NASCAR Cup Series

Teeing it up with Denny Hamlin kept Brian Scott from getting teed up at Talladega

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:19 p.m. ET

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Joe Menzer

It has long been said that some of the best business deals are struck on the golf course.

After finishing a career-best second in the Hellman’s 500 on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway that was won by Joey Logano, Brian Scott has no doubts about that.

The driver of the No. 44 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford is a rookie in the Sprint Cup Series and is not a part of the current Chase for the Sprint Cup playoffs. So he knew that starting next to Logano on the outside of the front row on the final green-white-checkered overtime restart was both a blessing and a possible curse.

He had Chasers all around him. He feared one of them might punt him -- but instead got a great push from the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Denny Hamlin.

Hamlin ended up finishing third, one spot behind Scott, and the two ended up sitting next to each other in the media center afterward.

“Well, I was thankful to have Denny,” Scott admitted. “I don't know if playing golf with him occasionally helps or not.”

“It did, absolutely,” Hamlin responded.

Therein lies a lesson for all rookies. Go out and play golf with some of the older guys once in a while.

Scott admitted that he was surprised somewhat that he didn’t get dumped Sunday. Then again, he did think some of the more veteran drivers might have attempted it earlier in the race.

“Yeah, that's always a fear of mine,” Scott said. “When you have a yellow (rookie) sticker on your bumper, normally people avoid you like the plague. They go elsewhere.

“There were a lot of opportunities (for others to dump him). I thought that guys tried to do it. But I had a great spotter in Stevie Reeves. I was able to block and do the right things to keep our Goody's Ford with good track position toward the front.

“And lucky? I don't know, maybe because this was a (Chase) elimination race, it changed the way Denny raced at the end. He gave me a great push and gave me an opportunity to get a run at the 22 (of Logano).”

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