Hamlin learning that even certainties take some time

RICHMOND, Va. -- With one lap remaining, car owner Joe Gibbs slapped crew chief Mike Ford on the shoulder and descended from the pit box to watch another of his teams celebrate in Victory Lane. Emotionless crewmen began the task of gathering up hoses and equipment. Little was said over the radio, other than the spotter telling Danny Hamlin to park his No. 11 Toyota behind the transporter in the garage area. By the time it got there, the only sign of the driver was a helmet dangling from the roll cage.

He didn't lead 381 laps, didn't suffer the slow agony of air draining out of one of his tires, didn't endure a massive, public heartbreak as he did last spring. But that doesn't mean Saturday night didn't hurt. The fact that Hamlin left Richmond International Raceway without a word, surely boiling with frustration after another effort in which he led the most laps on his hometown race track yet again was left with nothing to show for it, spoke volumes.

"This is a place where he'd love to win one," Gibbs said as Hamlin's teammate, Kyle Busch, regaled in his third Cup victory of the season. "He's been real, real good here. He loves this place, and hopefully at some point he's going to get one. I know this -- he's really disappointed right now."

The end result for the native of Midlothian, Va., was a 14th-place finish, not exactly ideal on a wreck-filled night where Hamlin started third and paced 148 laps. Obstacles were everywhere -- dropped lug nuts on a slow pit stop that knocked him out of the lead for good, front-end dents and high engine temperatures after taking some minor damage in an accordion-style crash late in the race, and finally tires wearing away after his team had gambled for some track position by taking two Goodyears instead of four. There were too many accidents, too many cautions, too many congested restarts on the short track for Hamlin to ever make his way back to the front. (Continued)