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Power(ful) mistake doesn’t keep Hamlin from 4th place at Charlotte

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 Practice

CHARLOTTE, NC - OCTOBER 09: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, drives during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 9, 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

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Oops, my bad.

Such was Denny Hamlin’s lament following Sunday’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Hamlin inadvertently switched batteries before the race – and didn’t know it. As a result, power was draining from his electrical system throughout the 334-lap event.

“I ran on the wrong battery all day,” Hamlin admitted afterward. “We have one battery, I guess, to run everything and then (a second) one to run the motor so I was draining both of them.

“My mistake, I usually start on one and run on the other and I just got switched.”

As it turned out, there was no real harm or foul for Hamlin, who despite his voltage issues still managed to be the highest-finishing Toyota driver (fourth) in the rain-postponed race.

It was his sixth top-five finish in the last eight races.

Race winner Joey Logano runner-up Kevin Harvick had the top cars of the field.

Hamlin leaves Charlotte ranked fourth in the standings, trailing points leader Joey Logano by just eight points as the Chase for the Sprint Cup advances to the mid-point of its 10-race playoff next Sunday at Kansas Speedway.

“It’s a good day,” Hamlin said. “You always want to win just to put that pressure off. A fourth-place finish obviously does good things for us and hopefully we go to Kansas and build on this.”

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