Pocono 'Angels' Dump Denny's Demons

A 50-race winless streak may well have been 500 for Denny Hamlin.

Fuel pump issues, late-race passes and even a transmission that broke so violently that the shifter split in half while he was holding it have been the chapters of Denny Hamlin's long, harrowing and extremely frustrating Sprint Cup novel since March of 2008.

But the Virginia driver sped to his fifth career win Monday at Pocono Raceway to dispatch of those demons while he had some "angels" by his side.

More Coverage: Tearful Hamlin Snaps Skid | Sprint Cup Series Standings

"We've come close in a lot of races this year but came up short," said Hamlin in Victory Lane. "We definitely had some angels with us today."

The "angels" Hamlin was referring to were his 91-year-old grandmother -- and from his description, the biggest fan of Hamlin's race team -- who passed away last week, as well as a crew member on the No. 11 team who lost a mother recently.

If indeed Hamlin felt a boost from the sadness his team has felt in the past week, it couldn't have come at a better time for the team -- and Hamlin especially.

"I found myself over the last few months starting to think, 'Man, I'm only racing for second when I show up," said Hamlin. "That's no way to be."

Was doubt, then, starting to set in with Denny and his abilities?

"A little bit. A lot of it's from what I read," said Hamlin. "We can't close. We led how many laps and not got a race win. That's pressure that I put on myself. I read too much into it."

While he may have read into it, there was no getting around that since he last saw Victory Lane at Martinsville Speedway in March of 2008, disappointment has won out big over Hamlin.

First, there was the Richmond race in May 2008. Hamlin dominated his home-track event by leading some 381 laps of the 400-lapper. Suddenly, a tire blew with just handfuls of circuits remaining to take him from contention.

There was the spring race at Talladega that he led some 37 laps in before finishing 3rd, and this season, Jimmie Johnson used a bump and slide late at Martinsville to take the win after Hamlin had led 296 of 500 laps. And just last week, Hamlin went from having a decent car to suffering drivetrain issues that were so forceful after a pit stop that the shifter broke off in his hand.

Even the Pocono spring race was unbearable as the No. 11 developed problems under the hood before the field even reached turn one -- quite the shock for most since Hamlin is always considered a threat at the triangle track. Those problems, though, probably helped Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford find the best setup for the second time around.

"It was tough to really use it as a solid test session because we had dirty air the whole day. We ran back there," said Hamlin of the June race. "We didn't want to race with any guys, affect their race. But we did learn some things. We really did."

Learned enough to lead some 91 laps and earn his third career win at Pocono, at least.

Thanks to the win, Hamlin's confidence certainly got a shot in the arm.

"This just puts the confidence back in me that I can come from middle of the pack with 30 to go and win a race," said Hamlin. "In the big, grand scheme of things, we've been the most solid car that hasn't had a Hendrick label on it. You know, for the most part I take a lot of pride in that. We're taking strides forward starting today."

Strides indeed.

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Latest NASCAR Photos

Denny Hamlin sprays champagne as he celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Pennsylvania 500 auto race at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., Monday, Aug. 3, 2009. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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Latest NASCAR Images

Driver Denny Hamlin makes a pit stop during the NASCAR Pennsylvania 500 auto race at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., Monday, Aug. 3, 2009. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

David Reutimann, left, is bumped by Denny Hamlin coming out of the second turn during the NASCAR Pennsylvania 500 auto race at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., Monday, Aug. 3, 2009. Hamlin won the race and Reutimann finished 29th. (AP Photo/Russ Hamilton Jr.)

Marcos Ambrose (47) drives his wrecked race car back to the pits for repairs as Jimmie Johnson (48) drives past during the NASCAR Pennsylvania 500 auto race Monday, Aug. 3, 2009, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. Denny Hamlin won the race. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Sam Hornish Jr. leads Martin Truex Jr. as they race through turn three during the NASCAR Pennsylvania 500 auto race at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., Monday, Aug. 3, 2009. Hornish finished fourth and Truex finished 19th. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

LONG POND, PA - AUGUST 03: Denny Hamlin (R), driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, and team owner J.D. Gibbs pose in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at the Pocono Raceway on August 3, 2009 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Denny Hamlin;J.D. Gibbs

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Driver Jimmie Johnson makes a pit stop during the NASCAR Pennsylvania 500 auto race at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., Monday, Aug. 3, 2009. Johnson finished in 13th place. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Tony Stewart races into turn one during the NASCAR Pennsylvania 500 auto race at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., Monday, Aug. 3, 2009. Stewart finished 10th and leads the points standings. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Driver Clint Bowyer races through turn three during the NASCAR Pennsylvania 500 auto race at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., Monday, Aug. 3, 2009. Bowyer finished the race in third place. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Denny Hamlin leads on lap 91 during the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 NASCAR race at the Pocono International Raceway in Long Pond, Monday, August 3, 2009. (Steven M. Falk/Philadelphia Daily News/MCT)

MCT

David Ragan (6) bumped Bobby Labonte (96) during a six-car wreck on lap 180 during the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 NASCAR race at the Pocono International Raceway in Long Pond, Monday, August 3, 2009. (Steven M. Falk/Philadelphia Daily News/MCT)

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

8-04-2009 @ 3:00AM

nzcr14 said...

MAYBE ONE OF THOSE ANGELS WAS THE GREMLIN RECENTLY GONE GRAN MOM watching over him.
Either way congrats for the win to him. A WELL DESERVED AND LONG TIME OVERDUE WIN.The ghosts are finally gone.All he has to do now is trying to add some more wins and become JGR MAIN STAR and dump the KYLIE to the birds and ashes and be patient for the login driver to build up and join the battle against the HENDRICKS.
works for us.... go danny ham lean.

8-04-2009 @ 3:36AM

Don Emerson said...

Angels watching over him my azz, it was his rough driving that won him the race. He cut his victory celebration short so he could put on his knee pads and go thank Mr France personally. It's a disgrace how Nascar has taken a sport like racing and turned it into a major joke. May they all come down with crabs. Works for me

8-04-2009 @ 5:16AM

Welcome back INCREDIBLE/ MR. Don't you believe in angels?
are you agnostic sir emerson? Were the hell were you when we needed you ah?
haven't you seen the INBREED KEVI taking over this blogs with his anti nazcar anti rednecks bigotry?.
OK Maybe the HAMLEAN THREW some rough driving in to?SO WHAT MAN? Have you lost site of REAL RACING?
Isn't it what the KYLIE did to many drivers mr emerson?i HOPE YOUR MPD case it's over my friend and stay on to liven up this blogs.
hasta la vista senor........works for me....

8-04-2009 @ 7:01AM

illsell4u said...

Congrats to Denny Hamlin. Very emotional week for him but that is what makes Nascar somewhat different from most other major "sports". Nascar allows the media to stick a mic in front of these guys as they are climbing out of their cars whether they just won or crashed. You get to see the raw emotional before the drivers get a chance to get their emotions in check.
while it was a rare race for the 48, they were able to take advantage of Nascar Welfare and get a good finish. Personally, I think Nascar needs to limit the number of free passes a car gets in a race. Giving a driver 3 free laps is a bit too much for me. Personally I would like to see it limited to either one or two. It is all a part of Nascar's scripted racing and manufactured excitement. Why even have the first 99% of a race. Just let all the cars line up and have a green, white, checkered shoot out. That is what Nascar has done to racing. There is no advantage anymore in having the best car for most of a race and building a lead, there is no advantage in being the best driver over the whole season any more. In fact, it is very similar to socialism. Why even put out any effort at all until the last two laps or the last 10 races?
mbl
wow, that one took a right turn!!

Here is the link to the one that they moved Anna, it is also posted above.
http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/08/03/denny-hamlin-wins-again-at-pocono-raceway/

8-04-2009 @ 6:03PM

YEAH MIKE THANKS FOR ANYWAY,
but i did found the file and the posts and noticed the new link above. You probably missed my other reply post to BOB telling him to never mind about
such question.THIS was not SABOTAGE not LOST IN SPACE case. It was a PHANTOM FILE case of appearance and disappearance, ie, the new trend of the nazcar fanhouse reporters,lol.
Is phantom file appropriate or shall i seek for another label category? lol.what U suggest?

8-04-2009 @ 7:14AM

In response to one of those other posts you made, Anna, JG was probably not going to win the race but he should have finished in about 3rd place. He had an excellent car at the end but a road hog had him blocked in the outside lane for much of the last 20-25 laps. When he finally got past his inconsiderate team mate he was kicking ass almost as fast as the team mate was going backwards. I do think the team mate won that one though, he went from 5th to 28th in 20 laps, his tires were toast. That last pit stop that gained him 13 spots by not taking any tires probably cost that team a slightly better finish than 28th.
And yes Bob, that is what I was down about. The shout out style restart sucks when a slow ass driver gets ahead of a faster one by using pit strategy only to hold up that whole row. Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin ought to go tell the team mate of theirs that he has no business up front blocking his own team members from top 5 finishes. At least 2 Hendrick drivers should have had that. I understand that team may have been excited about being in the top 10 for the first time all day but it was not going to last with tires that had 50 laps on them.
mbl

8-04-2009 @ 9:41AM

maybe said...

anyway you can win IT'S RACING stop crying [ back when the real men were driving the baby's were home

8-04-2009 @ 10:06AM

Kim said...

Congratulations to Denny Hamlin, (even though I am technically not supposed to be a fan as he drives for Fed-Ex and my hubby is a UPSer)! I have never thought much of Denny but I must say I am so glad to see that he has emotions. Many times he seems so stoic and boring with little personality when interviewed. Although the loss of his grandmother is sadening, it is nice to see that Denny displayed some true raw emotions after winning this race. How sad that he finally wins one less than a week after his grandmother's passing.

Do I believe in angels? You betcha! And I completely agree that Denny had one riding with him Monday. What a great story and a great win. Congratulations to him!

And Emerson....where've you been? What's with the conspiracy theory crap again? First you say Denny won by raw driving, then you make the comment about NASCAR basically being fixed. What did I miss?

Kim

P.S. Mike: I wasn't able to watch the race as I was at work and it was another "crazy Monday" as I always say. Was it Jimmie or Jr. you are referring to as hogging the road in front of Jeff? I can't imagine Jimmie would do that especially if he wasn't in contention to win.

8-04-2009 @ 10:13AM

Jim said...

Follow the leader! Follow the leader! Boring! Amazing how Robbie and David get 5 lap penaltys for rough driving, but Denny Hamlin who nails people EVERY race ran for a 1/4 lap pushing Rudeaman (yes I know thats not his name) until he finally wrecked and took out his team mate Marcus Ambrose and guess what NO PENALTY! Cheap win! And by the way ESPN, Jimmy Johnson is NOT the only car on the track. How many other cars do we see on the screen all the time in 36th place. It isn't hard to figure out that Rick Hendricks actually runs NASCAR either. Did anyone ever hear an explanation for the second caution that gave Johnson a lap back coming out of commercial and even though he was not running minimum speed they left him on the track. Way to go little Brian France. Grandaddy would slap you if he were alive!!

8-04-2009 @ 10:49AM

Kim, Jimmie had a terrible day until the last restart. He had problems and went three laps down. Since he was the ONLY driver down only three laps he was given Nascar Welfare and got the lucky dog three times in a row at the very end of the race when there was caution after caution thrown. The last restart he went from about 30th to whatever position he finished in about 10 laps.
So, no, it could not have been JJ that was in front of Jeff at that point but JJ did actually get in front of Jeff due to the OTHER team mate that could not get out of the way fast enough. The other team mate made a gutsy call on about lap 175 and came in under caution and only took fuel, no tires. He gained 13 spots up to 5th but had tires that already had about 20-30 laps on them. That team mate lost spots on each of the next two restarts. On the last restart he was in 10th, JG was in 12th. by the time JG was able to finally get in the left row to get around ole slow ass he had dropped to 13th but then was able to push it up to 8th.
Sorry, I have been nice and tried to be objective while that team works out its problems but if the car and driver are not good enough to keep it up front they have no business using a pit strategey to get there only to get in every one elses way. It is what causes the wrecks when the rest of the drivers that are faster have to drive around you. If you are able to maintain lap times that is one thing but if you are only getting in the way you are a hazard. It is what it is. That team is still missing something.
mbl

8-04-2009 @ 11:03AM

Mike,

It sounds like I certainly missed some exciting stuff, even if the racing wasn't exciting. I wonder what went wrong with JJ? Was it his car or him? Usually toward the middle and end of the season, Jimmie remains fairly consistent. That sucks! And were these phantom cautions or true cautions? It's so hard to tell on ESPN because it always seems like the caution is thrown during a commercial break.

I agree with you about the lucky dog, even if it is my fav. driver that is benefitting from them. That is definitely another rule that needs to be addressed. It's been an issue in many races where the same driver will consistently get the lucky dog. I think it should be limited to one per driver per race. It sounds like Jimmie was nowhere in contention to win, therefore....I hate to say this, had no business getting lucky dog after lucky dog just to get back on the lead lap.

So it was the "other" teammate you were referring to. I can't imagine the frustrations that team is facing right now. I am sure Hendrick is pressuring them to be more competetive and Dale Jr. just seems so unhappy these days. The spark in his eyes is gone, his interviews are depressing. I think the pressure is getting to him. And I don't care if it's a teammate or not, no car that is not in contention to win should be getting in the way of those who are. That's the problem with the double file restarts, but I also thought that was the point of them, to prevent this very thing from happening? It is also just poor sportsmanship in my opinion to hold cars up if you clearly aren't going anywhere fast and they are. Teammates or not, not good! That's one thing I have always liked about Elliot Sadler. If he is not on the lead lap, he moves out of the way each time a driver who is comes alongside him. I have respect for a driver who has respect for others!

Kim

8-04-2009 @ 11:08AM

Jack said...

LOL Loosen up a little illsell4u before you have a stroke. If that situation had been turned around you wouldn't have said shit about it.

8-04-2009 @ 12:13PM

James said...

The only thing worse then the boring follow the leader racing is ESPN's commercial fest,and they are a sports network????

8-04-2009 @ 12:22PM

You are probably right, Jack. It is a bad case of sour grapes on my end. But the double file restarts was supposed to line up all the better drivers in the front so they would not have to deal with the slower cars. If a slower car uses pit strategy to get in front it causes a problem. While it has never been tested, a single file restart all race long would at least allow room to PASS, OMG. More passing is what makes it more exciting, not more wrecks. On a green, white, checkered finish it would probably not have been nearly the issue but that run went 13 laps. That particular driver did hold on for about 3 or 4 laps but fell off very quickly. I wonder if he was told to get out of the way or did the tires make that decision for them. My guess is it was the tires. That team ran most of the day around 20th place.
JG was never in contention to win but had he been able to get in the low lane earlier we could have seen a top 3 finish.
Kim, they never said exactly what the problem was on the 48 but they did change the carb among other things. He actually went below the minimum speed limit and was warned to either drive faster or pull it in to the pits.
I may have missed a phantom caution in the last 25 laps but there were plenty of wrecks. That is what Nascar wants to make it exciting so that is what they are getting. Go back and look at the lap by lap details while they are still up on Nascar.com. I am surprised that last run went 13 laps, it was very exciting.
mbl
Sorry it covers so much. If Anna was right and the writers get a bonus based on numbers of posts I feel I owe Geoffrey and Holly a nickle or two. I want to give others plenty to hit me back with.

8-04-2009 @ 12:47PM

The crewchiefs job is to gain track position whenever possible. It's his call. I wouldn't think much of a crewchief who didn't. The car in question had only 20 laps on his tires and I think the right call was to leave him out there to gain track position. To berate a team for trying to gain an advantage is uncalled for. It's called racing. They had no idea whether it would work or not so they gave it a shot. This a common practice used by all teams from time to time. What would you think if your driver's crewchief told his driver to hang back and stay out of everybody's way? I don't think he would be a crewchief for very long.

8-04-2009 @ 1:03PM

Tracy G Smith said...

Congratulations to Denny Hamlin... KYLIE B. Getting Good At Hitting The WALL.....

8-04-2009 @ 1:17PM

That is why he is the crew chief, he gets to make that call. I said it was a gutsy call but then it was obvious on the last restart that at that point the then 32-34 lap tires were not going to hold against the cars that had 12 lap tires. At that point in the race the crew chielf should know via lap times the previous 175 laps what kind of times the driver is going to produce with tires that eventually had 40+ laps on them versus drivers that had only 20 laps on them. That would have been evident during earlier green flag pit stops. So, from a competition standpoint I would say you have to do it but from a safety standpoint it is not a good idea to put a driver in the front of what these finishes have become when he will be running lap times 1.5-2 seconds slower than the people behind him.
Again, it is indeed sour grapes on my end as it was my favorite driver that got stuck behind him and could not go low due to a very hectic and exciting last restart. But at least it was JG behind him and not Denny Hamlin, Robby Gordon, or one of the others that just believes if they are in the way, wreck em and let the people behind you deal with it. As a matter of fact, there was another driver in the past that firmly believed in that if you remember.
mbl

8-04-2009 @ 3:07PM

oh yes. there was a driver in the past that believed in that mike.
you mean tony stewart, but about dale 3?.
BOTH sayed; WRECK YA MAMA TOO aslong i get in the front.Many miss those bump and runs. but ,oh well
cannot always be like the KYLIE.

Finally, WE GOT EMERSON BACK,did ya see?
All we need now is ROM and the show goes on between them two.oops i hope not. time for them to give up. don't ya think?

8-04-2009 @ 2:03PM

mludwigson said...

Can anyone tell me what happened to Dale Earnhardt, Jr. after starting the last green flag start at #10 and then getting bumped by someone?? and Jr. ended up 28th. Did he blow a tire or what? Nothing has been said about it. Just wondering. Thanks.

8-04-2009 @ 2:06PM

robert said...

I honestly love NASCAR and have followed it consistently since my dad took me to my first race in 1985 ( Darlington-million dollar bill), but it is races like this one that have driven away a lot of people that i know who WERE huge NASCAR fans! Obviously, nascar throws a caution flag whenever they want to. How do you throw a caution flag when david ragan barely scrapes the wall and keeps going, but not when kyle busch pounds the wall and has to pit?

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