NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Hamlin Looks To Reignite At Michigan
Denny Hamlin has struggled in recent NASCAR Sprint Cup outings...
Mike Hembree  |  Posted August 11, 2010   Charlotte, NC
Denny Hamlin has fallen to sixth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
It hasn’t been that long ago – the middle of spring, in fact – when some folks had practically signed, sealed and delivered the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship to Denny Hamlin.

After all, despite a nagging knee injury that eventually led to surgery, he was on fire. From late March to early May, he won two of three races and three of six to lift himself and his team from an early-season hole.

There seemed to be little that could stop him.

Fast forward to now. Hamlin is still bound for the Chase, but his momentum has ground to a halt. He has finished outside the top 10 in five of the past seven races. A 37th-place finish – his first DNF of the year – last Sunday after a grinding crash at Watkins Glen resulted in his worst run of the season.

Hamlin fell three spots – the biggest tumble of anybody in the top 10 – in points to sixth.

With only four races remaining to the Chase kickoff, Hamlin needs a rebound to juice his shot at winning a first championship.

“It was a really tough way to end last weekend,” Hamlin said of the Watkins Glen disappointment. “We had a good car. We weren’t going to get to the front and challenge for the lead, but we were going have a decent finish, so it’s frustrating to end up out of the race like that. … We have some good chances to win races left, and that is what you want to do heading into the Chase.

“We have good cars and some new stuff coming soon, so we feel we can go to the remaining tracks and be really competitive.”

The schedule works in Hamlin’s favor. This week the series returns to Michigan International Speedway, where he scored an impressive win in mid-June. He led a race-high 123 laps.
Denny Hamlin celebrates in victory lane after winning at Michigan in June. (Photo: Getty Images)

“This is a track where we never ran very well early in my career,” Hamlin said. “We struggled and had some bad luck. It was also a combination of my comfort level and just not being able to get the car where we needed it.

“I think it was June of last season that we came here with a new car and a new set up and it clicked. We were fast off the truck and finished third, and it was a turning point for us in a lot of ways. We came back in August and ran in the top 10 and then really hit on it when we came back this year and dominated a race probably as much as I ever have. It was a great day for us, so that definitely gives us confidence coming back to a track.”

Hamlin hasn’t been as low as sixth in points since early May.

Sunday could start the boomerang effect.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

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