Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Freight/Autism Speaks Toyota, stands in the garage at Dover International Speedway on May 31, 2013 in Dover, Delaware. - Photo Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images
How do you feel about being back at Dover? “Good. Obviously, we ran a lot better here in the fall last year. So, it kind of gives us a little bit of encouragement. We got two very good teammates that this is probably one of their best race tracks. Be leaning on them quite a bit through practice today and tomorrow. Hopefully, we’ll improve our performance here from where we’ve been here in the past.”
Have things turned around for you at Dover? “I spent a lot of time studying last year in the last, really the week or two leading up to the Dover Chase race and obviously our performance was a ton better by getting the pole and really running top-three all day long. Hopefully, that was the turning point. We saw today in practice that we had some speed. We possibly could have turned the corner here. We’ll actually see the results on Sunday. But, I think that we’re narrowing our bad tracks to a very few here in the last couple years.”
How have you been so fast since returning from your injury? “I think a lot of it is — I knew that I was going to have to do what I needed to do to be better when I got back. Obviously, when you have some time off you can either rest and relax or you can go to work and figure out what you can do to be a better race car driver. I think I’m better now than I was beforehand. I think that’s helped our performance. I think our qualifying this year has been key to our results on race day. So, I think there’s been a lot of things that has helped us perform the way we have the last couple weeks. It’s almost too small of a sample size to draw a conclusion that we’re that strong. I think we get past here and in a few more weeks and we have all top-fives then I’d say that things are looking good for us.”
Did you study as much before your recent injury? “Well, I think that you’ve got to identify your weaknesses. I mean you’re not going to just get magically better at a place unless your crew chief magically hits a setup and you’re great. But, I think that the only way a crew chief is going to do that is if you give him the right information. I don’t know that I’ve given the right information throughout my career. So, I’ve worked on that information because I’ve now had another driver I could listen to talk to my crew chief and then saw what strides or struggles that they had during the race. And so I kind of would figure that out. The competition is so good now that you have to do everything you can to get an edge on anyone. So, I just try to go that extra mile.”
Is studying or being motivated more helpful? “I think that when you’re motivated like we are right now and knowing what we have to do to make the Chase, I think that helps. The qualifying, the studying — last week before qualifying — all those things help. Whether it’s a hundredth of a second here and there — you add it all up and you got something at the end that you can win with. So, I think that’s what we’ve done so far.”
How difficult is Pocono to get a good setup? “It’s one of the most challenging and really the hardest race track on our schedule before they paved it because of how bumpy it was and the multi-groove there and every corner was different. Now it’s just become one of those new asphalt, hard tire race tracks where track position is total key and you have to have the fastest car. Really, once you get out front there you can really do some work. It’s just been tougher to pass ever since they repaved and really just try to do your best and qualify as well there as you can because you know that your task will be pretty tough if you qualify bad there to get a good finish on Sunday.”
How long did it take for you to learn about the camera cable at Charlotte and what did you think of NASCAR’s reaction? “I think it was about a lap for me — for me, it was when they threw the caution that I knew. I didn’t feel anything hit my car until I got out and saw where it had hit my car. I think they did the only thing they could do. Obviously when they have an object that is part of the track that affects the race, it’s a new precedence letting guys fix their cars and taking a break to do that. I didn’t think much of it realistically because I didn’t know any of the facts about it or what had happened really until I watched the race back again. For us, it just hit the roof flap on our car and kind of bent it up in a bad position so we fixed that and it looked like everyone who had damage from it recovered well enough after it that it didn’t really affect them. I think that NASCAR did a good job. Now it’s set a new precedence though that if there is a track issue that causes damage then what are they going to do next time?”
Will you race more aggressively to try to make the Chase? “I think our only play is to be aggressive. I think that to come here and try to get a good points day is irrelevant because if we don’t win then we’re really not accomplishing much. Obviously, we still have to get inside the top-20, but I think we can do that over the course of the next 13 or 14 weeks. We’re going to need to win races so we’re going to do everything we can to try to get that. I’ll be as aggressive as I can so I’m treating this as more of an offensive race than a defensive one for sure.”
Do you and the team feel pressure to be perfect and win races? “I think we’re treating it as if it is Chase scenarios right now. I’m driving like it or even more aggressive than I would be if I was in the Chase. We’re going to have to capitalize on our money tracks. We’re going to have to win at those race tracks and sneak a few in here and there when we don’t expect it. We’re doing everything we can and if we come up short then we come up short, there’s nothing we’re going to be able to do about it. Right now I feel pretty good about where Joe Gibbs Racing as a whole is — we’re competitive, a little bit off on speed from my teammate, which I have to go to work on. I feel good about where we’re at and we just need to win everything we can.”
Does Kyle Busch’s position concern you if he falls out of the top-10? “Not really, I think that those guys are fast enough week in and week out to be in the top-10. Obviously, they are going to do everything they can and they don’t want to use a ‘wild card’ by any means. They want to use those wins, but right now things are going okay for us because those guys from 10th to 20th — knock on wood — haven’t won races yet, but they will. Especially at a couple tracks I’m thinking about coming up. We’ve got to do our job and we’re not going to prevent anybody from winning, there is nothing we can do about it. We just have to do the best job we can and hope that the frontrunners and all those top-10 guys that have wins stay in there. We’re rooting for them, that’s for sure.”
Has the new asphalt at Pocono taken an edge away for you and is Pocono a place you feel you are likely to win at? “It’s very well possible. We had a leg up, we had two legs up on everyone when we went there with the old pavement. I think now we’re better than average, but we’re not the best anymore at that track. But, it’s definitely a place that we have performed well. Even after it got paved we still performed pretty well. Yeah, it is a track I look forward to. We haven’t tested — Joe Gibbs Racing as a team — anywhere yet. We haven’t used any of our tests. We’re going to be looking forward here in the next summer months of trying to capitalize on some good tracks for us and winning at those. Pocono might be one of them, Michigan — something like that. Really for me, I think that when they changed the track and they paved it, it changed everything. It really was like a whole new race track. Same with Kansas and Michigan — all of these tracks, as soon as they pave them they took one track and they just really threw it out and you’ve got a whole other surface, new setups, new way of driving style every single time. I think that is the challenge for us. We’ve got to really learn that race track again.”
Are you concerned with about the engine issue Kyle Busch experienced last weekend at Charlotte? “It’s always a concern, but for me it’s not as much as it used to be. I know that obviously it was a scary moment for me when you see Kyle (Busch) blew up (at Charlotte) and you wonder what’s the next shoe to fall. Usually when one goes multiple go, but I think his was an isolated issue. We talked about it in our debrief on Monday — the specific problem that it was. I think it was a freak issue and the reason why it didn’t affect us or our teammate. It doesn’t really bother me honestly. I think that TRD (Toyota Racing Development) has really came a long way with their durability and obviously horsepower has been better this year, but we’ve got to continue to get better. We’re not going to be able to run the same horsepower and reliability at the end of the season as what we started. We’ve got to continue to get better because everyone else is. So, that’s at our forefront right now. I think with reliability even though it’s a concern it’s been a lot better this year than it’s been in the past.”
What does the autism cause mean to you? “Well, it’s been a special time. No one in my family has been affected by autism, but I know handfuls of people that autism affects their family. Really, the number has gone from one in 100 to one in 88 in just a decade and it’s going to get even more in the next decade. It’s a concern and there is no cure for it. We see people — TV personalities that it affects their family. Having a child with autism is a tough thing because there’s a lot of work that goes into it and a lot of money that it costs to have a child with autism. So, we’re trying to raise awareness for that and we played in the golf tournament yesterday that over the past 12 years has raised over $4.5 million. So, that’s a huge step in the research and development side of things. So, obviously we’re just trying to do our part in Fox’s last race to get that awareness out there for everyone to be aware of autism and do whatever you can to donate.”
Do you consider Kurt Busch and the 78 team a serious threat for a ‘wild card’ spot? “I think his (Kurt Busch) talent is as good as anyone’s for sure. He’s really taken that team to another level and I think the team has gotten better as well. But, yeah, it’s a concern, but there is nothing I can do about it. You see him out front and I’m watching — during the red flag I see he’s out front and I know he’s one of those in between guys that could hurt us. We’ve been, knock on wood, very fortunate. Martin Truex (Jr.) could’ve and should’ve won Texas. He’s one of those guys that’s in between that would’ve hurt us and luckily things worked out and it didn’t. Kurt several times, Juan (Pablo Montoya) at Richmond. There’s been a lot of bullets that we’ve dodged here and there, but eventually those guys are going to get those wins. We know that. So, we’ve just got to do our job and get multiple wins. If we do that then we’re going to control our own destiny. We just can’t hope to back our way into it.”
Source: Toyota Racing
The article 2013 NSCS FedEx 400 Q&A with Driver Denny Hamlin is from Catchfence.
Source: http://www.catchfence.com/2013/sprintcup/05/31/2013-nscs-fedex-400-qa-with-driver-denny-hamlin/
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