‘Mixed emotions’ for Denny Hamlin in second-place finish
He’s leading the points, has scored the most Top-5 and Top-10 runs among the competition, has the best average starting and average finish position, and has led the most laps this season, but a victory has evaded Denny Hamlin through the first-fourth of the 2021 Cup Series season.
Eight Top-5 finishes in the opening nine races — including a runner-up finish Sunday in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway — have expanded Hamlin’s point lead to over a full race over teammate Martin Truex Jr.
Hamlin led 202 laps at Richmond and the first two stage wins, but lost the lead to eventual race winner Alex Bowman with 10 laps to go.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” Hamlin said to The Racing Experts about his second-place finish in the race.
“You’re upset in the moment. You feel like you should capitalize when you have great cars. But in the big picture, we are running very strong and in contention each week. It’s mixed emotions.”
In his 17-year Cup Series career, Hamlin has won 44 times, good enough for a tie with 1989 series champion Bill Elliott for 18th on the all-time wins list.
Hamlin’s last victory came at Talladega Superspeedway in October 2020, 14 races ago.
Hamlin will look to capture his first victory of 2021 at Talladega Superspeedway, the next scheduled race for the series, on Sunday, April 25.
SOURCES
NASCAR Media
Racing-Reference.info
Dominic Aragon View All
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book "All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story" with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.