What has happened to the Denny Hamlin of old?
Where’s the driver who used to boast “all we do is win,” had won five races only 15 events into the 2010 season and was third in points after the Michigan race a year ago?
Heck, where’s the driver who won at Michigan this past June and the June before that?
Two weeks ago, Hamlin led 85 laps at Pocono Raceway, a track where he’s posted four wins but finished 15th. After the race, he shaved his head hoping to change his luck. That didn’t happen.
At Watkins Glen, Hamlin completed just 65 laps before his brakes failed and he went nose-first into a guard protected by two rows of tires. Hamlin finished 36th — his third finish of 35th or worse for the season.
Hamlin campaigned for, and received, engines from Toyota Racing Development for Michigan after encountering unreliability with the Joe Gibbs Racing engines throughout the season.
Hamlin qualified an admirable fourth Sunday. But while running 19th on Lap 122, he slapped the wall in the No. 11 Toyota Camry and set off sparks with his crew chief, Mike Ford.
Hamlin brought the car to pit road for repairs. He returned to the track in 32nd position, one lap down, and quickly realized the car was not drivable.
On Lap 129, Hamlin brought the car back in and screeched, “Fix the (expletive) car.” To which Ford replied, “Take it to the (expletive) garage like I said.”
The team made extensive repairs to the right from damage on the No. 11 Toyota. Hamlin returned to the track on Lap 144 in 35th position — and nursed his car to that same finishing position.
While Kyle Busch celebrated in Victory Lane, the No. 11 crew met behind closed doors for nearly 45 minutes.
When Hamlin finally appeared, still in his uniform, he was composed but appeared perplexed. As the driver, he accepted equal responsibility for his team’s current problems.
“At this point last year, we had a lot of confidence,” Hamlin said. “The cars, in my opinion, were really easy to drive for me, and the 18 has taken what we’ve learned over the last year and they’ve applied it and are running better than anyone right now. We’ve got to figure out what we can adapt these race cars to me to be a little bit better for this season and it’s going to take a lot of hard work to do that.
“It just seems like we’ve been very fortunate that the guys around us either haven’t won a race or on days we struggle they have a bad race. Any other circumstances and we’d be in big trouble right now, but I’m still glad to be in our spot than anyone else’s at this point. We just need to figure out how to finish races and that carries on my shoulders as much as it carries on anyone’s.”
Hamlin was not alone. Chase contenders Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch also had brutal days on the track. Edwards suffered electrical issues, completed 174 laps and finished 36th, falling from second to fourth in the standings. Busch slapped the wall several times, including on Lap 197 when he cut a right front tire. Busch finished 34th, six laps down, and also dropped two positions to eighth.
But there are drivers such as Brad Keselowski, who has posted a win and two additional finishes of third or better to vault from 21st to 12th in the past four races.
Despite Hamlin’s misfortune, he still feels confident enough to ease his way back into the Chase. While having a win to his credit is an advantage and currently places him in the second wild-card position – he’s 14th in the standings, 59 points out of the Chase — the last three races will be crucial.
“I won eight races last year, I’m pretty sure that I’m capable,” Hamlin said. “Mike Ford is capable and the team itself. You know, you look at every driver’s career who was second to Jimmie Johnson — these kind of years happen. It hasn’t happened to me in five years.
“This is the first time where I’ve struggled and we’re struggling to find the balance of the car that I want. Mike is struggling to find what he needs to put in the car for me to run well. It’s just a part of it. . . . I’m not going to make any excuses and I’m not going to sugarcoat it because it’s on me to try to get better at this one.”
