Denny Hamlin and the #11 FedEx team had one of their best NASCAR Cup Series campaigns. Nevertheless, he fell short once again of raising the trophy to conclude the season. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver went into the season with high expectations. More than that, he had hopes of finally capturing his first title in NASCAR’s top series.
Things didn’t go well for Denny Hamlin to kick-off his 2017 season. After three finishes of 25th or worse in the first seven races, his hopes of competing for a championship looked dim. Instead, he focused on just trying to qualify for the playoffs.
The year started to change around April. He notched a season-best third at Richmond. After that, Denny Hamlin went on one of the most consistent streaks of his career. By the end, he was firmly seeded in the top-10 in points by the series’ return to Daytona in July.
After a 24th-place finish at Daytona followed by a 4th-place rebound the following week at Kentucky. Denny Hamlin went to New Hampshire trying to finally get his first victory of the season. The weekend up north certainly didn’t get off to a fast start. The veteran driver had to use his backup car following a practice crash on Friday. Even so, Hamlin drove through the field by leading 54 laps on route to his first win of the season. It also his first triumph of the year for Joe Gibbs Racing. Because of NASCAR’s system, the win secured him a spot in the Playoffs.
“We were positioning ourselves pretty good in the regular season points to try to get in the playoffs. Obviously, this is a bonus to lock yourself in. Kind of gives you that sense of security if you do have a bad day or two between now and the playoffs,” Denny Hamlin stated
The win in New Hampshire inspired the #11 FedEx crew. The speedster proceeded to rack up top-five finishes in six of the next eight races. That stretch also included his second trip to Victory Lane. He accomplished that feat when he took the checkered flag out in front of the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington.
The momentous racer dominated the “Track that can’t be tamed”. Hamlin led 124 total laps of the 367 turned. Still, he almost gave the win away when he missed the entrance to pit road. It also occurred during a late cycle of green flag pit stops. Fortunately, Hamlin was able to rebound and reclaimed the top spot after leader Martin Truex Jr. hit the wall in Turn 3 with three laps to go.
“Tonight through the adversity of missing the pit road and coming back. We had a great strategy, a fast car, and it all just worked out in the end,” Denny Hamlin said. “I was hoping it would. Otherwise, I would have looked pretty silly after the race trying to explain why we lost.”
Denny Hamlin entered the Playoffs with momentum. Despite a 35th-place finish at Dover to close the round, Hamlin managed to get through the Round of 16. The hopefull driver’s title hopes remained intact. The Round of 12 went a lot better for the savvy motorist. Three top-10 finishes in that segment set him up as a potential favorite to advance to Homestead-Miami.
That is right at the point the Denny Hamlin’s season might have changed NASCAR’s fans thoughts of him for good. Especially when you lock horns with one of NASCAR’s newest stars with some controversial driving tactics. In the end, that would be the downfall of Hamlin’s title chances.
Denny Hamlin made contact with race leader Chase Elliott in the closing laps at Martinsville. Most fans and certainly Chase Elliott felt it was dirty racing, to say the least. Hamlin still ended up losing the lead to teammate Kyle Busch before falling back to finish seventh. The two adrenaline-filled competitors exchanged words on pit road following the escapade. Unfortunately, that melee included a shower of boos from the crowd pointed at Hamlin.
NASCAR’s newest rivalry was born. It would continue two weeks later in Phoenix. NASCAR’s new public enemy number one dominated the first two-thirds of the Can-Am 500. The speedster led 193 laps on the day. As one would expect, Chance Elliott had his chance to lay down some revenge. Contact between Elliott and Denny Hamlin occurred with less than 50 laps to go. There was significant damage that eventually cut a tire down. As a result, Hamlin was sent into the wall and out of the race. His championship hopes were done. His displeasure with Elliott was obvious. He claimed his move at Martinsville was no different than Elliott’s actions at Phoenix Speedway.
“We got ran into the fence by Elliott when we running up front all day. We had a bad pit stop and then we didn’t really make any adjustments,” Denny Hamlin said. “Our car got really tight and we were just battling all we could to keep our track position. We weren’t and we allowed our competition to get close to us. It just proves to the people that thought I was a bad guy that he’d do the exact same thing under the exact same circumstances,” Hamlin said. “I got into him and he chose to retaliate and so I’m in the garage and that’s the way it is.”
Denny Hamlin finished off the year with a pole and a ninth-place run in Miami. Impressively, it was his 22nd top-10 finish of the year. The result also tied for the Joe Gibb’s racer for most in a season in his career. His 15 top-five finishes also tied a career best. Furthermore, the maligned driver’s 710 laps led were the most for Hamlin since 2012. Still, Hamlin’s season was a disappointment when he lost his chance to compete for a championship. He doesn’t plan to approach this year any different than the last.
“I really spent the second half of 2017 focusing as a driver what I need to focus on at each given racetrack. Now that I’ve created that log book of information I’m gonna hopefully start 2018 a little quicker,” Denny Hamlin said. “It seems like it’s taken me sometimes 10 races into a year to get rolling and get perform well. We have to start that a little earlier this year.”
Denny Hamlin Bio:
Denny Hamlin is a full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver. He also who races in a limited roll in the Xfinity Series. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has 31 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins. Including an impressive win in the 2016 Daytona 500. Hamlin claimed the 2006 Sunoco Rookie of the Year. He also has 17 Xfinity Series wins and two career Camping World Truck Series victories.
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