South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Hamlin’s chasing history
Driver looking for his third straight Daytona 500 win
DAYTONA BEACH — Threetime Super Bowl-winning coach Joe Gibbs knows a little something about teamwork.
The president of Joe Gibbs Racing also understands a thing or two about Denny Hamlin.
Gibbs could see something was amiss with Hamlin’s race team after a winless 2018 season.
Leave it to Gibbs — the only man in the NASCAR and NFL halls of fame — to shake up the lineup and reharness the talent of a driver he’s known since Hamlin was an audacious up-and-comer two decades earlier.
“It really reminds me of trusting the people that you have in place to make the right decision,” Hamlin recalled this week.
With a Hall of Fame team owner setting a new course for him, Hamlin would go on a career-defining run — potentially a historic one.
Hamlin will enter the 63rd Daytona 500, set for 2:30 p.m. Sunday on FOX, positioned to become the first driver with three consecutive wins in the sport’s premier and most unpredictable race.
“I’m not sure how or why or what exactly has gotten them to the success level,” JGR teammate Kyle Busch said. “He’s been the guy to beat.”
To perform like never before, Hamlin first had to experience a humbling season like no other.
The 2018 season was Hamlin’s first without a trip to Victory Lane since he became a full-time Cup Series driver in 2006.
“I think 2018 was just kind of one of those wake-up years of like, ‘I need to get better,’ “Hamlin said. “Everything needs to get better.”
A difficult season led to some difficult conversations within Joe Gibbs Racing. Those discussions ultimately led to an overhaul of Hamlin’s No. 11 race team, beginning with crew chief Mike Wheeler’s exit and Chris Gabehart’s arrival.
“I think we all just felt he would work well with Denny,” Gibbs said Friday.
The Hamlin-Gabehart collaboration ushered in the driver’s best two-season stretch of his
15-season, 44-win Cup series career. Hamlin’s 13 wins during
2019 and 2020 include two at Daytona and one at Talladega.
“He kind of allows me to kind of do what I do on the superspeedways,” Hamlin said. “He tries to give me the fastest car that he can possibly give me, but it all comes down to the end, right? For him, a lot of it is around strategy.
“It’s around making sure that he puts me in a good position at the end to be up front when it really counts.”
Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner overall, has a sense of timing few possess at the 2.5-mile oval, allowing him to avoid the inevitable chaos and crashes.
“He definitely seems to have that feel and knowing when to go and when to stay put,” Gibbs said.
Hamlin now has positioned himself for an unprecedented three-peat.
NASCAR legends Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough, along with Sterling Marlin, won backto-back 500s. Their attempts at No. 3 went poorly. Yarborough completed just 60 laps in 1985 and Marlin just 81 in 1996. In 1975, Petty finished eight laps back due to engine problems.
Hamlin realizes the role good fortune plays in winning the sport’s showcase event. Driving talent, though, does not take a back seat.
“I think that there’s a lot of guys that are very, very good on the superspeedways that just have been very, very unlucky in the last few years,” he said. “We’ve been fortunate; we’ve been on the other side of it. That hammer hasn’t hit on us yet. But it’s still, in the end, a skill game and making sure you’re putting yourself in the right position.
“I take a lot of pride in it; I really do ... they’re definitely not by chance or by accident.”
Gibbs’ decision to pair Hamlin with Gabehart was a well-calculated move, too.
The 80-year-old Gibbs’ relationship with the star driver dates to his late son J.D. recognizing Hamlin’s talent while racing short tracks in Virginia during the early 2000s.
When Gibbs suggested a shake-up following the 2018, Hamlin knew it was best to relent.
“It was a very tough decision for me having such a tight relationship with Mike Wheeler,” Hamlin said. “Having to make that change met with resistance, but also I understood they had the bigger picture in mind.
“That’s ultimately what’s made this relationship successful; we trust each other to do our jobs.”
Gabehart came along at the right time for Hamlin.
Much of his career, Hamlin displayed undeniable talent on the track, but not the maturity off it to fulfill his potential.
Becoming a father to daughters Taylor, 7, and Molly, 3, softened Hamlin’s edges, helping Gabehart work his magic with his driver.
“He seems to handle things in a much more positive way,” longtime FOX analyst Larry McReynolds said of Hamlin. “You speak to Chris Gabehart; he has a really good outlook. I know Denny Hamlin has won races with basically every crew chief he’s been with. But I just think Chris Gabehart is that voice Denny Hamlin needs in his ear.
“He knows when he needs to get Denny back in line, just the way he maybe is just thinking about something.”
This week, Hamlin has had a one-track mind, focused on winning his third straight Daytona 500.
To path to reach this point began long ago and featured plenty of twists and turns at the storied track.
Hamlin’s overly aggressive style yielded just two top-10 finishes during his first 16 visits, including the summer 400-mile race. But along the way, with Gibbs in his ear, the hardcharging Hamlin started to learn a thing or two about himself.
“I always thought when you got a run on a superspeedway, take it, do something with it,” he said. “I just realized as I got older and wiser, on these types of tracks sometimes you have to push someone else to make a decision. I always wanted to be the guy to make the move.
“I’ve learned patience pays off in the long run.”