Denny Hamlin hasn’t lost his edge. He’s older now, 44, an age when most drivers are sputtering the the end of their careers or have already finished them.
But Hamlin, the oldest regular driver in NASCR’s Cup series, isn’t ready for the rocking chair just yet.
“No,” Hamlin said when asked if he ever thought about how much longer he could go. “I mean I’m probably the king of irrational confidence,” Hamlin continued as reported on NASCAR’s website. “I mean generally speaking, I know that when I’ve got the car to do it I can be the best, so…
“I haven’t felt like I’ve held back the car at any point,” he continued. “Certainly I’m not immune to understanding that Father Time is undefeated, but everything I need to be a good race car driver is still really sharp.
“It (the deterioration of his driving skills) hasn’t happened yet,” Hamlin said. “It will but not yet.”
Throughout his career, Hamlin has been amazingly consistent. He usually doesn’t win a bunch of races but he’ll get you two or three every season. There’ve been a few times when he’s won more than that and a few times when he’s struggled, but he’ll almost always get you two or three.
And that hasn’t changed as he’s entered his 40s, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to change this year.
That’s because Hamlin doesn’t just drive with his hands and feet, he uses his head as well. And because he continually studies his profession, Hamlin adapts to change better than most.
“As he’s gotten older, he’s had to ramp up the amount of work he’s done where he may have gotten by earlier without doing that,” new crew chief Chris Gayle commented after Hamlin won at Martinsville.
“I still think he has the drive and determination to win. I think it’s probably no secret,” Gayle continued. “You’ve seen the wins. He wants to get beyond 60 wins (Hamlin now has 55). There’s still goals left for him at this age.
“It’s one thing to say that you want to get there and talk about it, but I’m starting to see the amount of effort he puts in,” Gayle went on. “He’s with us in the simulator at least six or seven hours a week.
“He probably doesn’t have to, some of the other guys don’t. He does it to be part of the team, help grow the process competitively,” Gayle said. “I think that just speaks to where his head’s at at this age.”
NASCAR NOTES: Three most likely winners at Darlington: 1-Kyle Larson, 2-Bubba Wallace, 3-William Byron. Last year’s winners at Darlington: first race – Brad Keselowski. Second race – Chase Briscoe. Top five in first race last year: 1-Keselowski, 2-Ty Gibbs, 3-Josh Berry, 4-Denny Hamlin, 5-Briscoe.
Last week’s OGS Martinsville picks: 1-Larson, 2-Hamlin, 3-Byron. Martinsville winner: Hamlin. OGS season record: 3-2.
OGS Competition Index top 10: 1-Christopher Bell 157, 2-Hamlin 129, 3-Larson 104, 4-Berry 77, 5-Wallace 73, 6-Byron 72, 7-Alex Bowman 48, 8-Chase Elliott 45, 9-Daniel Suarez 41, 10-Tyler Reddick 40.
OGS Competition Index top 10 on short tracks: 1-Hamlin 117, 2-Bell 103, 3-Larson 40, 4-Wallace 30, 5-Elliott 25, 6-Joey Logano 12, 7-Byron 11, 8-Chris Buescher 10, 9-Ryan Preece 5, 10-Berry 4.