Veteran NASCAR Cup driver Denny Hamlin will be the first to admit that even though he speaks what’s on his mind, he also has a very laid-back personality.
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And it’s that laid-back attitude that has helped Hamlin and new crew chief Chris Gayle gel thus far this season, including Sunday’s win in the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway.
It was Hamlin’s sixth career win at the .526-mile paperclip-shaped track in his home state of Virginia, but it was also his first triumph there in 10 years, dating back to his win in the spring 2015 race there.
The transition from Hamlin’s long-time crew chief, Chris Gabehart (who was promoted to Joe Gibbs Racing competition director), to Gayle has been an interesting change.
“Chris has had a tough go at it,” Hamlin said of Gabehart after Sunday’s win. “When we didn’t have a great weekend, social media people were out to get us and they think he’s been the problem for all these years, but it’s just not the case.”
“So I’m really happy for (Gayle) because he’s had the tough task of having such young drivers his whole career. That is really hard to do. It’s hard to put in who is the fastest thing and expecting a rookie to go out there, or somebody who’s real young, to get the most out of that, and then to have the race craft management through the whole race is really, really hard to do.”
Among the young drivers Gayle has previously worked with are Erik Jones in Cup and Ty Gibbs in both Cup and Xfinity racing.
“For him, having someone as laid back as I am, for the first time in his career, is probably making his job a lot easier,” Hamlin said. “He mentioned it to me last week, that ‘you’re by far the easiest driver I’ve had to deal with.’”
“I try to do that for him because I’m never going to second-guess your setup or strategy or anything. All I’m going to do is focus on giving you, behind the wheel, the best information so you can go and make the best decision, and whatever you decide, I’m going to have your back 100 percent. That’s what you have to have with a new crew chief, you have to believe in him and let him be the leader that he is.”
Time Is Ticking Down On Hamlin’s Career
Much like winding up the Grandfather’s clock, he once again earned for his win at Martinsville, Hamlin is in the twilight of his NASCAR career. He’s 44 years old and judging from some of his former competitors, he has maybe one or two more years.
He also still has yet to win a Cup championship and hasn’t made the Championship 4 title-deciding race since 2021.
Sunday’s win was Hamlin’s first in nearly a year, snapping a 31-race winless streak. And he did so in dominating fashion, finishing nearly five seconds ahead of runner-up and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell.
As a further illustration of that dominance, Hamlin led 274 laps in the 400-lap event, the second-most laps he’s led in a single race in his nearly 20-year Cup career.
