Hamlin has just enough fuel to reach finish first
LONG POND, PA.» Denny Hamlin had enough speed in his Toyota, enough confidence in his crew chief, and just enough fuel to reach the finish line. Hamlin got the win Sunday at Pocono Raceway — his fifth at the tri-oval track nestled in the mountains — but so much more could be on the horizon.
At 38, Hamlin is having one of the best seasons of his career for Joe Gibbs Racing. He has a Daytona 500 victory, and two other wins and just maybe, his best shot at a NASCAR Cup Series championship since he fell short in 2014.
“I feel as long as we keep putting the effort in what we’re doing, I have as good a shot as any,” Hamlin said.
The Cup championship has eluded Hamlin but not much else has over a fantastic career that took off as a rookie in 2006 when he swept two Pocono races. He won two straight races at Pocono over the 2009 and 2010 seasons, but often struggled in recent years to seriously compete for a win on the tri-oval track.
He needed a bit of everything to go right over the final laps Sunday to reverse his fortune and win for the first time since March in Texas. Hamlin had to clear JGR teammates Erik Jones and Martin Truex Jr., then had to conserve fuel in the No. 11 for when he needed it on two late restarts, including the final one in overtime.
Hamlin is coming off his first full winless season of his career and split with crew chief Michael Wheeler, with JGR giving the reins to Chris Gabehart. Hamlin said he has faith in the first-year Cup crew chief and followed directives on fuel. Gabehart made all the right calls atop the pit box.
“I just let him go, get the lead,” Gabehart said. “Then as soon as he got out front, I pulled the reins on him, started putting some in the bank.”
That was enough for Hamlin. “Win or lose, he comes up with the plays, and I’m the one that needs to execute it,” Hamlin said. “When he said, ‘OK, I need two positions on this restart,’ I got to go get two positions. He’s really done a good job of knowing what it takes to win in the Cup Series in his rookie season. I mean, he’s going to be around for a very long time.”