Hamlin looks to regain ground, but pleased with new car's safety standing
By SceneDaily Staff
Saturday, July 12, 2008
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JOLIET, Ill. – Denny Hamlin admits that it has been tough learning to handle NASCAR's new car, but after seeing some recent crashes, he certainly thinks that the process is worthwhile.
Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Racing team haven't been as strong in the model as they were when it first debuted last season, but Hamlin is still enjoying a strong run. He's seventh in the driver standings, with one win this season, and is on track to make the field for the third consecutive year in what is now known as the Chase For The NASCAR Sprint Cup.
He says that his team hasn't tested as much in the past as some others have, but that is something he and crew chief Mike Ford are reconsidering as they move toward the Chase.
"We traditionally on the No. 11 team don’t test that much," he said at Chicagoland Speedway, site of Saturday night's LifeLock.com 400. "We decided to do that this past week and came here running really good. Maybe we do need to test more. We just feel like it’s better to be fresh. We have a good test team at Joe Gibbs Racing. Joey Logano does a lot of the testing for us, but obviously as his responsibilities pick up with the team, he’s not going to be able to do as much.
"It’s very tough with this car to get that sweet spot, but we’re definitely learning week by week of things to do and not to do. It’s just such a narrow window in which you can work that everyone runs the same speed. So if you’re off a little bit, you can lose 10 spots as far as having the fifth-fastest car on the track to the 15th. That’s why it’s so tight and why you see the inconsistent runs week in and week out.”
Still, Hamlin says that he's pleased NASCAR has gone to the new car in the interest of making things safer for the driver.
“Yeah, it’s a tradeoff," he said. "It’s definitely worth it from my peace of mind to know how safe this car is. Just [look at] the wreck that Michael McDowell and those guys had – that was a tough, tough wreck. For that car to stand up the way it did, that makes me excited to be here at this time and probably happy that I wasn’t around years and years ago. I couldn’t imagine not racing with SAFER walls, safer cars and HANS devices. It’s just amazing how far NASCAR has come in just a short amount of time on the safety aspect. This sport is safer than it ever has been.
"If we [have] got to sacrifice just a little bit of competitive edge to be safer, it’s worth the tradeoff for me.”
As he tries to focus on the eight races before the Chase starts, Hamlin finds himself facing questions about the loss of teammate Tony Stewart as well. At 27, he's suddenly preparing to be the veteran JGR driver. Teammate Kyle Busch is 23. Joey Logano, the driver competing in the Nationwide Series for JGR this season, just turned 18, but Hamlin says that he could certainly fill the void if he moved into the opening.
"I’ve become the oldest guy, believe it or not – that’s pretty crazy," Hamlin said. "Have mercy on the rest of them. Joey probably has more laps in a Cup car than all of us combined as much as he tests. With him doing all of our testing, there’s more than just going out there and running fast, which we know he can do because he does it during the week for us.
"The racing thing is a lot different than what he’s had to do in the past. It will take a little bit of time for him to get adjusted to that if
he does get the ride. It’s just going to take a matter of time. It’s not going to take very long. If we had a team meeting next year and it was the three of us sitting in a room, I would take what he had to say just as much as what Tony was saying. He’s just not your average rookie.”
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Denny Hamlin
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