Hamlin hoping for breakthrough at Richmond

RICHMOND, Va. — Denny Hamlin would love to think that a visit to his home track will produce a finish that finally gets his season heading in the right direction.

The problem for Hamlin, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates and seemingly all the drivers in Toyotas is they are having a difficult time figuring out NASCAR's Next Gen car, making their extensive success at Richmond Raceway nearly meaningless.

Hamlin stands 22nd in points after six races and has failed to finish three races. With trying the figure out the new car, every week is like starting over.

“We are decent, but we are not where we have been for the last three years. We are trying to find that point where we are good, and we can build off of that,” he said.

Teammate Martin Truex Jr., who won on the 0.75-mile, D-shaped oval last fall, feels coming to Richmond means arriving with expectations but without much reason for any because everything is different with the new car.

“Whatever you think you knew and the way you thought about these tracks before and the way you approach these things — just forget about it, because this is a whole new ballgame with this car and everything,” he said. “Forget everything you knew in the past and focus on what it takes to make this thing go, which we are still trying to figure out.”

Truex's team has figured out enough to finish in the top 10 three times in the first six races, good for seventh in the point standings. Hamlin, who had 25 top-10 runs in 36 races last year, has yet to record any.

But, he said, it's not time to panic.

“I think you can catapult up the standings really, really quickly,” he said. “If you have a couple solid weeks where we don't get crashed or cause a crash, those things add up. We're not happy with where our speed is at, for sure, but certainly we are not a 22nd-place team. Am I worried about making the playoffs, if that is what you are asking? No.”

Hamlin's three Gibbs teammates qualified in the top 10 for Sunday's race, with Kyle Busch starting third, Truex sixth and Christopher Bell ninth. Hamlin will start 13th.