It is too early to anoint greatness, but what Denny Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gabehart have done is remarkable.
Thursday night’s victory at Kansas Speedway was their eleventh in 52 Cup races together, a remarkable winning percentage of 21.2%.
This from a driver who did not win in 2018 and heard the rumors that his future at Joe Gibbs Racing could be in jeopardy. But Gabehart joined the No. 11 team last year, created a winning expectation, and reinforced it not only for the team but also for Hamlin.
When Hamlin said last fall in Phoenix that he would not base his season’s success or failure if he advanced to the championship race, Gabehart texted his driver upon hearing the comment and told Hamlin to expect more than itself.
It is that mindset that has led to such a strong start for Hamlin and Gabehart.
“I think it really comes down to confidence,” said Hamlin. “I do my job, he does his job. I don’t venture into his apartment, he doesn’t really venture into mine.
“He knows I’ve been doing this long enough, when I give him the information I need to make my car go faster, he just gets to work on it.” He is not trying to change the way I drive to adapt to what someone else may be doing. Work in the car to get it where I need it.
“That relationship really works well. We are building a notebook. That notebook is getting thicker and thicker. Knowledge is increasing. That is why you are seeing the results that you are seeing. “
What they have done is among the best starts for a pilot team leader matchup in recent years.
Crew chief Rodney Childers and Kevin Harvick won seven times in their first 52 races together (13.5% winning percentage). Crew chief Adam Stevens and Kyle Busch won nine of their first 52 races together (17.3%).
The main difference is that Childers and Harvick won a title in their first year in 2014, and Stevens and Busch won the championship in 2015 in their first year.
Hamlin and Gabehart could have joined them last year in their first full season together, but an aggressive call from Gabehart failed. A large piece of tape placed on the front grille overheated the engine and forced Hamlin to elope. He never had a chance to compete for the lead because the pit stop had put him too far behind.
Hamlin and Gabehart bounced back by winning the next points race, this year’s Daytona 500.
When the Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson duo were mentioned to Gabehart after Thursday’s race, they quickly objected to any comparison.
“Let me be very direct,” said Gabehart, “I think Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson are the two best at it, period.” Write it down, that’s my opinion. It means nothing more than the piece of paper you are writing it on, but I think they are the best two to do it.
“The reason is sustainability. Years after years after years that they did, it’s hard to burn the candle so hot for so long. Without exception, I would never put myself in that category. That’s not for me. I am really ashamed to be talking about it to be honest with you.
“But I look at Rodney and Kevin, they have had a lot of sustainability. Adam and Kyle have had years of success together.
“I think for us, again, all I can say is that it’s about the process. Right now Team 11, we have to figure out where, if we run to our capacity every week, we will have a chance to win. Hopefully that doesn’t change soon. ”
What stands out about Hamlin and Gabehart is the variety of tracks they have won.
They have won on a short track, on a 1 mile track, on a track between 1 and 1.5 miles and on 2.5 mile tracks. This is not a team that takes advantage of a setup on a particular track, but shows strength everywhere.
“I think he believes in his career team,” Gabehart said of Hamlin. “That reassures him. All great athletes really want to do it in many ways on their own. They want them to be the differentiator between winning and losing. But this is a team sport. There are a million pieces in motion every week to give Denny the platform he needs for that to be the case.
“I think he knows he has it now. Every week if we run, you have a chance to win, and you know it. I think that calms him down and allows him to really focus on the mental aspect of winning these races. “
2. Reward for a long night
William Byron raced without crew chief Chad Knaus on the track, overcame a pit penalty, struggled with driving a car overnight, drove the field in pit strategy and finished Thursday night with a tenth since he placed him in a playoff spot with seven runs to go.
Byron entered the race two points behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson for the playoff final place. Johnson was picked up in a crash and finished 32nd, falling from a playoff spot. Byron took his place. Byron leads rookie Tyler Reddick by 10 points for last place in the playoffs.
Byron did all of that with Knaus who remained in Charlotte for the birth of their second child. Keith Rodden, a former crew chief, was in the pit box for Byron on Thursday night.
“We had a crazy night,” Rodden said in a video posted by Hendrick Motorsports. “The car was loose for William to start. Boys fought hard. He made a lot of adjustments. I mean, we made great adjustments. It took three or four stops to make the car correct.
“I made a small strategy to get ahead. Then he probably got a little too aggressive on that last call (pit), taking two. We needed to control the reboot and go ahead and make it run green and it didn’t. You hate to see that, but at the end of the day, it’s a good race for us considering how we started and hopefully a boost builder when they head to Loudon (New Hampshire on August 2). “
3. Preparing for the unknown
It takes less than a month for NASCAR to compete on the Daytona circuit for the first time. The Series Cup runs there on August 16. Although new to the series, the drivers will not have practice before the race.
Another challenge is that the course is not yet established. NASCAR is expected to add a chicane at turn 4 of the oval to slow the cars down the main straight before they become the inside of the field.
Just as challenging is preparing cars for that race. That is what team leaders face.
“It is going to be difficult for everyone,” said Alan Gustafson, team boss at Chase Elliott. “You really are not going to have any reference. There are certainly some features of the Roval, but it is obviously a larger oval and speeds will be higher. The inner box is quite unique. In my experience, a million years ago road racing there, is a difficult track to get.
“That field is not the easiest to navigate and hook the car. It will present some unique challenges. Certainly, the speed of the bench, is a true chicane quite dedicated unlike what we have run in the Roval. That will be different so everyone can get it. “
Jason Ratcliff, crew chief for Christopher Bell, said he expects the inaugural race at the Daytona Circuit to be “as challenging as (Charlotte) Roval’s.”
The Cup teams had multiple test sessions before running the weekend at the Roval and then several practice sessions that weekend to prepare for the first race there in 2018.
“I think the biggest concern right now, the biggest difference I see now From the Roval to Daytona, the entry speed to Turn 1 will be huge (on the inside field), “he said.” I don’t know if we can brake the car for 10 laps if they don’t do something, but they’re working on it. “
4. What next?
For the first time since NASCAR returned on May 17, Cup teams will have a free Sunday.
So what to do on a day off during a pandemic?
“ANDYou have an idea and you follow that path and that doesn’t work, ”said Clint Bowyer. “I have been going to the lake a lot and I enjoy it. But it’s like, I want to go to a different place, I want to take my family somewhere. The children are preparing to go back to school or whatever it looks like. It is difficult, you know.
“Camping. I love camping, you know, we camp every weekend anyway. And it’s fun to say, oh, let’s take the bus and camp somewhere. We were going to do that. Good luck finding a camp somewhere. where you can get in to do that. I’d say we’ll probably end up back in the lake. It makes more sense. “
Erik Jones says he will return to Michigan for his best friend’s wedding. Jones is the best man.
“A wedding a little different from what we were all planning, but we’re still going to make it,” he said. “A little different, but it’s definitely good to have this on the way. We have been working very hard between the double head races and the races on Sunday and Wednesday, it has really been busy for everyone. For the drivers, for the teams: it is good to have a weekend next. “
5. Streakin ‘
Kyle Larson remains indefinitely suspended by NASCAR for uttering a racial slur during an online race in April, but he has dominated the sprint and dwarf car races he participated in this year.
From the beginning of May to the beginning of this week, Larson had won 21 of 38 races in the various dirt track divisions and had separate winning streaks of eight and five consecutive races.
Larson’s friend Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who also competes in fast cars, provided an insight into what Larson has accomplished.
“I think a lot of people see it as, ‘Oh, he goes to a lower series and runs and dominates.’ That is not the case at all. These people, the teams and competitors he competes against are the best of the best. in those divisions. At the dwarves and at the USAC we fought hard and he came out on top.
“He ran throughout Pennsylvania and competed against our Outlaw teams and what he is doing is difficult to do.” It’s not just when you watch the feature win. I’ve been racing speed cars for the past few weeks and just thinking about winning heat races, ranking first, winning features, fighting for victories. …Is awesome.
“And I don’t think you see a lot of people being able to do it on a USAC dwarf in Pennsylvania with the Outlaws; there are so many things that go into speed car racing and what he and Paul Silva have built together and the speed they have is quite fascinating to watch and a little unreal. “
