If Denny Hamlin is not the greatest driver in NASCAR history, he is certainly the greatest driver of his generation. Hamlin won his third race of the season at Michigan last Sunday, running away from the rest of the field in the final laps and beating second place Erik Jones by 11.11 seconds.
In today’s NASCAR, you do not win races by 11.11 seconds. Maybe by .11 seconds, or 1.11 seconds, but not by 11.11 seconds. Nobody does that.
And the fact that at 45, Hamlin’s best years should be behind him…well, obviously, somebody should remind him of his age because Hamlin is competing at a level more equivalent to someone 25 than 45.
Hamlin is, by far, the most analytical, most thoroughly prepared driver out there. He understands his strengths and he knows his weaknesses and he uses his experience to make up for whatever he has lost physically which, at this point, isn’t much.
“I don’t know why I still have the speed that I have,” Hamlin commented on NASCAR’s website after a recent race. “I just approach every weekend the same as I always have, but I keep a large notebook every week.
“I just go through it and I jot down things that I think are important that are going to help we win next time if I fail this time. I don’t know, I still – I love the process more than I love winning,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin won his first Cup race 19 years ago, a month before Connor Zilsch was born. Zilsch drives for a somewhat tarnished Trackhouse team, once considered Chevy’s most promising new organization but now struggling to stay relevant.
At Michigan, Zilsch started 34th out of the 37 drivers in the field. Back in 37th was Hamlin. He had qualified on the pole, but unapproved repairs on his car, after it was damaged due to a flat tire in practice, sent him to the rear.
As the race began, Hamlin immediately understood that he could not make a hard charge to the front. The dirty air being stirred up by all the cars made him unstable. He would have to take his time, be careful, he radioed to his pits.
Zilsch, meanwhile, took off. On the second lap, all by himself, he spun out between turns three and four. Undeterred, Zilsch went hammer down again. And again, this time on lap nine and again all by himself, he spun out exiting turn two and hit the wall.
There is an old saying that in racing, you must first finish before you can finish first. The green flag had barely waved and Zilsch was through. Hamlin, meanwhile, kept adjusting his car and moving up when the opportunity presented itself. With 40 to go, he was sixth.
“I knew I was going to have my hands full but I just – I don’t know, I constantly study some things to try and get better and we chip away at it,” Hamlin said. “I never really panic at any point in the race anymore.
“Starting sixth here with 40 to go inside the last fuel run, it’s like, yeah, I feel pretty confident we’re still going to win,” Hamlin remarked. “It’s just we’re at that point where we show up to the racetrack and it’s like the confidence is higher than it’s ever been.
“I mean, I went through a transition probably around, I don’t know, eight years ago, nine years ago, maybe even more than that, to where I don’t even care about lap times anymore,” Hamlin said. “Like practice, where everybody ranks, who’s got the fast laps, it’s totally irrelevant to me.
“I have that liberty because I know what winning feels like at most tracks, so I just try to replicate the feel,” Hamlin said. “As long as I have the feel, the other stuff doesn’t matter until we get to Sunday (race day), because like today (at Michigan) the track is 30, 40 degrees hotter.
“All the race cars are going to be on the track. You’re going to have to be good in traffic and be able to lap cars.
“I think my experience is carrying me now more than ever,” Hamlin continued. “I’m fortunate to have run so many laps at these tracks and, now, won so many races that it’s really easy for me to replicate the feeling I had here last year and the year before that.
“That’s the advantage I have every single week. You know the transitions of the track, like what happens when it gets cloudy, what happens when it gets sunny, what happens when the wind is this direction, that direction, all those things you learn over time. It’s why I have the upper hand right now,” Hamlin added.
“That’s just all I search for,” he said. “Doesn’t matter whether we have more horsepower, less downforce. I’m searching for a feel. If I’ve got it, I know then we’re going to win.”
And that will continue. No one will every be better prepared for a race then Hamlin. But how long, at 45, can he continue physically? Right now, there are no signs of deterioration, although he is set to retire at the end of next season.
But will he? Heading into today’s race at Pocono, Hamlin has 63 wins, tied for ninth all-time with Kyle Busch. He is virtually certain to move ahead of Busch this year. In eighth, with 76, sits Dale Earnhardt. Hamlin once thought that total was unattainable. It’s not, but he’d have to run beyond 2027.
“I think if – and that’s a big if – I’m at this point and this fast next year, it (retirement) would be a tough, tough decision,” Hamlin said. “That’s not saying that I would (come back), but it would be a tough decision.
“I’m planning for the downfall that I know will come,” Hamlin went on. “I always say there’s three things that happen. You’re going to lose you eyesight, then you lose – in no particular order, it’s your eyesight, your reaction and then your body hurts.
“I’ve already got the body hurts part of it. It’s just the other two things have remained really sharp. I mean I want to finish like this,” Hamlin said. “I do. I do not want to go through regression.
“My ego will not allow me to be mediocre. So, I mean, I’m going to have to leave some on the table at some point, right? In order to know that you can win your last race, you’re going to have to go into the next year saying ‘I’m not doing it, but I could have.’
“I’m content,” Hamlin declared. “If I quit tomorrow, I will feel no more gratified than if I go out there and win 72 races before I (retire) – it makes no difference. Nobody cares. You’re forgotten within six months when you’re not here.”
NASCAR NOTES
Three most likely winners at Pocono: 1-Denny Hamlin, 2-Tyler Reddick, 3-Kyle Larson. Last year’s winner at Pocono: Chase Briscoe. Top five at Pocono last year: 1-Briscoe, 2-Hamlin, 3-Ryan Blaney, 4-Chris Buescher, 5-Chase Elliott.
Last week’s Old Guy Sport picks at Michigan: 1-Christopher Bell, 2-Hamlin, 3-Reddick. Michigan winner: Hamlin. OGS season record: 7-5.
OGS competition index after 12 races: 1-Hamlin 390 points, 2-Reddick 289, 3-Bell 217, 4-Larson 190, 5-Elliott 178, 6-Ty Gibbs 163, 7-Blaney 149, 8-Shane van Gisbergen, 128, 9-Briscoe 101, 10-Brad Keselowski 63.
OGS competition index on intermediate tracks (Tracks most like Pocono): 1-Hamlin 314, 2-Reddick 184, 3-Bell 126, 4-Elliott 117, 5-Larson 107, 6-Briscoe 67, 7-Keselowski 63, 8-Daniel Suarez 51, 9-Bubba Wallace 42, 10-Carson Hocevar 41.
