," Hamlin said on his radio. "I had to move around to find where it would work better, and to get away from the air off other cars.

"It was still good in [Turn] 2 and it's rolling Turn 3 kinda free. It's yawing in the middle [of 3] but it's pretty good off [the corner]. So I feel for sure we can gain the most time in 1 if we can get that right."

Hamlin later said he had a minimal concern over affecting his car's overall performance in search of one better corner -- but admitted the potential gain was worth the risk.

"We're trying to figure out the balance of where you're going to be able to pass guys," Hamlin said. "That's the corner you need to be good in, is the one leading up to that, so we're going to start transferring where we're good to where we need help -- because those are going to be the passing zones." (Continued)