Virginia native Denny Hamlin has three victories at Richmond Raceway, his home track. He has led 1,659 laps at the .75-mile short track, more than at any other Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series venue.
That doesn’t mean, however, that Hamlin expects to run away with Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), even though he posted the fastest 10-consecutive-lap average (118.289 mph) in Friday’s final practice.
“I felt pretty good with it, Hamlin said of the performance of his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. “I thought that we had a few decent runs. There are five or six other guys that are right there pretty close. I don’t anticipate a runaway. If we do, it will be a great change of pace. Just looking back at the spring race here, we had to start last due to a qualifying deal, and it took the entire race to get up to the top-five.
“It’s amazing how much aerodynamics play on such a short track like this. It’s very tough to pass. Not impossible, but it’s tough. If you get in the back of the pack, if you make a mistake, you will not win this race. Nobody with a speeding penalty will come back and win this race. You can mark that down. Or any pit road penalty.”
A victory at Richmond would mean more to Hamlin than automatic advancement into the Round of 12 of the Playoffs. The track continues to hold special significance for the 38-year-old driver, who won his first Richmond race in 2009.
“For the longest time, I had the date of my first Richmond win on my shoes for probably five or six years, so it was definitely significant being that it is in the hometown,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin starts 6th Saturday night.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.