Healthier Hamlin putting a hurting on the competition

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Is it any coincidence that as Denny Hamlin's knee has healed, he's begun to put a serious hurting on his Sprint Cup competition?

Coming into the 2010 season, Hamlin was considered one of the drivers most likely to dethrone four-time champion Jimmie Johnson. But after starting off the year with five consecutive finishes outside of the top 10, there were only a few folks remaining on the Hamlin bandwagon.

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Denny Hamlin comments on his victory, how the No. 11 team can improve and giving the fab shop guys a break.

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He was in such pain at Phoenix he had fluid drained from the surgically repaired knee during the race weekend, then had a substitute waiting in the pit box. But Hamlin persevered, finishing 30th, and that seemed to galvanize both himself and his No. 11 Toyota team.

One week later, Hamlin scored a victory at Texas and hasn't looked back. And that bandwagon is filled to overflowing.

"The pain level at Phoenix was so much that I was wondering, 'Is it going to get better each week?'" Hamlin said. "I hoped so, because that was pretty much unbearable. It seemed like after Texas, we got that win the following week, it's just been a snowball effect. The healthier I've got, the more I'm concentrating on this race car and it seems like the better performances I'm getting."

Certainly don't call him a spoiler, even though he's won five of the 10 races since NASCAR gave up on the unpopular rear wing. But it's more than that. He's not only winning at places where he's always been dominant -- like Pocono -- but scoring first-time victories, as he did in Sunday's Heluva Good! 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

"It's a great accomplishment to win on so many different race tracks for us," Hamlin said. "To be able to unload and know you're going to be competitive for a race win week in and week out gives you a lot of confidence. For the first time really in my career, I feel like we're at this place."

It's not just that he's winning, but the way he's doing it. He's basically running roughshod over the competition every weekend. It's gotten to the point where even the sanctioning body has had to intervene. (Continued)