NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin’s frustration grows at missed opportunities
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Denny Hamlin is proving that his surprising success last year in NASCAR’s Nextel Cup Series wasn’t a fluke.
But as much as the reigning rookie of the year enjoys his fifth-place standing after nine races, he’s also frustrated by the growing list of victories that got away.
"We’ve got all the pieces," Denny Hamlin said as he prepared to try to turn one of those close calls into a trip to Victory Lane at Richmond International Raceway. "You know, we can get it done, it’s just we are not getting it done at the right time."
Denny Hamlin won twice last season at Pocono Raceway, his only two victories in 52 career starts in the series, and his list of near misses is long for such a brief history:
-He was leading at Talladega last week with 10 laps to go courtesy of a fuel gamble, but had to pit because of a late caution and overtime and finished 21st.
-He led twice for 177 laps at Bristol in the Car of Tomorrow’s first race, but was passed by eventual race winner Kyle Busch with 16 laps to go and wound up 14th.
-He led 125 laps in the second COT race at Martinsville, but saw the stirring Jimmie Johnson-Jeff Gordon duel for the victory from his No. 3 finishing spot.
-He led early at Phoenix, but went from the front to the back of the field when penalized for speeding on pit road and made a dazzling rally, but against was third.
And that’s just this season. A year ago at RIR, he led the race late, dropped from first to third place on pit road and again had the best view in the house as Dale Earnhardt Jr. ended a 27-race winless streak by claiming the Crown Royal 400.
Denny Hamlin finished second, one of 27 top 10 runs in his career.
Just another frustrating close call for the 26-year-old driver from Chester.
"If it’s not speeding, it’s a loose wheel, it’s a real bad pit stop or got to come in, top off with fuel. If we could just race out on the racetrack and not have to come in, we could have easily three or four wins and they all could be in a row," he said.
"It’s getting old and it’s been frustrating. But I’m still really, really happy that I can go to the racetrack and know that I’m a top two or three car every time."
The next step will be putting it all together to be the top car, and Denny Hamlin said he is as eager to share that moment with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates as any.
"You find out how good your team is when you go through the bad times. You can get to the good times; it’s just who is going to stick it out," he said. "I’ll share the frustration with them, and, you know, I’m going to give away races, too."
Winning within 30 kilometres of his home would be even sweeter, of course, although Denny Hamlin expects a more sombre tone than usual at the track. NASCAR plans to honour the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre before Saturday night’s race, and this will be the third week in a row that the Nextel Cup cars display the school’s logo.
Denny Hamlin, Elliott Sadler of Emporia and other Virginia drivers have worked with NASCAR is raising funds for the victims, and will make a pre-race presentation.
"That really touched everyone in the garage, not just the Virginia drivers," he said of the April 16 shootings that left 32 dead before the gunman killed himself.
"We’re going to try it win it for them," Denny Hamlin said.
