Interstate Batteries Racing: Denny Hamlin NNS Las Vegas Advance

HUNTERSVILLE, March 3, 2011: It has been said many times that one of the most critical elements to being successful in NASCAR is chemistry between a driver and a crew chief. Sometimes it takes months to find that chemistry and, sometimes with a little luck involved, it might take only hours.

Denny Hamlin and Adam Stevens are hoping for the latter.

Hamlin will pilot the No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in Saturday’s Sam’s Town 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway while Stevens will serve as crew chief.

Stevens is in just his third race as a crew chief after serving as race engineer during the last couple of years for Joey Logano on the No. 20 Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

In his first two races as crew chief, Stevens and Logano teamed up for 12th- and sixth-place finishes, respectively, in Nationwide Series races at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway.

Now, Stevens must quickly learn how to effectively communicate with Hamlin as he takes the reigns of the No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota for a rare appearance in the Nationwide Series. Since running a full Nationwide Series schedule in 2006 and finishing fourth in points, Hamlin has driven less and less in NASCAR’s second-highest division. He drove in 22 races in 2007, 19 in 2008, seven in 2009 and only four in 2010.

That’s not to say he hasn’t been successful. Five of his 10 career Nationwide Series victories have come since 2008, including last year at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

Complicating matters, however, is the new-style Nationwide Series car that is now used full-time in the series. It includes a wider and taller cockpit, a longer wheelbase and a new front section, and it was used only four times last year – in July at Daytona, in August at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, in September at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, and in October at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

Hamlin has driven the new-style car only once – at Richmond – where he started fifth and finished sixth. Fortunately, Hamlin and Stevens will have an extra day to practice with the new car as NASCAR has allowed teams an additional four hours of testing on Thursday before the regular practice schedule begins on Friday.

Stevens and Hamlin are hoping that extra practice time will give them the knowledge they need to be successful in their first race together. And there’s no reason they can’t be successful this weekend for, as anyone who has ever traveled to Las Vegas knows, “Anything can happen in Vegas.”

Denny Hamlin, Driver of the No. 20 Interstate Batteries NASCAR Nationwide Series Toyota Camry:

How do you approach a race weekend like Las Vegas, when you’re pulling double duty?

“It’s a little more track time, but I like concentrating on the (Sprint) Cup cars as much as I can. We’ve cut our schedule way back on the Nationwide side in recent years, which makes this one of those races where we can go for broke and try to win.”

Are you looking forward to being back in the Joe Gibbs Racing Nationwide Series program?

“Yeah, I haven’t had a chance to work with (crew chief) Adam Stevens, yet, but I’ve heard really good things about him and we worked together a little bit when he was working with the 20 Sprint Cup team. The JGR Nationwide cars are always strong, so I’m looking forward to going for the victory. It’ll be neat to have Interstate Batteries on the No. 20 Toyota. Interstate’s had a long association with Joe Gibbs Racing so, hopefully, we can put them in victory lane with the new white paint scheme.”

What are your thoughts on the new-style Nationwide Series car?

“I’ve only driven it once and that was last fall at Richmond. Obviously, running it at a short track is completely different than racing it at a 1.5-mile oval like Las Vegas. I know the JGR Nationwide Series guys have worked really hard in the offseason to build all new cars, so I’m excited to see what they’ve learned. Having the extra day of practice out there will help, and I think we’ll be in good shape for Saturday.”

Adam Stevens, Crew Chief of the No. 20 Interstate Batteries NASCAR Nationwide Series Toyota Camry:

What are your overall thoughts heading into Las Vegas?

“I’ve never worked with Denny before, directly, but I’ve worked around him on the Sprint Cup side. I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to seeing how our intermediate program stacks up. I think we’re bringing a good car. I think we’re bringing the best car in our fleet as far as the 20 team is concerned. So, we’re putting our best foot forward.”

This is your first year as a crew chief and you spent the first two races of 2011 working with Joey Logano and now are working with Denny Hamlin. How challenging is it to switch drivers?

“I’m new to the crew chief job, so it’s another wrench in the works. Obviously, the more experience you have with someone, the easier it gets. It’s definitely going to be a challenge. A lot of it is just understanding how they describe the car and the magnitude of change they need from the look in their eyes or the sound in their voice. Right now, we just don’t have that experience, so that makes it more of a challenge.”

How important is the extra day of practice at Las Vegas?

“It’s huge. You can afford to be a little bit off when you unload because you’ll have the extra four hours of sorting your car out. The compact schedules without the extra time, there’s just not enough time to shake your car down and find out exactly where you need to be. So, having that extra time is huge.”

Denny Hamlin’s No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry

Chassis No. 20-108: This is a brand new racecar that has not been raced previously but was tested on Feb. 4 by Joey Logano at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway.