Although Denny Hamlin was Jimmie Johnson’s most serious challenger last year for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship he’s 17th in the points after four races.
But that doesn’t bother him – for now.
"Well, I think it's very typical to where we're at most seasons to this point, actually probably a little bit better," said the Virginia native.
"Bristol was obviously a missed opportunity for us. We never really got to show what we had at that race. It was just a few laps into the race where we got caught up in that incident. While it didn't look too bad from the TV, it really messed up things inside the car that we couldn't overcome. There was just not enough time. That's a little disappointing because we actually felt we had one of the better racecars going into this weekend. At this point of the season, it's really about just trying to get consistency right now. We've had some up-and-down finishes, pretty typical for us early in the season," added Denny Hamlin.
First things first for Hamlin. He is going to keep a positive attitude and focus on performance.
"I mean, you know, we're in no way, shape or form panicking or anything like that at this point. You know, really it is a little different because, you know, I look at I'm 40 some points back, I think. Essentially I look back and I say, Okay, we're about 140 points back from the points lead right now in the old system. So, you know, I kind of relate that, that's how I kind of gauge where I need to be, what I need to do to perform to get myself in a Chase position," Denny Hamlin said.
While this week’s upcoming Auto Club Speedway race in Ontario California isn’t a throwaway he’s really looking forward to a "home track" at Martinsville on the following weekend where he has streak of three-straight victories.
Denny Hamlin noted "Martinsville spring race always seems to be the springboard for our season. Whenever we have struggles for the first five races or so, Martinsville falls that fifth or sixth race of the season for us, and that's when we hit our momentum, as soon as we get there. I can remember how hard I fought to get my first win there. I'm going to just try to keep on winning."
But that doesn’t bother him – for now.
"Well, I think it's very typical to where we're at most seasons to this point, actually probably a little bit better," said the Virginia native.
"Bristol was obviously a missed opportunity for us. We never really got to show what we had at that race. It was just a few laps into the race where we got caught up in that incident. While it didn't look too bad from the TV, it really messed up things inside the car that we couldn't overcome. There was just not enough time. That's a little disappointing because we actually felt we had one of the better racecars going into this weekend. At this point of the season, it's really about just trying to get consistency right now. We've had some up-and-down finishes, pretty typical for us early in the season," added Denny Hamlin.
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| Denny Hamlin caught in the incident at Brisol - Photo: Nascar |
First things first for Hamlin. He is going to keep a positive attitude and focus on performance.
"I mean, you know, we're in no way, shape or form panicking or anything like that at this point. You know, really it is a little different because, you know, I look at I'm 40 some points back, I think. Essentially I look back and I say, Okay, we're about 140 points back from the points lead right now in the old system. So, you know, I kind of relate that, that's how I kind of gauge where I need to be, what I need to do to perform to get myself in a Chase position," Denny Hamlin said.
While this week’s upcoming Auto Club Speedway race in Ontario California isn’t a throwaway he’s really looking forward to a "home track" at Martinsville on the following weekend where he has streak of three-straight victories.
Denny Hamlin noted "Martinsville spring race always seems to be the springboard for our season. Whenever we have struggles for the first five races or so, Martinsville falls that fifth or sixth race of the season for us, and that's when we hit our momentum, as soon as we get there. I can remember how hard I fought to get my first win there. I'm going to just try to keep on winning."