Jared Turner: Hamlin may have deserved win, but he robbed fans
By Jared Turner - SceneDaily Staff Writer
Monday, May 05, 2008
COMMENTARY
The most callous soul watching Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway had to feel for Denny Hamlin.
When was the last time a driver displayed such a degree of dominance only to wind up with his heart broken and hopes shattered at the checkered flag? Hamlin seemingly possessed all the ingredients to find victory lane on Saturday night.
A front row starting spot.
A rocket ship of a racecar.
Lightning fast pit stops.
And the extra motivation that can only enrapture a driver competing at his home track.
By all accounts, Hamlin deserved to win and should have.
But when a flat tire suddenly changed Hamlin’s fate with less than 20 laps left in the Crown Royal 400, the third-year Joe Gibbs Racing driver made a decision that may ultimately overshadow his dominance.
Instead of coming to pit road, Hamlin came to a complete stop on the track and waited for a yellow flag to fly.
It was only after the caution waved that he headed to the pits for a tire change.
NASCAR subsequently penalized the No. 11 car two laps for intentionally initiating a caution.
Later, in post-race questioning, Hamlin did not deny that to be the case.
"It was just a kick in the face after a bad deal anyway,” said the driver who led all but one of the race’s first 382 laps. “It is what it is. What's the difference? We didn't win. It's 25th or 10th - where ever we would have been - or 15th one lap down, it doesn't matter at this point."
But Hamlin’s decision to perpetuate a yellow did matter.
Though whether that decision was motivated by the pain of losing, thoughts that he could somehow still win or help another driver do so or something else is irrelevant.
It was calculated.
It was flagrant.
And it was wrong.
Hats off to NASCAR for deeming it so.
But give Hamlin some credit: It’s not as if he tried to conceal it.
It happened on national television and before a sold-out gallery at the place where the native of nearby Chesterfield, Va., has stronger support than any other.
The hardest part for fans to swallow about Saturday’s race should not be the misfortunes of Hamlin.
It was the ultimate effect of his response to those misfortunes.
If Hamlin had pitted when he felt the tire going down, the caution would have likely never waved, nor the second caution that it ultimately bred.
Had the race stayed green maybe fan-favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr., who had a healthy distance on the second place car, would have sped to his first points win in 72 starts setting in motion a wild celebration for the ages.
Maybe that second-place car driven Kyle Busch would have caught Junior in the final turn setting up an all-out drag race to the checkered flag between two of the sport’s most polarizing stars.
Maybe underdog Clint Bowyer would have methodically maneuvered by Busch and Earnhardt Jr. on the last lap instead of passing both when they tangled with a shade over two laps to go.
Maybe Mark Martin, who had been biding his time in the top five all night, would have rekindled the magic of yesteryear just in time to earn the win he craves so badly.
Such what-ifs make NASCAR’s longstanding policy of penalizing drivers who intentionally invoke cautions necessary and in order.
Cautions precipitate more cautions. Cautions change pit strategy. Cautions erase leads. Cautions give lapped cars renewed hope.
In sum, a caution changes the complexion of a race.
And we’ll never know how much a caution changed the complexion on Saturday night.
So feel bad for Hamlin. But feel worse for the paying customers robbed of seeing a different finish.
Recent Comments: