Defending Pocono race winner Denny Hamlin conceded Saturday that securing NASCAR records do indeed matter to him and his legacy. The 43-old veteran holds an active driver’ series best mark of seven wins at Pocono Raceway – including his career first victories in the NASCAR Cup Series – a sweep of the 2006 season.
Hamlin currently has 54 wins – one shy of NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace’s 55-victory total and second only to Kyle Busch’s mark of 63 wins among active drivers.
“Where I’ve shifted my goals in the final years of my career is to try to get to a big win number, get inside the top-10 of all-time winners,’’ said Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. “That’s the goal I can achieve week in and week out, right? Certainly, always have goals of winning a championship and that goes over a long period of time. But week-to-week, that’s what fuels me to continue to go to the racetrack and do this grind every week, is to try to nail down victories.
“To me, I think when this is all said and done, all these different formats have changed cars, have changed over time, but the wins still stand as equal. I think that’s why I value them so much.’’
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