NASCAR’s Hamlin overcame his fear of Kansas Speedway ... and hopes to dominate again

NASCAR’s Denny Hamlin doesn’t fear much in the perilous world of stock car racing. But he remembers just how frightened he was of Kansas Speedway.

He readily recalls those crashes that ended his day in the spring races of 2015 and 2016. And he can’t forget the frustration from 14th and 16th-place finishes in 2018 and the spring of 2019.

And then something clicked in the October 2019 race.

“I showed up to a playoff race there last year, and my car was just absolutely incredible how well it was handling, how good it was,” Hamlin said Friday afternoon. “I remember I started mid-pack, maybe in the 20s, and just drove to the front and dominated the day.

“From that point on, once I create that good database for (crew chief) Chris Gabehart to work off, it seems like when we go back to the track, he’s made the proper adjustments for weather and conditions and things like that, car changes. He’s dialed in.”

As a result, Hamlin, driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing No..11 Toyota, followed up last fall’s win with a victory at Kansas in July.

And on Sunday, when Hamlin straps in for the Hollywood Casino 400, he will try to become the first driver to win three straight Cup races at Kansas Speedway as well as the first to win four career Cup races at the track that opened in 2001.

More importantly, a win in Sunday’s Round of 8 of the postseason playoffs will guarantee Hamlin a spot in the Championship 4 race in Phoenix next month

So, it would seem Kansas Speedway, where he also won in 2012, would be the best track to open the Round of 8 for Hamlin, who trails Kevin Harvick by 45 points in the overall standings.

“Hopefully I have another really good-handling car like I’ve had in the last few races,” said Hamlin, considered the sport’s best active driver not to have won a championship.

In addition to Hamlin, the only drivers to have won consecutive races at Kansas Speedway are Matt Kenseth, who won the fall race in 2012 and spring 2013 and Martin Truex Jr., who in 2017 became the only driver to sweep both events in one year.

Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Harvick _ all past Cup champions _ are the only ones besides Hamlin who have won three times at Kansas Speedway, which opened in 2001.

Hamlin’s last two victories at Kansas were breathtaking. Last fall, he led 153 of the 267 laps but had to hold on dearly to block a hard-charging Chase Elliott, who was desperate to qualify for the Round of 8 in the playoffs. Hamlin beat Elliott to the checkered flag by .128 of a second.

Last July, under the lights at Kansas, he took the lead from a fading Harvick with 13 laps to go and nosed out Brad Keselowski by .510 of a second.

Hamlin’s seven wins this season are second only to Harvick’s eight, and because of victories and stage points, it would take some shocking results for the two leaders not to reach the Championship 4 race at Phoenix, where Hamlin won last fall when it was the penultimate race of the season.

Two of the last four winners of the Round of 8 opener have gone on to win the championship, so a win at Kansas would give that team a huge advantage in preparation.

“We could go the next two weeks and really shift our focus from Texas and Martinsville to putting all of our resources toward Phoenix, and that would certainly be a benefit for whoever locks in right off the bat,” Hamlin said.

Hamlin made news last month when he announced a partnership with basketball star Michael Jordan to own a Cup team with Bubba Wallace, the sport’s only Black driver, behind the wheel. But for now, he’s solely focused on the prize ahead.

“That’s the goal: Get ourselves to the final four in Phoenix and see how the race plays out>” Hamlin said. “Sometimes it plays out in your favor, sometimes it doesn’t. I know that we are a championship team regardless of whether we have the trophy or not.

“We’re plenty capable. It’s just a tough business when it comes down to it. When you run 36, it comes down to one … winner take all.”