Chase Standings

Rank Name Points
1. Jimmie Johnson 5878
2. Jeff Burton 5809
3. Greg Biffle 5792
4. Carl Edwards 5710
5. Clint Bowyer 5693
6. Kevin Harvick 5671
Rank Name Points
7. Tony Stewart 5650
8. Jeff Gordon 5633
9. Kyle Busch 5552
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 5524
11. Matt Kenseth 5518
12. Denny Hamlin 5498
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Basketball injury adds to Hamlin's angst

By Jeff Gluck - Associate Editor

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Article Rating: 5.0
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David Griffin / NASCAR Scene

David Griffin / NASCAR Scene

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CONCORD, N.C. – Denny Hamlin looked beaten and bruised Monday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, gingerly stepping through the garage with a grimace on his face.
 
Already dealing with the mental pain and heartbreak of perhaps the most disappointing night of his career, Hamlin took a hard fall during a Sunday night basketball game and slammed to the ground on his left hip.
 
It’s safe to say the last few days haven’t been the best of times for Hamlin.
 
Watching Hamlin limp around, one might have thought he sustained his injury by kicking something following the flat tire that robbed him of what seemed to be a sure victory Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway, his home track.
 
But during one of his usual basketball games with friends, Hamlin jumped in the air and ended up tumbling over another player’s shoulder. He fell straight to the ground and landed on his hip, which he said popped and has caused so much pain that he couldn’t sleep on it Sunday night.
 
“I’d like to say I was going up for a dunk,” he said, “but I think everyone would know that ain’t true.”
 
The sting of an injured hip is nothing compared to the difficulty of accepting his defeat at Richmond, the track where he wants a Cup victory more than any other.
 
To wit: Lowe’s Motor Speedway President Humpy Wheeler gave Hamlin a pocket knife as a good luck gift when Hamlin arrived at the track for Sprint Cup testing on Monday, which Hamlin jokingly said was “not good for someone on suicide watch.”
 
OK, so maybe it’s not that bad. But to lead 381 laps with an exceptionally dominant car only to see it all go away because of a flat tire 18 laps from the finish was devastating to the third-year driver.
 
Hamlin doesn’t like to be consoled by anyone when something goes bad – friends or family – so when his roommates picked him up from the airport, took him home and went to their respective rooms, “literally not one word was spoken” the entire time, Hamlin said.
 
His roommates may have then gone to sleep, but Hamlin didn’t. Unable to rest, he stayed up watching SportsCenter on ESPN – flipping the channel away every time the race highlights were about to be shown. He never got to sleep.
 
“I’m pretty tired right now,” he said. “I could use a nap.”
 
Hamlin said it was quiet around him for about 24 hours before those close to him felt like it was OK to speak again.
 
“I think they knew I didn’t want to hear about it,” he said. “You always hear stories about people winning [where] you’ll get that one back in a race that you probably didn’t deserve to win anyway later on in your career. Will I get it at Richmond? What are the chances of that?”
 
Hamlin said his team had no idea what caused the flat tire, but that he didn’t think he ran over anything because he pulled away for four laps on the restart before it gave way.
 
He rode around on the deflating tire for a few laps, trying to nurse it home, but it finally expired. Hamlin then stopped on the track in Turn 4 to bring out an intentional caution, which drew the ire of Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was leading the race at the time and suddenly had Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch on his back bumper.
 
That led to an incident between Busch and Earnhardt Jr. that became the story of the race.
 
“It went in Turn 3 and that’s when I totally lost the entire tire,” Hamlin said. “So I stopped trying to be able to turn it down onto pit road, but I had already crossed over the wall. I didn’t want to risk tearing up the car to where we couldn’t finish the race. So I knew I had to stop or else I was going to jeopardize us even finishing the race.
 
“It was a fine line there.  We had to stop or else we were going to get a DNF.”
 
Hamlin denied that he stopped on the track to help Busch catch up to Earnhardt Jr.
 
“I didn’t even know where Kyle was out on the race track,” Hamlin said. “For all I know, he was leading the race.”

Average Rating: 5.0

Comments

9 responses to "Basketball injury adds to Hamlin's angst"
  1. 1
    James Grey said:
    May 6, 2008 at 8:18 AM

    Hamlin's full of boloney, I find it hard to believe he didn't know where his teammate was running. Know he's limping around the garage probably trying to divert everyone's attention away from what he did Saturday night. He might as well wrecked Junior himself.

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  2. 2
    Jennifer Bryant said:
    May 6, 2008 at 9:54 AM

    I agree! He is full of it. His teammate Kyle is too. I can't believe the fix that Stewart has gotten himself into being teammates with these two jerks. I know Stewart can be rough at times, but after all he is a Champion and deserves respect. He won't stay with these two very long.

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  3. 3
    Mr Zoom said:
    May 6, 2008 at 10:36 AM

    What Hamlin did was what ANY smart driver would had done with just a few laps remaining. The bottom of that car would have been trashed and wouldn't have been driveable. The toyota front swingarm bracket/hdwr would have ground right off. I hope the injury doesn't prevent a good run at Darlington.

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  4. 4
    Juniegirl said:
    May 6, 2008 at 10:41 AM

    He had plenty of time to get off the track. He just stayed out there to bring the caution. Everybody knows that.

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  5. 5
    Francine D'Alonzo said:
    May 6, 2008 at 12:44 PM

    Hamlin has lost any credibility he once had...he stayed on the track (at all other drivers expense) instead of going to pit road - to help his teammate - Busch. He made that decision - diving into the sewer with Busch (doesn't say anything good about JGR guys). Hope Tony runs as fast as possible from that stinking ship.

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  6. 6
    Patrick Lloyd said:
    May 6, 2008 at 3:38 PM

    I'm not buying what Hamlin says either.He had time to get off the track and not cause that caution,which essentially he admits doing on purpose. NASCAR should suspend Hamlin for a race or two. No wonder Tony Stewart wants out of JGR. With self-centered teammates such as Hamlin and Kyle Busch,I'd be wanting to leave myself. I am so glad my favorite driver Bobby Labonte left that team,JD Gibbs' machinations notwithstanding.

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  7. 7
    Anonymous said:
    May 6, 2008 at 5:21 PM

    1 + 1 = Busch + Hamlin = 2 TOTAL JERKS

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  8. 8
    Mr Zoom said:
    May 6, 2008 at 10:34 PM

    Rewatching the race, Junior still started the restart with a 3-4 car length lead over KB due to KB spinning the tires,(with 5 Laps to go). But KB managed to catch him with a good jump out of turn 2 and jr staying up on the upper groove(2 laps to go).

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  9. 9
    Rose Sweeney said:
    May 7, 2008 at 11:14 AM

    2 reasons for Tony Stewart to move on-Denny & Kyle. Tony may be bad but he's a man's man and smart stuck with two immature reckless kids. Move on Tony. Show em you're a champion. Coach needs to teach these two that a win at all costs is not a good win.

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