1on1: Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, will make the 100th Sprint Cup Series start of his career this Sunday at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa.

Coming off a strong third-place finish in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard last Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he and all the competitors had to deal with terrible conditions because of faulty Goodyear tires, Hamlin has good reason to be optimistic. Pocono Raceway has always been one of his favorite tracks. He swept both Sprint Cup races there in 2006, finished third there earlier this year, and in fact has never finished lower than sixth in five career starts.

Q: What do you like so much about Pocono? And why do you think you've been able to be so successful there in the past?

Hamlin: I think a lot of it has to do with just it being a flat track. We've had a lot of success at flat tracks in the past. [Crew chief] Mike [Ford], I think, has a great feel for that racetrack. It seems like ever since the first time I went there, it took about two laps of practice to kind of get it figured out. After that, once you win one race there, you just kind of feel like you know what it takes to win a race there in your car and you have that feel for it. So it's just one of those tracks I've got a great feel for, too.

Q: Everyone talks about how Pocono is so similar to Indy. How so?

Hamlin: I think as far as similarities, it's a high-speed, flat track. They're both two-and-half miles in length, so the corners sweep about the same amount. That's very similar. And it's a high-speed, braking track -- that's another way the two tracks are very similar. You kind of have to have the same speed at the end of the straightaways, into hard braking. That's how they really relate.

Q: Obviously the surface at Pocono is different, though, so we can expect the Goodyear tires to hold up significantly better there than they did last week at Indy, right?

Hamlin: Yeah, the surface is different. Pocono's surface is abrasive just like Indy's is, but it's a different kind. There are rocks and whatnot. Indy, with that diamond grinding, it's almost like razor blades that you're running on. So it's a lot different.

Q: Everyone knew the tires would be a challenge with the new car running for the first time at Indy. But were you just as stunned as everyone else that it ended up being as bad as it was when you got there for practice, and that it never did "rubber in" the way everyone expected it would?

Hamlin: That's one thing for sure. I was amazed that the track didn't rubber up. I've never seen in history a track that wouldn't take rubber the way that one didn't. It was amazing to me the way it all worked out, but I think it was just a live-and-learn type of thing.

Q: So you don't expect any additional tire problems at Pocono?

Hamlin: No, I don't think there will be any problems at Pocono. I think it's going to be relatively the same race we've always had. We've raced that car at Pocono before and had no issues. We hadn't raced that car at Indy before; and I think everyone underestimated how hard these cars are on right-side tires. We see it every week, at every track we go to. The tire wear is more excessive on the right than on the left. But I think at that high-speed, high G-force racetrack, I think everyone underestimated it.

Q: Getting away from bad tires and the track for minute, you're pretty passionate about the sport of basketball, isn't that right?

Hamlin: Yeah, I definitely do love basketball. It's just something that I would try to play every day if I could. If I can get enough people together, I like to play every day. Unfortunately, I don't get that opportunity every single day. But it's definitely something I like to do.

Q: You've got a court right in your backyard, right?

Hamlin: Yeah, I've got a court in my backyard. We play there a lot. There also are a lot of people from Motorsports Management that play; they have their own kind of league where they play at a gym indoors, and I join them every now and then, too.

Q: Describe your game.

Hamlin: I'm more of a shooter, for sure. I'm not the tallest of guys at 5-11. So definitely I'm an outside shooter type of guy.

Q: What do you follow mostly as a fan, the NBA or colleges or what?

Hamlin: A little bit of the NBA. I'm a Charlotte Bobcats fan. I have season tickets on the floor, right next to the opponents' bench at Bobcats Arena [recently renamed Time Warner Cable Arena].

Last year I didn't make but about eight games, but I wasn't a season-ticket holder then. This year I'm going to try to make every game that I can.

Q: Do you know any of the Bobcats?

Hamlin: I actually know Raymond Felton and Sean May pretty well. Raymond even came to my house one time to play basketball -- 2-on-2 with me and my roommate going against him and his buddy. And Sean May, I have a pretty close relationship with him as well.

Q: So Felton and his buddy played you and your roommate? How did that go down?

Hamlin: The truth of it was that it was a game to 15 and they spotted us nine points. But we did end up beatin' 'em.

Q: Did you hit the game-winner?

Hamlin: No, I can't lie. My roommate Austin did. But it was pretty fun.

Q: We understand you also did a nice thing last weekend in Indianapolis, where you guys gave away of Toyota Hybrid to Second Helpings, a charity organization that helps feed needy folks. Could you talk a little about that?

Hamlin: We gave away a Toyota Hybrid to Second Helpings, and this is the second event where we gave one away. What Second Helpings does is they gather up meals and distribute them to people that are chronically ill or to children's homes, homeless shelters, different places. Basically what they do is gather up excess food from restaurants, they prepare 'em, make sure they're healthy, and then send them off for good causes.

Obviously fuel prices are an issue for everyone right now, and especially for charities like that who have to run around all the time. They were hurting them a lot because they deliver so much. We thought it would be a great way for us to give back to them, because they're always giving to the community and not getting much back in return. It was a token of our appreciation, giving them a new Toyota. We also did it in Boston earlier this year, and will do it in two more cities we go to later in the year. We're glad to be able to do some stuff like that.