E-Mail Article
Rate this article:
Women's SPEED Color Block Jacket - Khaki / Fog (Cool Gray)
100% micro fiber polyester wind and water resistant hip length jacket.
Our Price: $75.00
SPEED Men's Color Block Jacket - Iron/Black
100% micro fiber polyester wind and water resistant hip length jacket.
Our Price: $85.00
SPEED Black Knit Beanie
100% Acrylic 8" inch Knit Beanie.
Our Price: $20.00
CUP: Hamlin Seals The Deal
Written by:
Tom Jensen
03/30/2008 - 08:35 PM
Martinsville, Va.
Denny Hamlin won his first Gatorade Duel in the second segment at Daytona International Speedway. (Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images Photo) ยป More Photos
Ever since the start of the 2007 season, the three main words used to describe Denny Hamlin’s finishes were “woulda, coulda, shoulda.” The young Virginia phenom had come so close, so often, to winning races without actually doing it that he was beginning to feel cursed.
He lost at Bristol twice because of fuel-pickup problems, lost at Darlington to a dropped lug nut, lost at Phoenix to a pit-road speeding penalty. His Joe Gibbs Racing cars were almost always fast, but being fastest when the money gets paid out – the last lap - had proven to be a depressing problem bordering on debilitating.
Now, maybe, after winning the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, he can put some of those demons to rest. “It's been difficult,” Hamlin admitted after winning Sunday. “I mean, it's hard to be patient. When you get so close to winning so many races and something bad happens or, you know, things just don't work out in your favor at the end and you end up losing a win, it's tough to maintain confidence. It's tough. Your self esteem starts going down. It takes its toll on you.
And on those around him. Hamlin is known to be high-maintenance, as fellow JGR drivers Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart are. Then again, JGR has sort of carved out a niche as the home for supremely talented and high-strung drivers.
“I've been married a long time, and I know you can't always make the people around you happy,” said Hamlin’s long-suffering crew chief, Mike Ford. “He's a severe competitor. And it is good to know that you have someone in there that is strictly performance motivated. It's difficult at times because you think that
Ford, like his fellow JGR crew chiefs, tries hard to be tougher than his driver’s moods. “In doing this as long as we have, we realize that, yes, we are here to win races and to do the best we can, and that's really all you have, is do the best you can with what you have,” said Ford. “And when you do that, there's no looking back.”
And for Hamlin, now maybe he can look ahead and see better days on the horizon. “I definitely feel like maybe this is the turning point for our team, that we definitely performed better over time,” he said. “It's just our luck's gotten worse and worse. So yeah maybe the monkey's off our back. If it is, then I feel like we have a lot of confidence going forward. Because I know we bring great race cars to the racetrack each week.”
If that’s true – if this team can close the deal consistently – then Hamlin, Ford & Co. could be in for a very big year, and their competitors for a very long one.
Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association.
GOODY’S COOL ORANGE 500 RESULTS
Commenting is not allowed in this article.
- Press Releases | Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | FOXReality | National Geographic - © Copyright 2008 Speed Channel, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
