Nascar Race News!» Denny Hamlin

Stick A Fork In Denny…

T.C. — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 07:00:24 +0000

Before Daytona, I wrote a blog post with some random thoughts entering the season. In it, I made predictions about which drivers I thought would win each championship. I said Ron Hornaday would take the Truck title, Elliott Sadler would be your Nationwide champ, and Denny Hamlin would break through and win the Cup. Of [...]

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Gibbs’ Reliability Issue

Journo — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 07:00:47 +0000

Joe Gibbs Racing didn’t have a particularly good weekend in Indianapolis. The teams finished 10th, 25th and 27th. Adding to the weekend woes was what has become a very common problem for JGR – an expired engine; this time for Denny Hamlin. This ongoing issue comes as rumors about the future of JGR’s engine program [...]

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Random Final NASCAR Thoughts

T.C. — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 03:37:38 +0000

[...]

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So Where Does NASCAR Go From Here?

Journo — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 04:11:48 +0000

With all the hype leading into this final race we certainly had an exciting finish. Who wasn’t on edge after Denny Hamlin spun, Jimmie Johnson’s crew (continually) screwed up, and Kevin Harvick got caught speeding on pit road? I was on the edge of my seat until the final laps. And so after 36 races [...]

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Denny Hamlin Already Looking Toward 2011

Holly Cain — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 17:53:00 +0000

Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Only 25 laps into Sunday's Ford 400 NASCAR season finale, Denny Hamlin realized his day was going to be long, and his hopes of holding off his two championship challengers diminished as the hot South Florida afternoon wore on.

When the green flag dropped, his 15-point championship lead over four-time defending Sprint Cup series champ Jimmie Johnson technically vanished, based on Hamlin's 38th-place starting position compared to Johnson's sixth.

Then on lap 25, Hamlin collided with Greg Biffle, sending Hamlin's No. 11 FedEx Toyota spinning on the infield grass -- an omen for what would come. Tire problems, pit road miscommunication and then an ill-timed caution period late in the race spelled his ultimate doom. The 30-year-old driver finished 14th in the race and became the first driver in NASCAR's seven-year Chase playoff format not to win the title when leading the championship with one race remaining.

"It's tough, trust me, these years don't come by too often in anyone's career,'' said Hamlin, who finished championship runner-up, 39 points behind the newly crowned five-time champion Johnson.

"I was privileged enough to be part of the closest championship in (Chase) history and give it my best effort, but it wasn't enough today. Our car got banged up and we just couldn't overcome it.''

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Jimmie Johnson Wins Fifth Straight NASCAR Title, Carl Edwards Wins Race

Bob Zeller — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 15:42:00 +0000

Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

The Jimmie Johnson dynasty in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series stretched to half a decade at Homestead-Miami Speedway Sunday as the most dominant driver the sport has ever seen won his fifth straight championship with a second-place finish in the Ford 400 season finale.

As Carl Edwards motored to his second straight victory in as many weeks, leading 190 laps, Johnson fought back from early pit problems, settled into his regular routine and came on at the end to seal the title.

For Edwards, the two consecutive victories came after a 70-race winless streak.

"This is unreal," Edwards said in victory lane. "It's a great way to finish the season. I think the way we're going, if we can start like that, our Aflac team will have a shot at them next year.

"To finish like this is unreal. It's just these guys not giving up. We don't give up. We've had just an unbelievable run toward the end of this season. It's just a great way to end the season."

The championship battle was a nail-biting contest whose complexion changed time and time again throughout the 267-lap event.

Holly Cain: NASCAR's Greatest Champion?

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Kasey Kahne Wins Pole for NASCAR Finale, Jimmie Johnson Leads Contenders

Holly Cain — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 18:30:00 +0000

Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Kasey Kahne won the pole position for Sunday's Ford 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, while four-time defending Cup champ Jimmie Johnson's sixth-place effort was best of the three drivers vying for the season championship.

Kahne's No. 83 Red Bull Toyota turned a lap of 176.904 mph around the 1.5-mile oval, bettering Carl Edwards' Ford and Jamie McMurray's Chevrolet. (Kahne is shown at right checking times during qualifying).

But as significant as who will be starting up front is who won't be. Championship points leader Denny Hamlin, who holds a tenuous 15-point edge over Johnson, will start 37th in the 43-car field. Kevin Harvick, who trails Hamlin by 46 points, will roll off 28th.

"It was tough ... but our car is gonna be fine tomorrow,'' Hamlin said. "We know that. This is a track you can pass (at). We're looking forward to that part of it. Friday has just never been our strong suit and so we gotta battle back again."

Harvick, who has started better then 20th only one time since August, didn't appear overly concerned with his starting position. He finished third at Martinsville, Va., last month after starting 36th and was runner-up at Las Vegas despite starting 34th.

"I thought we might have been a little better, but not much,'' said Harvick, who drives the No.. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevy. "Everybody on the car did a really good job. ... We've been talking about where we want to pit here, the same thing we do every week.

"Our car was very comfortable in race trim and we are ready to go.''

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Three for the Show as NASCAR Hits Homestead for Grand Finale

Holly Cain — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:45:00 +0000

Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR

MIAMI -- Dressed in a freshly pressed, button-down shirt, cleanly shaven and appearing slightly preoccupied, Denny Hamlin was the first to arrive for NASCAR's version of a title fight weigh-in -- a formal press conference with the Sprint Cup Series championship contenders in downtown Coral Gables.

Looking a lot younger than the 30 years he turned Thursday, Hamlin politely smiled but more often stared up at the ceiling as his two bearded, 30-something challengers -- four-time defending Cup champ Jimmie Johnson and veteran Kevin Harvick -- arrived and took their seats on either side of him, then seized every opportunity to take good-natured barbs at the birthday boy and each other.

Hamlin, who holds a 15-point edge over Johnson and a 46-point cushion over Harvick entering Sunday's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, called the event "awkward'' because "there's all this s***-talking going on and we're like two feet away (from each other).''

"He definitely seems like the most nervous,'' Harvick said smiling and looking over at Hamlin.

"That's because I'm between you,'' Hamlin replied.

Actually, it's his position in front of them that has made this the most dramatic final race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup since NASCAR first instituted its 10-race playoff format seven years ago.

It is the closest-ever margin between first and second place entering the final race. And Harvick, who has the best average finishing position (8.4) among the three at the 1.5-mile Homestead oval, is still a factor compared to past years when a third-place driver was merely a mathematical technicality.

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NASCAR Championship Scenarios as Finish Line Nears for 2010

Geoffrey Miller — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 12:04:00 +0000

Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

Denny Hamlin certainly had plenty of frustration boiling over after late-race strategy failed to work in his favor. So, he took a water bottle and threw it Sunday in Phoenix.

The temperament, however, may be unjustified: Hamlin heads into Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the proverbial driver's seat to win the 2010 crown.

Sure, the Virginia driver is sporting just a 15-point lead and could lose it by finishing second to Jimmie Johnson at Homestead.

But if that happens, Hamlin will be just the third driver in NASCAR's modern points system era to lose the championship in the season's final race. The first was 1979 when Richard Petty beat Darrell Waltrip and the second in 1992 when Alan Kulwicki topped Davey Allison.

Hamlin, however, clinches his fate by simply leading the most laps and finishing second or better. If Hamlin pulls that feat while Jimmie Johnson wins, the two will finish tied in the point standings.

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Three Crew Chiefs Say What Their Drivers Must Do to Win Sprint Cup

Bob Zeller — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 17:42:00 +0000

Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Crew Chiefs, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

Denny Hamlin is said to be over his minor meltdown after the Phoenix race, and his crew chief, Mike Ford, is feeling good because they've had the best car and done the most winning down the stretch in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Kevin Harvick is bringing a new car to the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend and as the third-place driver, will race flat out, crew chief Gil Martin said. But before Harvick goes for broke, the team is hanging out the "Gone Fishing" sign and headed to the Keys.

And Jimmie Johnson? Well, he's just a better driver than the other two, or so says crew chief Chad Knaus.

It may be that some of the things said Tuesday in a triple-header media conference featuring the three contending crew chiefs will - for motivational purposes - end up taped to one or another team's tool box in the garage at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Or it may be that it's just a lot of hot air that disappears into the air like so much exhaust smoke out of their engines.

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