DOVER, Del. – Despite the disparity between Denny Hamlin’s record at Dover and that of Jimmie Johnson, Hamlin isn’t planning to fight a holding action in Sunday’s AAA 400.
Hamlin recently has turned to sports psychologist Bob Rotella for guidance, and the result is a more aggressive attitude toward the track Hamlin freely admits is his worst in the Chase.
Hamlin has a 20.5 career average finish at the Monster Mile, a far cry from Johnson’s 8.9. But Hamlin took encouragement from the first Cup practice session, during which he posted the third fastest single-lap speed among 48 drivers.
“Obviously, the outlook that I’m supposed to have was not to look past this weekend and want to get over this weekend,” Hamlin said Friday between practice sessions. “It’s to optimize this weekend and treat it as one we can win at. Until my speeds slow up, and my car slows down, I’m going to treat it like I can win this weekend, just like any other track.
“I’m not going to look forward. I’m just going to stay concentrated on this weekend, trying to do the best I can, knowing in the back of my head that every track from here on out, we’ve won at or been very, very good at year after year. Instead of doing damage control, I’m going to treat this weekend as being on offense instead of defense.”
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.
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