Hamlin goes for third straight at Darlington
Denny Hamlin owns the Darlington Raceway, minus the legally binding paperwork.
Hamlin enters Friday's Diamond Hill Plywood 200 with last weekend's momentum-building win in his native Virginia in tow. Then again, Hamlin doesn't need momentum, luck or any type of racing superstition on his side at Darlington. He has history.
Hamlin made his Nationwide Series debut at Darlington in 2004 and finished eighth, unheard of for a rookie at a track known for its sandy, abrasive and unpredictable surface and whose walls award "Darlington stripes" to unsuspecting - and suspecting - drivers.
Since his debut, it's safe to say that Hamlin has charmed the "Lady in Black." He finished seventh in 2005 and won from the pole the past two seasons. On Friday, he will make his 100th career start on his best track.
"Darlington has always been special to me since I made my first Nationwide Series start there," Hamlin said. "I remember coming to my first test there (in 2004). I must have made 50 laps and hit some part of the wall on 49 of those laps. To come from that to win there the last two years really meant a lot to me.
"I quickly found out that you really have to be on your toes every lap at Darlington. As soon as you lose focus, it can be very easy to make a mistake. It's a fun track to me because it challenges the driver on every lap. The key to running well there on the old surface was having a lot of patience. You really had to be careful not to use up your tires too early. (You have to) run your own pace and not focus on how hard other guys are running."
As if the track dubbed "too tough to tame" wasn't challenging enough, track officials upped the ante recently by repaving the storied surface.
"I was hoping when they said the track was repaved that everyone was just lying to me because we had such a good car there the last two years," Hamlin quipped. "This race will definitely be different since the track will have a ton of grip, and the tires won't wear nearly as much. How good the racing is this weekend will depend on what kind of tire Goodyear brings."
Hamlin, who has split his time with Joe Gibbs Racing and Braun Racing this season, will drive the No. 18 JGR Toyota. Gibbs has won the past five Nationwide events, including last weekend's win with Hamlin at Richmond. Tony Stewart won two weeks ago, ending Kyle Busch's three-race winning streak. Stewart and Busch also are entered in Friday's race.
Fast facts
What: Diamond Hill Plywood 200
Where: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway
When: 6:30 p.m. Friday
TV: ESPN2, 6 p.m.
Radio: MRN/Sirius Satellite Ch. 128
Track layout: 1.366-mile oval
Race distance: 147 laps/200 miles
2007 winner: Denny Hamlin
2007 polesitter: Hamlin
Points leaders
1. Clint Bowyer, 1,565
2. Carl Edwards, 1,556
3. Kyle Busch, 1,553
4. David Ragan, 1,434
5. Mike Bliss, 1,424
6. David Reutimann, 1,407
7. Brad Keselowski, 1,382
8. Jason Leffler, 1,342
9. Mike Wallace, 1,297
10. David Stremme, 1,177