Denny Hamlin, driving a Toyota Camry powered by Bosch spark plugs for Joe Gibbs Racing, beat Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson to the finish line in the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway Sunday, April 23. Hamlin passed Truex to take the race lead 30 laps from the finish, and grabbed the checkered flag with championship crew chief Darian Grubb commanding his pit.
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Hamlin and other top-ten finishers Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch all ran with Bosch spark plugs, as well as Bosch fuel injectors, oxygen sensors, fuel pumps, coils, alternators and starters. Race-proven Bosch spark plugs fired flawlessly 25 million times for the five top-ten finishers during the Kansas race.
It was Hamlin's ‘day in the sun’ – after a late round of green-flag pit stops, the sun broke through the clouds for the first time all afternoon and changed the track conditions. Truex had led 173 laps, but the changing conditions allowed Hamlin to pass Truex for the lead on Lap 237, and hold him off for the final 30 laps with Johnson pursuing from the third position.
This win gives Hamlin his second victory of the season, his first at the 1.5-mile Kansas track and the 19th of his career. The victory was the 199th for cars bearing the No. 11, breaking a tie for the all-time lead with the No. 43, made famous by Richard Petty, who drove to 192 of his record 200 wins with that car number.
To Hamlin, the sunlight was a welcome game-changer. "Whether it was coincidence or not, our car definitely seemed like ... it was better once the sun came out," Hamlin says.
“Bosch components play a key role this season in the transition to electronic fuel injection in all NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ race cars. Fuel injection is a logical progression for NASCAR, and an onboard computer controls fuel injectors in all race car engines, using input from two Bosch wide-band oxygen sensors in the exhaust to determine the right amount of fuel to add to the airflow just as it’s entering the cylinder,” says Wolfgang Hustedt, Bosch Motorsports Manager, North America.
“Bosch Oxygen Sensors are an exclusive NASCAR Performance® product, and Bosch oxygen sensors, with their long history of superior performance under the most severe conditions, are the recognized standard throughout the racing world,” added Hustedt. “NASCAR race cars go through many different operating conditions at every race, and oxygen sensors are an important component of the fuel injection system,” he says.
In addition to NASCAR, cars in Grand Am and American Le Mans Series (ALMS) road races, and Chevrolet V-6 IndyCar racers run Bosch oxygen sensors as part of their EFI engine management systems.
Bosch pioneered electronic fuel injection back in the 1970’s, developing the automotive oxygen sensor as part of the total system. Today’s wide-band oxygen sensors, like those supplied to NASCAR, monitor the level of oxygen in the exhaust in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ race cars, and signal the car’s engine management computer whether the engine is running ‘rich’ or ‘lean’ or right on target.
Bosch wide-band sensors send varying, virtually continuous signals from ‘rich’ to ‘lean’ and anywhere in between, allowing the management computer to adjust the air/fuel ratio for best performance. Oxygen sensors relay vital information on engine performance to the vehicle’s engine management system, which controls the fuel injectors and determines how the vehicle reacts to race conditions,” continued Hustedt.
Bosch is a proud supporter of the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association’s Know Your Parts® education and awareness campaign. This initiative promotes the importance of quality brand name aftermarket parts backed by full service suppliers, and its impact on delivering reliable products to today’s motorists. For more information visit: www.AASAKnowYourParts.org.
The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. According to preliminary figures, more than 300,000 associates generated sales of $71.5 billion (51.4 billion euros) in the areas of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology in fiscal year 2011. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its more than 350 subsidiaries and regional companies in some 60 countries. If its sales and service partners are included, then Bosch is represented in roughly 150 countries. This worldwide development, manufacturing, and sales network is the foundation for further growth. Bosch spent more than $5.5 billion (4 billion euros) for research and development in 2011, and applied for over 4,100 patents worldwide. With all its products and services, Bosch enhances the quality of life by providing solutions which are both innovative and beneficial.
In the U.S., Canada and Mexico, the Bosch Group manufactures and markets automotive original equipment and aftermarket products, industrial drives and control technology, power tools, security and communication systems, packaging technology, thermotechnology, household appliances, solar energy, healthcare telemedicine and software innovations. Having established a regional presence in 1906, Bosch employs over 22,500 associates in more than 100 locations, with sales of $9.8 billion in fiscal year 2011, per preliminary figures.
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