Young Hamlin happy just to be in the mix at Ganassi Racing

You may not know it, but Kevin Hamlin still is employed by Chip Ganassi Racing.
 
You may remember Hamlin, a young driver who impressed enough people early in his career to land a development contract with Ganassi. He ran some races in what is now known as NASCAR’s Nationwide Series, posting a couple of top-10 finishes in limited duty last year.
 
But the racing world can be a cruel thing, and between Sprint Cup drivers Reed Sorenson and Juan Pablo Montoya, as well as would-be Cup driver Dario Franchitti and fellow development driver Bryan Clauson, there simply wasn’t enough sponsorship to go around.
 
So Hamlin has been forced to the sidelines, as it were. He raced in the Nationwide Series for the first time last weekend, driving MacDonald Motorsports’ Dodge – purchased from Ganassi – to a 24th-place finish in the Camping World RV Service 300 at Auto Club Speedway.
 
“You could look at it like, ‘Man, that guy’s getting hosed over there,’ but I’m really not,” Hamlin said.
 
Why not? For one, Hamlin is still getting a paycheck to drive race cars for a living. He’s become the main driver for Ganassi’s Cup test team, which tests about every week these days.
 
“Looking in, people might think [I] might be the forgotten man, but I really don’t feel that way,” Hamlin said. “Whenever I call Chip, he answers or calls me right back, and the same with [co-owner] Felix [Sabates]. I really don’t feel like the redheaded stepchild, so to speak.
 
“Last year, things were great with the races I ran in the [No.] 42 car. I got six or seven starts, but what was tough is that they were fairly sporadic. You’d start and then sit for 30 days, run twice, sit for 40 days, and then you’d run again. It’s kind of hard to get into a rhythm that way.”
 
Not that he’s complaining. Hardly. With the way the NASCAR economy has suffered, Hamlin realizes he’s lucky to have a job.
 
“There’s two ways for me to look at it,” Hamlin said. “It’s a tough sport to be in right now. Obviously, I want to be racing, and I feel like I’m good enough to be racing every week. Chip does too. We’ve talked about some things as far as some opportunities for next year. Everybody’s real happy there. It’s just getting everything to line up financially with the sponsors to work out. I’m very lucky to be working and to be doing what I do for a living.
 
“On the flip side of the coin, I want to be racing."
 
Ganassi officials want him to be racing, too. But the team has had enough trouble landing sponsorship for its Cup team, let alone a second Nationwide car.
 
“With the downsizing that we’ve done, he’s been limited to being a test driver,” said Lorin Ranier, the team’s driver development coordinator. “We just don’t have a spot for him. He’s done a phenomenal job with everything we’ve asked him to do. We just don’t have anything for him. That’s the problem.”
 
“I wish we could race him every week. He’s a talented driver. Business is so tough right now that we just don’t have the team or the sponsorship to race.”
 
Team manager Tony Glover said Hamlin “absolutely” is in the mix of drivers the team wants to run in the Nationwide Series.
 
“He’s a fine young man with a good attitude and a good work habits,” Glover said. “We think a lot of him.”
 
Ganassi officials have been flexible enough with Hamlin to allow him to race for other teams. Hamlin filled in for Fitz Motorsports during practices earlier this year, and he drove the MacDonald car last weekend to a 24th-place finish.
 
“That’s the best that car’s run in who knows how long,” Ranier said.  “He’s done a good job. Kevin’s a great guy.”
 
Hamlin got hooked up with MacDonald through Craftsman Truck Series driver Brendan Gaughan. Team owner Randy MacDonald asked Gaughan to drive the team’s No. 81 Dodge this weekend, but Gaughan was to be on vacation.
 
Instead, Gaughan recommended his friend Hamlin.
 
“When I talked to Brendan,” Hamlin said, “I was like, ‘Man this is like the fifth race you’ve gotten me. Am I going to have to start paying you a percentage?’”
 
Hamlin won’t have to, of course, but he probably would if it meant more races. He’s hopeful, though, that sponsorship can come through with Ganassi to allow him to drive more races, perhaps this year, and if not, then in 2009.
 
“As a racer, you always want to race. I really enjoy being at Ganassi,” Hamlin said. “I think things are looking up there. We have a lot of fun, and I get along with everybody in the shop, which makes going to work every day nice. Hopefully we can make it work out.”

• Mentioned Drivers:
• Kevin Hamlin