Yahoo Autos Hamlin’s ‘perfect weekend’ at Pocono
Denny Hamlin managed two rare feats on Sunday afternoon at Pocono Raceway, but you might have only heard focus on one.
Hamlin was victorious in the NASCAR Cup Series race. That fact is well-known and indisputable. But the way in which Hamlin went about claiming the victory while racing Kyle Larson has resulted in enough controversy and conversation to distract from the accomplishment.
Yes, Hamlin overshadowed himself.
Take a break for a minute of analyzing Hamlin versus Larson and whether it was fair or foul or whether or not they did or didn’t touch, and remember that Hamlin won for the 50th time in his NASCAR Cup Series career. A big number and an even bigger accomplishment for any driver.
“Stuff like this doesn’t sit in for a while,” Hamlin said post-race, where he spent most of the time being asked about the incident with Larson. “Actually, (I) exchanged texts with [Matt] Kenseth over the week. We were just reminiscing about old races. I was definitely filling him up about how great he was; he was a great teammate.
“The wins he had. He was so underrated. I told him that’s the one thing that we’re always of is not appreciating it in the moment.
“When you retire, and you’ve got a bunch of time, you’re sitting there on your rocker on your back porch, you’re thinking about ‘What have I accomplished in the sport?’ These things take a long time to sit in. They really do. We’re in the heat of the moment now.”
Pocono was a fitting place for Hamlin to get No. 50. It was where he earned his first career victory in the series in 2006. And his second that same year. The triangle in Pennsylvania has been a Hamlin place since the beginning, and he now has seven victories at the racetrack.
Or eight if you ask him. The disqualification from last year is not forgotten.
“It takes time,” Hamlin continued about his latest and biggest win. “I never thought I’d get an opportunity in the Cup Series. Luckily, J.D. Gibbs took a chance and Joe Gibbs took a chance on me nearly 20 years ago. To get my 50th win, it comes (at) the track that I got my first; it certain is special.
“I knew every weekend I go into it thinking, ‘Man, this would be the perfect weekend for it because there’s always the right time to win.’ There are just little things. My old car chief, Spider that works at Joe Gibbs Racing, found in his old toolbox my grandmother’s St. Christopher (medal). I get in my car for practice, and it’s sitting on my dash. I’m like, I hadn’t seen that thing. I thought it was lost. My mom would put that in there before the race on the dash. I sat down and said, ‘Well, we’re winning this weekend.’
“Those things don’t happen by accident.”
That’s now seven wins for Hamlin at Pocono… or is it eight? Motorsport Images
There are only three active drivers ahead of Hamlin on the all-time Cup Series wins list: Jimmie Johnson (84), Kyle Busch (63), and Kevin Harvick (63). Sunday’s victory broke Hamlin from a tie with Tony Stewart at 49 and moved him into a tie with Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson at 50.
And that puts Hamlin into a three-way tie at 11th on the all-time wins list.
“(I’m) just really happy to win it for the team, the whole team,” Hamlin said. “Chris [Gabehart] and his team on the pit box. The guys in the war room, the guys in the fab shop. I’ve been really lucky to be part of an organization that carried me for many years to many, many victories – like a lot.
“Not everyone gets the opportunity to go from racing late models to racing for Joe Gibbs Racing in 18 months in the Cup Series. It’s hard to do. It really is. But luckily, they believed in me, gave me time to get going and the rest is history.”
Hamlin admittedly drove as hard as he could against Larson for a win that was going to mean so much. There was his 50th career victory in the balance, his seventh at Pocono to make him the all-time wins leader at the track, as well as the 600th national event win for Toyota.
Chris Gabehart, Hamlin’s crew chief, reminded his driver of those numbers late in the race. In fact, it was over the No. 11 team’s radio before the restart that Hamlin would use up Larson for the race lead.
Gabehart ran through the numbers before saying, “I don’t know how to motivate you more than that. Find a way.”
Hamlin did – the disdain of Larson and the critics.
“Denny doesn’t like cheerleaders, he’ll tell you that,” Gabehart said. “I think every now and then focus is required of anyone. I say that because these moments are so hard to get to. To even have an opportunity to compete for a win, let alone all those things we just mentioned, all those metrics, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“All those things are never going to line up at once. So he’s hot and sweaty and in that cocoon, focused on this vibration, getting these tires clean enough. I just wanted to get in his mind one moment and remind him this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, find a way to go get it. If I spend every minute of my day in that manner, it’s never going to mean something when I step up and say it that clearly because it’s always level-10 cheering.
“I just wanted to focus him on the moment and just remind him of how important the moment was.”
A three-time Daytona 500 champion, a Coca-Cola 600 winner, a three-time Southern 500 winner, and a winner of 50 races overall. Hamlin is a future NASCAR Hall of Famer, and easily one of the best to have not won a NASCAR Cup Series championship. A championship and win on the Indianapolis oval are all that he hasn’t accomplished.
And when it comes to his latest accomplishment, on the one hand, Hamlin will never forget his Pocono victory because he’ll always be reminded of how he earned it. But on the other hand, it might be the reason why the fact that it was his 50th is a bit of a footnote.
