CUP: The Trials Of Denny

Sprint Cup

CUP: The Trials Of Denny

Denny Hamlin faces the fall of another promising season…

Mike Hembree | Posted October 30, 2012 Charlotte, NC

Denny Hamlin (Left) and crew chief Darian Grubb (Right) saw their title hopes all but vanish at Martinsville. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Although Denny Hamlin mentions the word fun when describing the final three weeks of the Sprint Cup season, November is likely to be a dreary month for the Toyota driver.

Hamlin saw a shot at the Sprint Cup title essentially go up in smoke Sunday at Martinsville as electrical problems sent his car to the garage and ultimately slapped him with a 33rd-place finish. He fell from third to fifth in points and trails leader Jimmie Johnson by a whopping 49 with three races remaining.

Entering Martinsville, traditionally one of his best tracks and one where he expected to make gains, Hamlin was third in points, only 20 off the lead. But, instead of serving as his springboard, Martinsville practically drowned him.

The 33rd-place finish was the third worst run by any Chase driver this season (Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth both have 35th-place finishes).

Barring a miracle turnaround, this season will be another in the “almost but lost” category for Hamlin. He finished third in points in 2006, was fifth in 2009 and then lost a heartbreaker in the final race in 2010.

Last season, he finished ninth in what many termed a “hangover” year from the cutting disappointment of the conclusion of the previous season.

“Just the little things that get us,” Hamlin said. “I've been in these Chases for seven years, and I've had my fair share of electrical issues and motor issues and things like that.”

What’s his approach to the final three weeks?

"Just have fun,” Hamlin said. “That's all I can do. Just go out there and be relaxed and enjoy this championship battle that's shaping up.

“It's a shame we can't be a part of it, but we're going to try to work our way as far up in the points as we possibly can and just keep digging."

Watching the championship race and being a vital part of it obviously are two very different things, and Hamlin, unfortunately, faces that difficult situation again.

“All I can do is just drive my heart out, and if it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be,” he said. “We'll have our time. It's just our time is not now."

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.

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Mike Hembree

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