Denny Hamlin, the king of Pocono Raceway
· Yahoo Sports
LONG POND — Denny Hamlin's record at Pocono Raceway already felt untouchable before Sunday's Cup Series race. After taking his 8th checkered flag for winning the Great American Getaway 400, Hamlin's legacy as the best racer to touch the Triangle is only cemented further.
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The 45-year-old Cup Series great has been successful at Pocono ever since his rookie season, which started with following Hall-of-Famer Mark Martin to get a feel for the track.
"I found speed here when I was a rookie, following Mark Martin for five laps my rookie season," Hamlin said. "I had no idea about this place. I felt that he was the right guy to follow, followed him, past him on lap six, and thought, 'well, OK, I think I got this place figured out.' From that point on, we won a lot of races, so it's just I just approached the place the same way every time, and it's worked.
"When I came here for the first time, it suited my driving style. I always embrace low-horsepower, late-model cars where you had to keep momentum up. And this is really a momentum-based racetrack. You gotta keep minimum speeds up and have a fast drive on the corner exits. This track rewards that type of style."
Hamlin won pole position at both Pocono races during his rookie season in 2006, so he didn't need that much help. But over the course of 20 years, Hamlin has arguably mastered Pocono: he's won three races from the pole position; four races from within the 5-10 positions; and one near the back of the field, from the No. 19 position.
In the four races he's won since stages were implemented in 2017, he's only won one stage (Stage 1 this year). No matter where Denny Hamlin is, when it comes to Pocono, he's never out of contention.
"When I see my career highlights, there's so many Pocono memories," Hamlin said. "Whether it's replaying Pocono wins or putting somebody into a wall for a win. It's always been part of my highlight reel."
Hamlin is a driver that knows what he wants in his car and his own ideas for strategy, but one thing he appreciates is having someone who coaches him hard.
He credited his current crew chief Chris Gayle and the racing team for always offering ways to improve, but simultaneously, never questioning what mechanical needs he wants.
"When I tell them, 'This is what I need. This is the direction I want you to go down this week. Here's where I think I've not been so good over the last few years, improve this part of the track for me,' they go do it. That trust has just been what, in my mind, has played such an important role in our success," Hamlin said. "It goes both ways too, right? A great, great example was two weeks ago at Nashville. Gayle can hear that I'm trying to talk him into pitting, and he says, 'My call, we're staying.' I love that. I love someone that's not afraid to push back and say, 'No, I got more information than you, we're gonna live and die by my call.'"
Gayle applauded Hamlin's consistency but also added that execution is a big part of the strategy, too.
"Even if you're the best car that day, you're not going to pass 15 cars late in a run, so you got to have all that go together, but he definitely knows what he needs to go fast here," Gayle said.
With his career ending, Hamlin tossed around the idea of ending his run at Pocono how it started – with a win. His last season is still up in the air, but when he gets out of the car one final time, it'll end with this fact:
Denny Hamlin is king, and Pocono Raceway is his kingdom.
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Denny Hamlin the king of Pocono Raceway