NASCAR Barometer: Hamlin Overcomes Penalties to Win in Texas

Sunday's O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 was a story of perseverance. Almost every top driver suffered a problem of some sort but finding a way back to the front was the order of the day. Denny Hamlin did just that by overcoming two penalties on pit road to snag his second victory of the season. He used strategy to get back on the lead lap when he was down and again as he was battling to stay out front in the final laps of the 500-mile race. The work paid off and he walks away with his second win of the season and third at Texas.

Sunday was also a breakthrough day for several teams and drivers. Ford was strong as expected, but while Penske Racing suffered problems Stewart-Haas Racing put both Clint Bowyer and Daniel Suarez in the top five with teammates Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola in the top 10. Hendrick Motorsports was also on song through the weekend. Jimmie Johnson started the race on pole after a perfect Friday at the track, and William Byron raced among the leaders and finished sixth on Sunday joining Johnson in the top 10. Now those teams will work to build on the confidence they gained last week to build more momentum this week at Bristol Motor Speedway. This will be the first of back-to-back short-track races before the series takes a well-deserved week off before heading to the mighty Talladega Superspeedway.

UPGRADE

Denny Hamlin – Hamlin was penalized multiple times on pit road Sunday, but it didn't keep him out of Victory Lane. His first drive-through penalty was served under green-flag conditions and left him a lap down for the rest of the segment. He rebounded in the second segment with a gas-only stop that put him in the lead to the stage win. That was his first stage win of the season and the race win adds to his Daytona 500 triumph from February as he plans for the playoffs. Hamlin's only Bristol win was back in 2012 and he finished 14th in both races there last season but Joe Gibbs Racing is at its best right now and Hamlin is taking advantage.

Erik Jones – Jones was another JGR driver that leveraged his pace to secure a much-needed top finish. He held the lead at certain points in the afternoon and grabbed his second top-five finish of the season along with Daytona. It was a successful afternoon that could be just the start of things to come. For much of the season so far, he was appeared to be on the cusp of a breakthrough but in need of confidence and momentum. That may have arrived last week. He has two top-fives in four Bristol finishes and started from pole at the short oval once. Fantasy players could see a bounce in this team's results and Bristol is a place he can continue to build it.

Jimmie Johnson – Johnson was fast out of the box on Friday and earned the pole for Sunday's race after topping the first practice, too. He started Sunday's race quickly out front before losing his grip on the lead and falling into traffic. The increased traffic wreaked havoc on his handling and progress forward became more difficult, though. He worked his way back into the top 10 for the final 100 laps in one of his more impressive drives recently. Despite not being at his best in recent seasons Johnson has still racked up consistent top-10 Bristol finishes including four of his last five.

Joey Logano – Logano was successful in supplanting Jimmie Johnson at the front of the field for victory in the first stage after trailing him for the early laps. A faster two-tire stop was the difference to earn the No. 22 the bonus. A tire-control violation put that good work to waste in the second segment before an issue with his hood made his situation deep in traffic even worse. After those issues he only managed to work his way back to the 17th position on a day one of the Penske machines could have fought for the win. Logano has two Bristol wins and finished ninth and fourth there last season, leading 95 laps in the fall edition.

DOWNGRADE

Kyle Busch – Busch complained early on Sunday that he couldn't drive at full throttle where others could. He worked on his car throughout the race distance and found himself in the lead with a bit over 50 laps remaining before sliding and losing multiple spots. He worked hard to regain those spots and ended up pushing it over the limit and scraped the wall. He pitted for repairs and that put him off the lead lap. It will be hard to ignore him this week, though. He has seven career wins at Bristol, including this race last season when he started from pole and led 117 laps. This week could be the medicine he needs to regain his momentum, but Texas was a stumble.

Alex Bowman – While he had speed early in the weekend at Texas circumstances conspired against his success on Sunday. The team was forced to a back-up car early in the weekend after hitting the wall, and then Bowman suffered a commitment-line violation entering pit road late in the first stage. His 18th-place finish on Sunday is also his third finish outside of the top 15 in the last five races. Bowman's Bristol career was lackluster until last season. His best finish prior to 2018 at the track was 20th, but he finished fifth and eighth there last year. Last week was a missed opportunity for him when the equipment was among the best on track and that will only add pressure to what he is already feeling this season.

Brad Keselowski – A drive issue left Keselowski coasting to pit road just as the second stage was beginning. The mechanical failure effectively ended his afternoon despite making repairs and heading back out onto the circuit. That issue would have been a disaster in any other season, but Keselowski has a win in his pocket and remains in the playoffs. He and the team will need to rebuild the early-season momentum they had, though. Like his teammate he has two Bristol wins, but hasn't done much else recently at the track. He has just one top-10 finish in his last eight trips to the circuit, which means this week could be one fantasy owners may wish to view his upside with some caution.

Kyle Larson – Larson clouted the wall late in the second segment, and then his car caught on fire as he drove to pit lane. Larson hasn't had the strongest of starts to the 2019 season running mostly inside the top 15 and picking up just two top-10 finishes so far. The team hasn't found the setups they need to run consistently quick throughout a race distance yet. Fantasy owners will expect that issue to be solved at some point, though. A trip to Bristol could do them some good, too. Larson finished runner up there both times last season and has four consecutive top-10 finishes at the track. The team will have to overcome their demons to extend that streak this week, which could be a tall order.

Ryan Blaney – Blaney worked throughout the afternoon to put himself in a position to battle for the win in the final miles but it all went up in smoke with just over 100 laps to go. He was the third Penske Racing car to suffer some kind of mechanical failure, and the team had to take the car behind the wall and out of the race. Blaney remains the only Penske teammate not to have a 2019 win and more failures like Sunday's will only add to the pressure he already feels. Next week might be another fantasy owners should be cautious with him, too. He has just two top-10 Bristol finishes from seven tries. Penske as an organization stumbled last week and has it all to do in Bristol.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Ryan Newman – Newman hasn't had much to cheer about in his short time since joining Roush Fenway Racing, but the team can take some confidence from Sunday's run in Texas. The veteran driver ran at the front of the field multiple times throughout the distance and held on to score an 11th-place finish after starting 18th. That was his best finish of the season and continues to add to his top-15 collection. Next the team will just have to add some consistency to its finishes. At Bristol he has just two top-fives but hasn't finished lower than 15th since 2016. That could be an opportunity for him to get another strong finish to add to the momentum he gained from running among the leaders last week.