Why Denny Hamlin's Gateway Win May Be Step Towards Elusive Title

Bob Pockrass

FOX Motorsports Insider

MADISON, Sick. — Denny Hamlin counts down the variety of races he probably has left in his NASCAR Cup Sequence profession.

Assuming that the two-year contract extension he not too long ago signed could be his final, that provides Hamlin 80 extra races to win. He sees his win complete — which elevated to 59 together with his playoff victory Sunday at World Large Know-how Raceway (generally known as Gateway) — and units his objectives for victories accordingly.

Underneath that idea, he would even have began counting down the alternatives left to win that elusive Cup title. That may be three.

Denny Hamlin celebrates after profitable Gateway.

However the 44-year-old Hamlin doesn’t take a look at it like that. He simply can’t get himself to rely down and set the aim for him to win a championship within the elimination-style format, with the final 11 years having a one-race remaining spherical to find out a champion.

“There’s sure races that I do have countdowns for,” Hamlin mentioned, noting he has not received a Brickyard 400. “Championships is not certainly one of them. Clearly, it is well-documented that I wish to get the wins, and I really feel like that may carry its weight lengthy after.

“While you examine me to somebody that is perhaps acquired one or two — perhaps three championships — and half the wins, I do not assume that individual’s higher than I’m.”

Hamlin led a race-high 75 laps, together with the ultimate 25 circuits across the 1.25-mile oval, to seize the victory Sunday and routinely advance to the quarterfinal spherical (Spherical of 12) of the NASCAR playoffs.

After Gateway win, Hamlin advances to subsequent spherical of 2025 NASCAR playoffs.

He entered the race already effectively on his solution to making it to the following spherical, however the victory permits him to not fear about elimination subsequent weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. For the seventh consecutive 12 months (and eleventh within the 12 years of this format), Hamlin has superior to the quarterfinal spherical.

At age 44, Hamlin is the oldest driver within the playoffs and essentially the most skilled with 20 full-time Cup seasons and 713 profession begins.

“I will let you know what’s spectacular about Denny, is his work ethic,” mentioned staff proprietor and Tremendous Bowl profitable soccer coach Joe Gibbs. “He … actually works exhausting at all the things. I will surely hope he is acquired his likelihood, for positive.”

Hamlin has simply 27 begins together with his crew chief Chris Gayle, who took over the No. 11 staff this season. Whereas Gayle had been a crew chief at JGR, he had not labored day-to-day with Hamlin, and he mentioned that his work ethic has been spectacular.

“Not being concerned in it, I did not know the way a lot he took delight in that,” Gayle mentioned. “He’ll let you know, he wasn’t that manner 5, six years in the past. The period of time he places into it.

Hamlin celebrates with a burnout on the finish of Sunday’s Gateway race.

“However whether or not it is simulator, even when it is texting at 10 p.m. at night time … we’ve a Slack channel with me and the engineers and spotter. We’re getting random texts with issues he is occupied with,” Gayle mentioned. “I assumed he is perhaps off responsibility proper now, and not likely. He is nonetheless sitting there within the bus stuff.

“I believe these are the issues that I didn’t notice from the skin, how aggressive he’s, at actually all the things. However I see it on this facet of it.”

There’s a great motive for it.

Drivers have needed to change how they will discover a bonus. And that is as a result of in 2022, NASCAR went to a system the place the groups purchase the components and items primarily from a single-source provider. Now groups can see telemetry information from all of the automobiles, together with how a lot throttle and brake Hamlin makes use of and the place.

“You used to have the ability to construct pace in your automobiles that separated you from the competitors,” Hamlin mentioned. “Now with all the things so related, how else am I imagined to set myself aside from everybody else?

“I’ve acquired some expertise, however I really feel as if the working a part of it’s how I separate myself.”

Hamlin then mentioned it isn’t simply engaged on finding out information on the right way to get higher.

“Washing machines work actual exhausting, too. However doesn’t suggest they’re at all times productive,” Hamlin mentioned. “You’ve acquired to know what to search for. You’ve acquired to establish it. Then it’s important to go to work to repair it.

“That is the place I really feel like I am good at, is figuring out the issue first, all my issues primarily. My job is to seek out all my flaws. Then it is my job to go repair them on the race observe.”

For Hamlin, he now has 5 years when he has earned 5 or extra wins. That is his first five-win season since 2020.

“I am a results-based individual,” Hamlin mentioned. “Once I can come out right here and race in opposition to guys like half my age and be capable to beat them, like, that is very gratifying for me. … That would be the hardest half about hanging it up.”

Make no mistake, hanging it up after 2027 with out a championship will depart at the very least somewhat little bit of a gap. However Hamlin swears he has put that apart to give attention to victories.

He ranks eleventh on the all-time win record. He’s solely the seventh driver to win a number of races after 700 profession begins. His 59 victories have now come on 20 completely different tracks (this was simply the fourth time the Cup Sequence has raced at Gateway).

Hamlin ranks fourth all-time with 14 playoff wins. He has received races within the 10-race playoffs in 10 completely different seasons.

“My outcomes yearly within the playoffs are higher than it’s within the common season,” Hamlin mentioned. “My common end, all that stuff, at all times higher within the playoffs.

“It is simply we’ve not received that silly, freaking final race within the season that crowns the champion.”

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports activities. He has spent a long time overlaying motorsports, together with over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting Information, NASCAR Scene journal and The (Daytona Seaside) Information-Journal. Observe him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

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