SONOMA, Calif. – Nothing stings more for a race car driver than “what could have been.” For Denny Hamlin at Sonoma, that moment came in 2016 racing Tony Stewart through Turn 11 on the final lap. The win that day went to Stewart, the 49th and final win of his Hall of Fame career. Hamlin finished second.
“2016 in general was tough,” Hamlin told NASCAR.com. “I had that battle with Tony, I’m glad I was able to get him his final win, I guess. That part was tough. I remember thinking after that race, I was so distraught just thinking, man! That’s the closest I have ever come to winning a road course race other than my rookie season.”
Since that race, Hamlin has won a road course race at Watkins Glen (also in the 2016 season), and posted two more top-10 finishes at Sonoma – he has three in a row at Sonoma counting his 2016 heartbreak. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has already won two races in what he calls a “revival year” after his first full-time winless season in the sport’s top series. Returning to Victory Lane multiple times in 2019 leaves the driver of the No. 11 confident.
“I mean you are always wanting to prove yourself to be better,” Hamlin said. “I think there is enough metrics out there, and there is enough data to support that I have been a top five to six driver my entire career. Fortunately, and unfortunately, I’m probably teammates with the best out there in NASCAR so you’re always going to be judged on that bar.”
Hamlin is a 33-time winner at NASCAR’s highest level with two of those wins coming in the Daytona 500. The 33 wins tie him with Fireball Roberts for 23rd on NASCAR’s all time Cup wins list and are the fourth-most among active drivers in the series. Despite the numbers, Hamlin feels he doesn’t get the credit others do.
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“Well we have been overlooked a lot through my career,” Hamlin said. “I think you could ask most people … ‘how many wins does Denny have?’ and they would have no idea. They would say ‘maybe 10-15.’
“… We’re not flashy with it, but neither was Matt Kenseth, neither was Mark Martin. Both of those guys are guys that I respect.”
Both those drivers are a tick above Hamlin on the all-time Cup wins list — Kenseth sits at 21st with 39 wins and Martin is 19th with 40 wins. The Virginia native will be in pursuit of moving closer to each with win No. 34 on Sunday – and his first at Sonoma – in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.