Hamlin looking to his Darlington touch for NASCAR playoffs

DARLINGTON, S.C. — About the only time Denny Hamlin’s had difficulty at Darlington Raceway came when he was trying to impress the brass at Joe Gibbs Racing.

He and Tony Stewart tested at the track “Too Tough To Tame” about 15 years ago and Hamlin remembers tagging the infamous and troublesome wall some 19 or 20 times, “where we didn’t have any sheet metal on the side and had worn completely through,” he said.

“Since that point, it just kind of clicked.”

Hamlin, now a mainstay at JGR, needs his Darlington touch to click once more at the Southern 500 on Sunday night. Hamlin has not won on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series since taking the checkered flag here a year ago. He’s on the verge of qualifying for the playoffs — he needs eight points out of the weekend to clinch a spot with only one regularseason race remaining after this — but sorely wants to enter running at peak performance.

He’s off to a good start on the weekend by winning the pole Saturday for the Southern 500. Kyle Larson will start next to Hamlin, with last year’s series champion Martin Truex Jr. in third.

Hamlin has won twice here on the Cup side and five times in Xfinity. More amazingly, he’s never missed a lap at Darlington as Cup driver.

“That’s called a jinx, thank you,” Hamlin answered when told of his success here.

Hamlin could use a bit of a jinx put on the trio of NASCAR champions dominating victory lane. Kevin Harvick, the 2014 champion, leads the way with seven wins, while 2015 champion Kyle Busch has six. Defending series winner Martin Truex Jr. has won four times this season, meaning the three have combined to take 70 percent of the races.

Busch said his mission and mindset is clear: finish the regular season as the top playoff seed.

“We want to continue our dominant stretch, continuing to win races, top fives and add to those bonus points,” he said. “You want to win the regular season.”

Some drivers, like Hamlin, simply want to make the playoffs. Hamlin appears likely to clinch his spot this week, while Aric Almirola and seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson are also close to making the 16-team postseason.

The matter will be settled for sure next week when the 26th and final regularseason race takes place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Hamlin said he’s not racing for points, just wins.

“Running better is very, very important to us at this point. So we’re doing everything we can to work hard and get to that level we want to be at,” he said. “Winning one of these next two would, for sure, help with the momentum going into the playoffs.”

Hamlin swept both Darlington races a year ago, then a few days later had his Cup victory “encumbered” when his No. 11 Toyota did not pass postrace inspection. Hamlin lost five playoff points and crew chief Mike Wheeler missed two races for the violations.

A year later, Hamlin said the infraction was “so small, it had no bearing on the finishes. Previous wins that I’ve had validated that.”