Mike Ford has visited Victory Lane with Denny Hamlin twice this season. Credit: Autostock

Shop Talk: Mike Ford

Hamlin's crew chief talk about his driver, his former job and PIR

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Mike Ford didn't think it was a gamble when he decided to join forces with rookie Denny Hamlin at Joe Gibbs Racing.

He's not surprised at all that the 26-year-old Hamlin is in position to win the Nextel Cup championship while most rookies came into the season hoping to finish in the top 15.

In fact, he talked about it before the season began.

	Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Denny Hamlin's Cup career Starts 41 Wins 2 Top-5s 6 Top-10s 21 Poles 4 Avg. Finish 13.6 Avg. Finish 13.8 Lead Lap Finishes 31

But as excited as this season has been for Hamlin, it's been equally exciting for Ford after his sudden exodus as Dale Jarrett's crew chief at Robert Yates Racing 11 races into the 2004 season.

Ford spent some time at Texas Motor Speedway last weekend talking about Hamlin, his departure from RYR and the upcoming race at Phoenix International Raceway.

Q: What's the challenge of setting up a car at Phoenix?

Ford: It's a tough racetrack to get a hold of. There is a little more of a banking, tighter corner radius in Turns 1 and 2 than it is in 3 and 4, which is a little flatter. You have to pick and choose where you want to be good and where you want to give up.

It's a compromising track, not like a lot of tracks that are the same at both ends. It's similar to Pocono, a great track for us from that regards. The race track always stays consistent, so it's usually a good race.

Q: Why has Denny handled flat tracks well this season, winning both races at Pocono and finishing second at Martinsville a few weeks ago?

Ford: He likes the flatter tracks. It's more like a short-track atmosphere. He grew up on the short tracks and most of them were flat. He is more comfortable with that than the high-bank tracks. The flatter stuff, it's easier for him to make gains on.

Q: You had engine problems in the first Phoenix race. Did you learn much before then?

Ford: We had a good car, but we had engine problems right from the get-go. We tried to fix it and never could. We lost time in the pits and on the track, so no, we didn't get much out of it.

Q: But you still consider this a good track for Denny in a tight points race, right?

Ford: Obviously we've qualified good there. Denny got his first pole out there last year. We qualified decent in the spring race. This past time we didn't get a chance to race because we had problems from the first lap. We didn't race as well as we wanted to in the fall race last year. We really don't know how we're going to race.

Q: How to you explain this team's consistency with such an inexperienced driver?

Ford: Everybody calls them rookies, but they aren't really rookies by now. They're professional racecar drivers. You don't get to this level if you don't know what it takes. He knows you take the equipment that you have and make the most of it.

That's basically all we do. We don't try to finish fifth in a 10th-place car. A lot of people do and they end up in trouble and end up 30th. We take what's given and make the most of it. We don't try and force things. We don't try and squeeze more out of something than what is physically there.

That seems to be the way we've worked the whole season. I feel like the measuring tools of the Gibbs teams is where do you finish with what you think you have.

Q: What's the transition been like going from a veteran driver such as Jarrett to a rookie?

Ford: These are all professional racecar drivers. They're very smart, all of them. It's how you adapt with what you have that is the biggest difference.

Q: Is the communication different with a rookie and Jarrett?

Ford: I can't go there. I worked with Bill Elliott, too, and he's a chameleon. He can change with the environment minute-to-minute as long as he stayed in it every day.

It's an individual basis rather than young guy, old guy thing.

Q: So you really imagined being in this position before the season?

Ford: We actually talked about it. We had some races together last year and saw how Denny raced and what his thought processes were. With the equipment we have, you got that feeling he could run for a championship.

If you don't think you can, you might as well not even start. Things have fallen our way at times and he's been a very intelligent racer. For a rookie, we've got one DNF. That's not a bad record. I think 50 percent of the races he's been in top 10. When you see the talent a person has it usually shows pretty quickly. If you have to wait to see it, then it's probably not there.

Having some time with Denny last year, you knew he gave a hundred percent on every lap. Knowing that, knowing the speed was there and the equipment was there, everything was there.

If your goal is to take a rookie and run top 15 it's going to be a long year. You've got to put yourself in situations and work on things that when you get to the track you know you have a shot at winning. If you don't come with those goals you're selling yourself short.

Q: Do you have to play mind games to convince Hamlin that he's got a 10th-place car so he doesn't try to get too much out of it?

Ford: This whole sport is a mind game, but it's always best to go with the truth. You don't ever want to B.S. anyone. Anyone in this garage can read right through that.

You try to build confidence. There are times when we try to push him along to get more out of a car. There are times when we have to reel him back a little bit, but it's not often.

Q: Some say you were made to be a scapegoat for some of the problems at RYR. Has this run been redeeming for you?

Ford: Absolutely. You get yourself into situations where you know coming to the track that you have a shot at winning the race and a shot at winning the championship. If you wake up and say, "Hey, I don't have a shot at winning a race or winning a championship," it's time to do something else.

This deal goes by pretty fast. If it's mediocre, it will back up into suck. My career was still on an upswing having been with Bill and through his last couple of years. I felt like my career was really starting to blossom. At Yates, you could see things plummet. I learned absolutely nothing there and couldn't accomplish anything.

You wake up in the morning and ask if you have a shot at winning. You say, "No.'' So I decided to stay home with my family.

Coming to this organization, it's a situation you want to be in as a competitor. It brings out the fire in you that is so easy to lose. You come to the garage every day wanting to fight for everything you can get.

Q: Exactly why did you step down after 11 races in '04?

Ford: The story was if we're going to suck this freaking bad I'm going to stay at home. They weren't going to address the things we needed to address, so it was a waste of my time. I decided no one was winning out of that deal, so I decided to stay at home. You know that the phone is going to ring shortly. I knew if I stayed there another year the phone would never ring.

Q: Was there any hesitation going to JGR to work with a rookie in the middle of last season?

Ford: It was a bit of a gamble there because Jason Leffler was still in the car. But talking to them, you knew that was limited. You could see the writing on the wall [as far a driver change] of what was going to happen.

I knew from watching that Denny was special. I knew right from the get-go it was what I thought it should have been. It brought confidence back to me. It clarified everything that I thought.

Q: So you knew before Hamlin got in the car that he was capable of this?

Ford: Before I even met the guy. I knew the 20 Busch car was good. Watching him race, you could tell who has it and who doesn't. By watching the car run laps you could tell that kid is good.