Denny Hamlin has had everything he needs to win this season – except a win.
Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota was one of the fastest cars as the race neared its end at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, but some “little bitty stuff” didn’t go his way, and he finished fifth.
If you’re in a tight points race for the regular season championship, like Hamlin, and the driver you’re chasing – Kyle Larson – finished two positions ahead of you, a fifth place result isn’t awful.
Hamlin trails Larson by 28 points heading into Saturday night’s regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway, with one race left to determine the NASCAR Cup Series playoff field for 2021.
“We were really fast there right before that last green-flag (pit) stop. We had run down the leaders from way back, I guess we restarted 18th. It was fast. We just didn’t need that caution – the second-to-last one (for a brief rain shower),” Hamlin said.
“We got a good restart on the last (one) and then I tried to make a move on (William Byron) and he was so concerned with me, that he lost the lead as well. Just crazy racing.
“Thought I was in pretty good shape. Another close one, but overall, I’m pretty happy with our performance.”
Hamlin has been one of the most perplexing stories of the 2021 season thus far, as he has been the most consistent performance for the majority of the season yet has yet to crack Victory Lane.
His stats (top-fives and top-10s) are comparable to previous season, apart from one important category: wins. In the year 2020, Hamlin won seven races. His best finish this season is a second in the spring race in Richmond, Virginia.
Hamlin He and his Joe Gibbs Racing team will know they have what it takes to win next weekend’s event. They just need to put it all together.
“We’ll just try to get every point that we can and go for the win. We’ll do everything we can,” Hamlin said. “We just can’t get a caution right, can’t get a restart right – just little tiny things right to get a win. But we’re in the hunt every week and that’s all we can ask for.
“I think we’ve got good momentum. We’re fast. Every single week we can win. There’s only maybe three cars that can say that every single week. Just feel like we’re in a good place.
“We’re steady. We just have to keep climbing towards the top.”
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