Hamlin looking to his Darlington touch for 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 regular-season 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.