Denny Hamlin

2007–2008

in 2007, Hamlin began the 2007 Cup season with a 28th-place finish in the Daytona 500. He achieved his third career Cup victory at the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire. However, he finished 43rd in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona after getting involved in an early wreck, marking the first 43rd-place finish of his career. Hamlin clinched a spot in the Chase for the Cup, earning the sixth seed with a fifty-point deficit to the leader, but ultimately finished twelfth overall in the final standings. In the Nationwide Series, Hamlin achieved three victories, winning races at Darlington, Michigan, and Dover while driving the No. 20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet. He also secured a victory at Milwaukee, although Aric Almirola started the race and drove for sixty laps before handing the car over to Hamlin. As a result, Almirola received the points, purse, and credit for the win.

In 2008, Hamlin had a season similar to the previous year, finishing eighth in points and winning early in the season at Martinsville. At Richmond, he led 381 out of 410 laps in the Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400, showcasing one of the most dominant performances by a driver since 2000, but ultimately finished 24th after cutting a tire. Additionally, he won four races in the Nationwide Series, driving both the No. 18 and No. 20 cars for Gibbs, as well as the No. 32 Dollar General/Hass Avocados-sponsored car for Braun Racing.

2009: 4-win season

In 2009, he continued driving the No. 11 car in The Sprint Cup Series and also shared the No. 20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Nationwide Series. On August 3, 2009, Hamlin secured his fifth career Cup win at Pocono. Before the final restart, he confidently declared, "I'm going to win this race." True to his word, he surged from sixth to first, breaking a fifty-race winless streak. This victory marked his third at Pocono and was especially emotional, as it came just days after the passing of his grandmother, Thelma Clark.

Hamlin dominated once again at Richmond, finally securing a win at his home track. On October 25, 2009, he held off Jimmie Johnson to win the TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. He concluded the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season with a victory at the Ford 400 at Homestead–Miami Speedway, starting from the 38th position and led seventy laps. This capped off his year with an impressive fifth-place finish in the overall standings, achieving four wins, fifteen top-five finishes, and twenty top-ten finishes.

2010: 8-win season and runner-up in points

In 2010, Hamlin entered the season with high expectations, and many saw him as a strong contender to unseat Jimmie Johnson as the Sprint Cup Champion. However, on January 22, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee while playing basketball. Despite the injury, Hamlin postponed surgery until after the season to focus on competing. On March 27, he announced that he would undergo knee surgery the following Monday to prevent further damage.

On March 29, 2010, Hamlin won the rain-postponed race at Martinsville Speedway in dramatic fashion, finishing ahead of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano and Jeff Gordon. Just two days later, he underwent knee surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left knee. Despite the setback, Hamlin returned to racing on April 19, 2010, just three weeks after the procedure. Starting from 28th at Texas, he worked his way up through the field and, with thirteen laps remaining, restarted in second place. Hamlin passed Jeff Burton on the outside and held off Jimmie Johnson to secure his tenth career win and his second victory in three races.

Less than three weeks later, on May 8, Hamlin visited Victory Lane for the third time in 2010 at Darlington Raceway. He had a dominant weekend, winning both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series events. Hamlin became the first driver to sweep both races at Darlington since Mark Martin in 1993. Hamlin began in 8th position at Saturday night's Showtime Southern 500, leading 108 laps to secure the victory. A few races later, he dominated the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 Presented by Target at Pocono Raceway, leading the most laps and earning his twelfth career win, his fourth of the season, and his fourth at Pocono. The following week, Hamlin set a career-high with his fifth win of the season, triumphing at Michigan after starting seventh.

Later in the 2010 season, Hamlin finished 43rd in the Emory Healthcare 500 at Atlanta, dropping five positions in the Chase standings to 10th overall. Despite the setback, the top ten drivers in the Chase were locked in after Atlanta, ensuring Hamlin's spot in the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup. In the first Chase race, Carl Edwards' driver error caused Hamlin to spin with 85 laps remaining. As several cars ahead ran out of fuel, Hamlin narrowly lost to Clint Bowyer.

In the AAA 400 at Dover, Hamlin finished 9th, retaining the points lead by 35 over Jimmie Johnson. The following week at Kansas, Hamlin struggled with a difficult-handling car and finished twelfth, which cost him the points lead. Jimmie Johnson, who finished second, took an eight-point advantage. The next week at California, Hamlin managed a top-ten finish but continued to lose ground to Johnson's No. 48 team. At Charlotte Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin led a lap—his first lead in the Chase—finishing 4th, one spot behind points leader Jimmie Johnson, which cost him five points. However, he achieved a significant triumph at Martinsville Speedway, securing his series-leading seventh victory of the season. This victory marked Hamlin's third consecutive win at Martinsville and his fourth overall at the historic track, narrowing the points gap to just six behind Jimmie Johnson, who finished 5th.

Next up was the Amp Energy Juice 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Denny Hamlin started in seventeenth place and worked his way up to finish 9th, two spots behind points leader Jimmie Johnson. This result put Hamlin eight points further behind in the standings, totaling fourteen points. He then won the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, taking the lead in the standings by 33 points over Johnson with two races remaining. At Phoenix, Hamlin started 14th but finished twelfth. After the race, he was furious and threw a water bottle in frustration because he had to pit with fourteen laps to go due to a fuel shortage. With one race left, Hamlin led Johnson by fifteen points and was 46 points ahead of Kevin Harvick. However, in the Final race, he lost the lead to Johnson after spinning out and ultimately finished fourteenth, ending up 39 points behind Johnson.

2011

In 2011, Hamlin nearly won the Budweiser Shootout, but the victory was denied when Kurt Busch passed him after Hamlin crossed the yellow line in turn four while attempting to overtake Ryan Newman.

Hamlin struggled in the first eight races, with his only top-ten finish being a seventh place at Las Vegas. However, he turned things around at Richmond, where he won both his charity event and the Nationwide race, finishing second to teammate Kyle Busch. After finishing outside the top-ten at Dover, he rebounded with top finishes of tenth and third at Charlotte and Kansas, respectively.

After his third-place finish at Kansas, he climbed to eleventh in points, just one point shy of tenth place, as the series headed to his favorite track, Pocono. A win there would have tied him for the most all-time victories at the track. However, after a disappointing nineteenth-place finish, he moved on to Michigan, where he had previously secured a first and second place finish in 2010. Before the first practice at Michigan, NASCAR confiscated unapproved sumps from the three Joe Gibbs Racing teams, including Hamlin's. After showing signs of mediocrity during practices and qualifying, Hamlin secured the tenth position in the field. This victory propelled him from twelfth in the standings—where he would have been at risk of being replaced in the Chase by Jeff Gordon—to ninth, guaranteeing him a spot in the Chase.

At the end of the season, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Mike Ford would not return as Hamlin's crew chief for the 2012 season.

2012: New crew chief and 5 win season

In 2012, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Darian Grubb would replace Mike Ford as Hamlin's crew chief for the season. Grubb had previously served as Tony Stewart's crew chief, guiding Stewart to his third Sprint Cup title in 2011.

Hamlin earned his first win of the year in the second race at Phoenix. On April 22, 2012, he secured his second victory at Kansas, outlasting Martin Truex Jr. He claimed his third win at Bristol on August 26 in the Irwin Tools Night Race. A week later, Hamlin became the first driver of the year to earn back-to-back wins, defeating Truex again at the AdvoCare 500 in Atlanta. Two weeks later, he dominated the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, winning from a 32nd-place start.

2013: Back injury and feud with Joey Logano

In 2013, Hamlin's season began on a rough note with crashes in both the Sprint Unlimited and the Budweiser Duel. The accident in the Duel forced him to use a backup car for the Daytona 500, where he started 35th, led 33 laps, and finished fourteenth. He showed improvement the following week with a third-place finish at Phoenix, followed by a fifteenth-place result in Las Vegas. At Bristol, despite leading the most laps, he ran out of fuel. Controversy arose when Hamlin spun his former teammate, Joey Logano, during a battle for position, leading to a heated exchange between the two in the garage after the race.

At Fontana, Hamlin secured his first pole of the season. On the final restart, he was in twelfth place but made an impressive charge, reaching third with twelve laps remaining. He soon passed both Kyle and Kurt Busch to contend for the lead alongside Joey Logano. The rivalry between Hamlin and Logano intensified as they battled side by side for the victory in the final two laps. On the white flag lap, Hamlin edged ahead entering Turn 3, but Logano drifted up the track, making contact with Hamlin. As Hamlin tried to regain control, he clipped Logano, sending Logano into the outside wall. Hamlin then crashed head-on into an inside retaining wall, while their incident allowed Hamlin's teammate, Kyle Busch, to take the win. After the crash, Hamlin climbed out of the car but immediately collapsed on the track. He was airlifted to the hospital as a precaution. While in the hospital, Hamlin interpreted Logano's post-race remarks about their battle as a sign that Logano held a grudge and had retaliated against him. The following day, it was announced that Hamlin had suffered a severe L1 Vertebral compression fracture, or collapsed vertebra. Dr. Petty, Hamlin's JGR physician, stated on Tuesday that Hamlin's back would heal in six weeks, requiring time off from racing. To fill in for Hamlin, two part-time drivers from Michael Waltrip Racing stepped up: Mark Martin drove at Martinsville, and Brian Vickers covered four additional races.

He returned at Talladega for the Aaron's 499, telling reporters that, since he wasn't ready to run a full race, he planned to switch with Brian Vickers during the first caution and pit stop using a special exit on the car's roof. As planned, Hamlin swapped with Vickers on lap 23 during a caution. According to NASCAR rules, Hamlin would still receive credit for the results since he started the race. Unfortunately, Vickers was caught in a 14-car wreck on lap 43, leaving the car with a 34th-place finish.

At Darlington, Hamlin returned to racing for the first time since his injury, qualifying sixth. In the closing laps, he held off Jeff Gordon to secure a second-place finish behind teammate Matt Kenseth. At the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, Hamlin earned the pole position with a record speed of 195.624 miles per hour (314.826 km/h), surpassing the previous record of 193.708 miles per hour (311.743 km/h) set by Greg Biffle. During the race, he led six laps and ultimately finished fourth. At Dover, Hamlin started from the pole for the second consecutive week and led 41 laps before cutting a tire on lap 378, which caused him to crash and finish 34th. At Pocono, he started in seventeenth place and showed improvement by finishing eighth.

Hamlin struggled at Michigan, Sonoma, and Kentucky, finishing 30th, 23rd, and 35th, respectively. These results left him in 25th place in the points standings, 150 points behind 20th place. Without any wins, his chances of securing a Wildcard bid for the Chase were effectively eliminated. At Daytona, Hamlin started 24th and led twenty laps before being involved in a wreck with Juan Pablo Montoya and Martin Truex Jr. Although he remained on the track a lap down and received the free pass after the next caution, disaster struck on lap 148 when he hit the tri-oval wall head-on, and his car was subsequently struck by A. J. Allmendinger, causing it to go airborne.

He crashed at Pocono on lap fifteen after losing control of his car in the third turn, jeopardizing his chances of making the Chase for the first time in his career. Although he had participated in seven races in 2005, his first appearance was during a Chase race. At Michigan, he was officially eliminated from the Chase, even if he won the next four races, due to being too far behind in the points.

At Richmond, Hamlin received an apology text from Logano regarding their incident at Auto Club, but he chose not to respond. In a later interview, Hamlin expressed his belief that Logano's message was more about wanting Hamlin to avoid interfering with his title hopes rather than genuine remorse. Nevertheless, by the following season, both Hamlin and Logano declared that their feud was over.

Despite finishing 23rd in the points standings, Hamlin had a noteworthy season, highlighted by his victory in the season finale at Homestead. He secured the win after a fierce battle with Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the final thirty laps.

2014: First Championship 4 Appearance

In 2014, Hamlin began the season on a high note by winning the pole position and leading all three segments of the Sprint Unlimited, ultimately securing victory in the race. He followed this success by winning the second Budweiser Duel. In the Daytona 500, Hamlin started in third place and led for sixteen laps, emerging as a fan favorite to win and potentially sweep all three Sprint Cup events during Speedweeks. However, he was unable to overtake Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the final two laps and finished in second place.

At Auto Club, Hamlin developed a sinus infection that affected his vision just hours before the race. A half-hour before the green flag, Joe Gibbs Racing replaced him with Sam Hornish Jr., who drove Hamlin's car to a seventeenth place finish. A few days later, it was revealed that the infection was caused by a piece of metal lodged in Hamlin's eye. At Talladega, Hamlin won the race after the caution flag waved during the final lap.

At the Brickyard 400, Hamlin finished third, but his No. 11 car failed post-race inspection. NASCAR impounded the vehicle for further investigation. Two days later, NASCAR suspended crew chief Darian Grubb and car chief Wesley Sherrill for six races. They fined Grubb $125,000, docked Hamlin 75 driver points, and Joe Gibbs Racing 75 owner points. Additionally, members of the No. 11 team were placed on probation until December 31, 2014. Initially, Joe Gibbs and the team considered appealing the penalties but later decided against it. In response to the penalties, Hamlin stated, "We'll just simply move forward and not let this affect our performances."

At Bristol, Hamlin seemed poised to win, leading many laps until he crashed after contact with Kevin Harvick while vying for the lead. In frustration, Hamlin angrily threw his HANS device at Harvick's car during a caution period. Some fans speculated that NASCAR should have penalized Hamlin for exiting his car before safety workers arrived, a rule instituted after the tragic incident involving Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward Jr. However, NASCAR decided against penalizing Hamlin, stating that safety workers had instructed him to exit the car via radio and allowed him to throw the device. Harvick later apologized for causing the crash on Twitter, while Hamlin indicated that his acceptance of the apology would depend on Harvick's future conduct on the track.

Despite the shortcomings of his and his team during the regular season, Hamlin managed to have a consistent Chase, securing a spot among the final four title contenders for the final round. With twenty laps to go, he was leading both the race and the championship. However, a caution came out, and Darian Grubb, his crew chief, opted not to stop for fresh tires and fuel, a decision that proved costly. Hamlin finished the race in seventh place and ended up third in the championship standings.