Driving through the infield-access tunnels of Daytona International Speedway the year following a Daytona 500 victory can cultivate a myriad of emotions. For the second time in his career, Denny Hamlin feels the emotions once more.
“It’s tough [to repeat as Daytona 500 champion], but there is more confidence. You know the things you’ve been doing have been successful. I won’t change any of that until it doesn’t work anymore and I have to adapt,” says Hamlin.
“I think that it’s been a great run we’ve had over the last eight years in particular. We’ve been a factor to win every Daytona 500, it seems like, for the last decade. So I come here thinking that there’s no reason that should be any different.”
Hamlin’s astute appraisal of his No. 11 team’s performance in this prestigious event is accurate. Before 2012, his best finish in the Great American Race was 17th (2008 and 2010). In the eight seasons since, he has finished in the top four six times, including two victories and a runner-up finish, while scoring a staggering 5.75 average finish.
Hamlin has proven to be one of the best superspeedway drivers in the sport today, especially at Daytona where his resume is outstanding.
On Daytona 500 Media Day, Hamlin was asked what evolved his superspeedway racing acumen throughout his career. Hamlin said, “I trust my intuition and instincts. I can feel when the level of intensity starts ramping up. There’s been times where I just remove myself from that situation…So I get myself out of it, get to the finish, then go from there.”
“It’s very hard [to win the Daytona 500]. I don’t go into these Daytona 500s expecting to win. I go into it hoping to win, but definitely not expecting because there’s just too many moving parts and pieces for you to guarantee your success. I’m confident the things that I do that have been successful, and I’ll continue to do them here in 2020.”
Last year’s Daytona triumph with new crew chief Chris Gabehart set Hamlin up for an extremely successful campaign. He won six races, second-most for him in a single season, and he earned a career-best 19 top-fives and 24 top-tens.
When asked about replicating his success from last year, Hamlin stated, “It’s almost impossible. You never know. I don’t think anyone counted on us winning six races last year. I think there’s always someone within a season that no one saw coming winning a lot of races you weren’t counting on.” Hamlin continued, “I don’t see that being different this year with someone else. I think our organization is primed to have a lot of success.”
Hamlin’s 2020 Speedweeks got off to a fascinating start when he pushed his teammate Erik Jones to victory in the Busch Clash on Sunday afternoon. Hamlin incurred damage to his No. 11 Toyota in a crash that eliminated many contenders, including teammate Kyle Busch and Joey Logano. The damage cut Hamlin’s right rear tire and he wrecked shortly after the ensuing restart. Hamlin was lapped twice and the attrition in the race allowed him to be one of six cars remaining. His car was still fast enough to push Jones’ mangled Toyota to the win.
Hamlin was beaming after the race with the speed in their superspeedway package. “We can go to the front. Our cars are super fast.”
Should Hamlin repeat as Daytona 500 champion on Sunday, he will become the first driver since Sterling Marlin in 1995 to go back-to-back in the sports’ biggest event of the year. He would also join Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Jarrett as the only drivers to win the race at least three times.
Written by Greg Atkins
