Posts Tagged ‘crew chief’

NASCAR: Hamlin has put 2011 behind him

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Denny Hamlin is just fine, butthanks for asking.

Of course, nobody really believed that Hamlin was OK after losingthe 2010 championship to Jimmie Johnson in the season finale. Hemoped for a good while, and, although he’s quiet by nature, heseemed withdrawn. When his mood never really improved, and hisresults on the race track slipped significantly, people began toopenly wonder about Hamlin’s psyche.

As he starts a fresh season with a new crew chief, Hamlin isdetermined to show he’s not a head case and can win a Sprint Cuptitle. although he admitted late last season to working with notedsports psychologist Bob Rotella, Hamlin said he’s got everythingunder control.

“People make a big deal out of this whole Bob Rotella thing. I sawhim twice. twice. in a two-hour period,” Hamlin said. “It’s notlike I’m seeing the guy weekly and I’ve got serious problems. but,basically, it was how excited am I supposed to be? or, how am I notsupposed to hang my head when we run like absolute (junk)?

“I’m embarrassed. I wanted to be invisible. I didn’t want to beseen because I viewed myself as pathetic last year the way weran.”

Indeed, 2011 was a steep drop-off from his near-championshiprun.

Hamlin won eight races in 2010 and took a 15-point lead overJohnson into the season finale. but he admits now he didn’t have ashot at winning the title, largely because of a devastating resultthe week before at Phoenix.

Hamlin dominated in the desert and seemed headed to a victory thatwould have likely put the nail in Johnson’s reign of four straighttitles. Instead, a miscalculation on fuel forced him to make a latepit stop. He finished 12th, Johnson was fifth, and Hamlin neverrecovered.

He was a nervous wreck the entire weekend at Homestead – Johnsonand fellow title contender Kevin Harvick openly mocked Hamlin’sperceived fragility – and it showed in a poor qualifying effort, anearly on-track incident, and a flat, 14th-place finish.

Hamlin ultimately lost the title by 39 points.

“In Homestead, for sure I knew that we were in trouble. even withthe point lead – people never get over that Game 6 where theylost,” he said. “I never felt it. you know you feel like, ‘OK, thisis it, this is our day to win the championship?’ Just somethingabout it (race day morning) and I never felt it.”

That hangover carried into 2011. Hamlin won just one race andbarely made the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. He finishedninth in the final series standings, and crew chief Mike Ford wasreplaced a few weeks later by Darian Grubb, who had just led TonyStewart to the championship.

Three-time NASCAR champion Darrell Waltrip likened Hamlin’s plightto his 11-point loss to Richard Petty in the 1979 title race.although Waltrip won five races the next year, he finished fifth inthe standings and changed teams in 1981.

“Denny Hamlin had to get another crew chief. it is hard on youmentally, it really takes its toll when you invest everythingyou’ve got – energy, emotion – in trying to win the championship,and you come up short,” Waltrip said. “It drains you. and you don’talways get over it in one winter. you don’t get over it in 90 days.Sometimes to bounce back and be a factor the next year is one ofthe hardest things a driver ever has to do. A driver and ateam.”

But Hamlin insists he’s doing just fine now, and every indicationis that he indeed has finally bounced back to his old self.

He spent seven weeks during the offseason in Scottsdale, Ariz.,where he worked on his golf game – Hamlin said he was a 20 handicapa year ago, and has it down “in the single digits now” – and trulylived on his own for the first time in his life.

Hamlin doesn’t want his time in Arizona to be characterized as atime for self-discovery or healing. even so, he returned to DaytonaInternational Speedway a different person. He’s smiling again, hisconfidence is back, and after taking a big step back from Twitter,where he was one of NASCAR’s most engaging drivers, he’s conversingwith fans again on the social media site.

“I think Scottsdale was good. I had daily chores that I had to do.I picked up after myself. you don’t realize how messy you are untilyou don’t have somebody walking right behind you picking up yourclothes,” he said. “I thought about racing very little for like amonth and a half. then two weeks (ago) I was like, ‘Alright, I’mready to go, I’m ready to go back to work.’”

No matter his mind-set, Hamlin’s success will depend largely thisyear on the strength of Joe Gibbs Racing and how quickly he canestablish a strong line of communication with Grubb. Ford was theonly crew chief Hamlin had, as the two were paired in Hamlin’s 2006rookie season. they won 17 races together and made the Chase everyyear.

But JGR as a whole was off last season. although Kyle Busch wonfour races and went into the Chase as the top seed, he faltered outof the gate and never challenged for the title. Joey Logano alsostruggled, and Hamlin ultimately was the highest-finishing JGRdriver in the final standings.

So he feels confident that he alone was not to blame for theperformance of the no. 11 FedEx Toyota.

“If Kyle Busch and Joey Logano are out-running me every singleweek, then it’s time I look in the mirror,” Hamlin said. “If theydon’t, then we need to figure out what about our cars we need towork on to get better because we have, in my opinion, some reallygood drivers that should be winning and leading a lot oflaps.”

“But I feel like there’s new hope this year. we have a new crewchief. I listen to the way he does things, listen to what he did tohis cars versus what we do to our cars, and I’m like, ‘Yeah thatsounds like a good direction.’ I believe in that. I’ve got newoptimism.”

Daytona 500: Danica Patrick in spotlight

"it bothered me after the race for a few minutes, but that's not how I try to do things," Edwards told the NASCAR Wire Service during a media day question-and-answer session at Daytona International Speedway. "I go out and do the best I can,

"it bothered me after the race for a few minutes, but that's not how I try to do things," Edwards told the NASCAR Wire Service during a media day question-and-answer session at Daytona International Speedway. "I go out and do the best I can,

54th Annual Daytona 500 Entry List. February 16, 2012 thefinallap Leave a comment go to comments. Entry Veh # Driver Owner Crew Chief Veh Mfg Sponsor 1 1 Jamie McMurray Teresa Earnhardt Kevin Manion 12

54th Annual Daytona 500 Entry List. February 16, 2012 thefinallap Leave a comment go to comments. Entry Veh # Driver Owner Crew Chief Veh Mfg Sponsor 1 1 Jamie McMurray Teresa Earnhardt Kevin Manion 12

NASCAR Homestead Race Winding Down; Could Result In Fuel-Mileage Race

NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup finale is in its final laps at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and the champion is anyone’s guess.

Tony Stewart is playing the fuel-mileage game – or at least crew chief Darian Grubb is – and there is concern that Carl Edwards may have to pit one more time.

As of this update, there are 47 laps left and Edwards is ahead of Stewart by two points in the standings. Kyle Busch is leading, Stewart is fourth and Edwards is sixth.

Fuel-mileage races have been a common occurrence in NASCAR this year, so it’s not surprising it may decide the championship.

Aside from the fuel issue, the NASCAR Chase finale has exceeded the hype in many ways. Stewart has been driving with unbelievable determination and aggressiveness to overcome several setbacks, but Edwards has been consistent throughout the night.

No matter what happens in the final laps, it’s likely this Chase – and this race – will go down in NASCAR history as one of the most memorable battles.