Hamlin Goes Back-to-Front, Back-to-Back
Hamlin may be close to retirement, but he’s as good as he’s ever been.
A lot of the talk around the sport this year has been about the speed of the Toyotas, but nowhere has it been more apparent than these past two weeks. At both Nashville and Michigan, Denny Hamlin fought his way from last to first over the course of the race to bring home victory, two weeks in a row.
It’s an incredible feat that likely won’t be repeated – in both cases, Hamlin nabbed the pole in qualifying, but was sent to the rear. In Nashville, he was served a penalty for jumping the start. In Michigan, he damaged his car in practice, went out to qualify last, and bumped hometown hero Carson Hocevar to win his 50th career pole. Then, he opted to fix the damage and start in the rear.
Nashville’s rain delay meant that the race got off to a late start, but the last four laps – an intense battle between JGR teammates Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Chase Briscoe – was some of the best racing we’ve ever seen from the Next Gen car. It was, of course, heartbreaking for Bell, who has come so close to winning more times than we can count this season.
The following weekend at Michigan was a different story. Hamlin checked out to an 11.11 second lead by the time he crossed the finish line. A terrible wreck earlier in the race removed Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott from contention, leaving Bell with a broken wrist. Telemetry analysis shows that it may be the hardest hit ever in the Next Gen car. Twenty-five years ago, this harrowing wreck would have been a career-ender or worse. Thanks to the safety innovations of the past quarter century, Bell, broken wrist and all, will be back in the car this weekend at Pocono.
Additionally, Tyler Reddick wrecked earlier in the race, finishing last. This was a worst-case scenario for Reddick, whose five wins earlier this season pushed him out to a healthy lead, now cut down to just 51 points over Hamlin.
Hamlin, whose 63rd win at Michigan tied him with Kyle Busch, paid tribute on his victory lap with a special flag honoring both the #18 Busch drove at JGR and the #8 he drove at RCR. Hamlin and Busch currently hold the record for the longest-tenured teammate pairing in the history of the sport. We expect the Toyotas to be fast again at Pocono. Will Hamlin win three in a row? Will Reddick return to victory lane? Will an injured Bell finally break through? We can’t wait for Sunday.
Photo: Associated Press