(Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images)
Denny Hamlin has been successful in everything he’s driven—from the late models back home in Virginia and the truck he took to a top-10 finish in his first start to the pole he won at Phoenix as a rookie NASCAR Sprint Cup driver late in 2005.
So when Hamlin was contracted to take over the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 car at the onset of the 2006 season, many figured he’d break out to become one of the Cup Series' top drivers.
Hamlin swept both Pocono races in ‘06 and became the first rookie to make NASCAR’s Chase for the Cup. But since then, the wins have been sparse, and all but two good runs have ended up short of Victory Lane.
Sunday at Dover was another one of those days for Hamlin, who ran more practice laps in preparation for the Autism Speaks 400 than any other driver in the Cup garage.
Hamlin had his FedEx Chevrolet handling well, moving towards the front and knocking on the door of the lead, when he lost a tire, sending his No. 11 car into the outside retaining wall without much warning.
"I just blew a right front," Hamlin said. "We looked at the tire and there was no wear on it on the inside, so either something punctured it or it's a freak blowout deal with the tire.”
At the time of the incident, Hamlin was running second. Had he finished there, it would have been the team’s third runner-up finish of the year with no wins.
Through all the troubles, Hamlin is staying positive.
"I'll tell you what, that was a pretty hard hit. I didn't have any warning at all. We made progress. My pit crew did an awesome job getting me up there, but just some more bad luck for the [No.] 11 team."
Hamlin has made the Chase every year he’s run full-time in Cup, and despite a 36th-place finish at Dover, he still sits seventh in the points standings.
Teammate Kyle Busch is sixth with three wins this season, and rookie Joey Logano has only one fewer top-10 run than Hamlin in 2009. Hamlin is the senior member of JGR’s three-driver squad, but the on-edge driving of one teammate and prodigy-like nature of the other often leave him overshadowed.
While Hamlin has earned his dues in his short time at JGR, the results haven’t shown yet.
Next season is a contract year for the Chesterfield, Virginia-native. He has it all right now—a great race team, dependable sponsor, and security. Still, that hasn’t led to wins, which Hamlin could see at another race team.
Rumors swirling this season have Martin Truex Jr. headed to Michael Waltrip Racing at season’s end, meaning a potential third team at the newly formed Stewart-Haas Racing wouldn’t have a headliner behind the wheel.
Truex said, “The picture is pretty clear right now” when talking about his future, meaning Hamlin could end up the third wheel at Stewart-Haas in 2011 should Tony Stewart opt to start a third team.
Hamlin fits the same mold as Stewart and Ryan Newman—short track drivers with a short track attitude in a big-time series. Although he has little reason to leave JGR, neither did Stewart this time last year.
Until Silly Season approaches next season, we won’t know Hamlin’s true feelings on being constantly overshadowed in his current position.
Present words don’t make it seem like a change of pace is wanted or warranted, and Hamlin is concentrating on holding his position in the top 12 while making the Chase for the fourth straight season.
“We have a long summer ahead of us, and we need to keep working,” Hamlin said heading into the Dover weekend. “We need to keep improving at the same rate or even quicker than the competition if we want to be there at the end.”
This article is also featured at SpeedwayMedia.com.
9 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete