MADISON, Ill. — Denny Hamlin spent much of his post-race press conference relishing the freedom he earned with Sunday‘s victory in the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
With his ticket already punched for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs‘ Round of 12, Hamlin can race with abandon next Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, while others are scrambling to keep their title hopes alive.
Having secured his 59th career Cup victory at Gateway, Hamlin is free to pursue the distinction he covets most, a place in the top 10 all-time Cup race winners. With one more victory, Hamlin would tie Kevin Harvick for 10th on the career list.
MORE: Gateway results | Bristol schedule
Hamlin is a four-time winner at Bristol, with three of his victories coming in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race, which will serve as the Round of 16 elimination event on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
“I would love to get 60 at Bristol — that would be fantastic,” Hamlin said. “I’m not going to change my preparation for Bristol. All this win (at Gateway) did was just add work to the week, ’cause it allows us to now get ahead to the next round.
“There’s no way I’m willing to go to Bristol compromising my normal routine. I feel as though being locked in, how many are locked into the next round? Just two … I mean, you cannot race Bristol thinking about points. If you do, you can finish pretty good, but you’re not going to win the race, because you have to run that track at 10/10ths all the time.
“You’re going to be pushing at the edge, up against the wall. It’s people that have to chase points (who) are not going to be able to push it to the edge like they need to to win at that track. I think there’s a small group of us that have an advantage now going into next week, because that’s what it takes to win there. … That’s just a massive advantage. It’s hard for me to put it in words.”
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A Denny Hamlin who thinks he has an edge is a dangerous Denny Hamlin. True, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Chase Briscoe, enjoys the same advantage, as does Kyle Larson, who is poised to clinch a Round of 12 berth unless absolute disaster strikes.
Briscoe won the playoff opener at Darlington, and Larson has a 60-point margin above the current elimination line, but neither seems as hungry for a Bristol win as Hamlin.
“I think there’s just some people that are different,” Hamlin said. “I talked about it at Dover in the post presser there (after his July 20 win) that I’m sure there’s someone more competitive than me. I just have never met them. …
“I just think that there’s a few people in every sport that are just built a little different, and they just won’t settle for anything but winning.”
Hamlin is approaching the end of his career. At 44 years old — soon to be 45 — he recently signed a contract extension limited to two years, declining to opt for more.
“I’m just not going to leave this sport on my deathbed, just leaking oil, running in the back of the pack,” Hamlin said. “I have way too much pride for that. I’m way too cocky for that. There’s just no way. I want to be able to win my last race.
“To do that, I’m going to have to retire when I’m racing like this.”
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To the championship that has eluded him for 20 years, Hamlin seems almost indifferent. He prefers to measure his career with checkered flags.
“It’s always been about number of races,” Hamlin said. “The only one I thought about was this year and the Daytona 500, thinking that (I‘m) probably only going to do this twice more. Brickyards, right? I haven’t won the freaking Brickyard (400). I’m going to have two more shots at it, and that’s it, to round this thing out.
“There are certain races that I do have countdowns for. Championships isn’t one of ’em. Obviously, it’s well-documented that I want to get the wins, and I feel like that will carry its weight long after.
“When you compare me to someone that’s maybe got one or two, maybe three championships, and half the wins, I don’t think that person’s better than I am.”
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