Denny Hamlin is once again on the verge of clinching his first NASCAR Cup Series Championship. While the focus should be how to get finally get the job done to claim the elusive crown for the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver, he has some other issues in his mental wheelhouse.
First, the on-going antitrust legal battle with the sanctioning body. As co-owner of 23XI Racing, the in and out of courtroom discussions have taken up his time. Secondly, the JGR team has suffered some mechanical woes of late, with the most recent a blown engine at Martinsville Speedway last week.
With that said, Hamlin needs to carefully place his time and focus leading up to this Sunday’s championship finale at Phoenix Raceway.
Court Time Takes a Toll
The week leading up to Martinsville was a busy one for the legal case between NASCAR, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. Being a co-owner for 23XI meant Hamlin needed to be present during courtroom proceedings held in Charlotte for three consecutive days.
“I’m tired, but I didn’t stop working,” Hamlin said before the Martinsville race. “I was just at the shop until nine or 10 o’clock at night. I go from court to the shop, we don’t stop being prepared.
“It was okay the first day, not great the second day and I don’t know. It didn’t end in any resolution unfortunately.”
“Just days in the week, that’s it. Both sides probably feel strong about their case. You sat in the court and heard the arguments. I’ll let you come up with your own opinion, but I think one of us is on a suicide mission.”
When arbitration talks failed to come reach any type of settlement, the court ruled the case would go to trial in December. In additions, both sides agreed to what could and could not be brought up during the trial
Engine Woes for JGR
During the Martinsville race, both Championship Four teams from JGR experienced race-ending power plant problems.
First, it was Chase Briscoe ending the day early when his No. 19 Toyota started puking smoke out of the side pipes on lap 295. That left him with a last place finish of 37th. On lap 334, the same happened to Hamlin ending his day in 35th place. Adding to the worrisome woe was 23XI driver Riley Herbst losing his Toyota engine on lap 323 to finish between Hamlin and Briscoe
Not really confidence building finishes for two drivers on the cusp of claiming their first championship.
Coach Joe Said Good to Go
During a Media Availability on Monday, Joe Gibbs said the team and manufacturer tore down the motors to figure out what happened at Martinsville. The discovery revealed certain parts that led to the failure and dismal finishes.
“We got all the parts, we laid them out,” Gibbs said on Monday. “We had a full discussion on where we are and what happened.
“I think we kind of have understood where we are and what those parts were and have made adjustments, for sure. Those parts will not be in the cars for this weekend.
“So, we feel good about that.”
Stats on Hamlin’s Side
The saying of “the numbers don’t lie” play heavily into Hamlin’s favor.
In 40 career starts at Phoenix, Hamlin has two wins (2012 and 2019) while earning three pole awards, 17 top five and 23 top 10 finishes. He’s led 939 laps and completed 99.5 percent of all laps contested.
Come this Sunday, he only needs to lead one to become a NASCAR Cup Series Champion.
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