Denny Hamlin might not have won a race this season but he believes that his team has the capability to win every week.
Hamlin has everything he needs to win races this season. Yet he is still looking for his first win of the season. He had one of the fastest cars at Michigan International Speedway and had a good race but could only muster a fifth-place finish.
“We were really fast there right before that last green-flag (pit) stop. We had run down the leaders from way back, I guess we restarted 18th. It was fast. We just didn’t need that caution – the second-to-last one (for a brief rain shower),” Hamlin said.
“We got a good restart on the last (one) and then I tried to make a move on (William Byron) and he was so concerned with me, that he lost the lead as well. Just crazy racing.
“Thought I was in pretty good shape. Another close one, but overall, I’m pretty happy with our performance.”
Larson didn’t want to risk going for the win at Michigan because of Hamlin
While fifth place is a good finish, but considering that he is competing with Kyle Larson for the regular-season championship, he lost more ground as Larson finished third.
He has been very consistent throughout the season, with 13 top-five finishes, only second to Larson’s 14. The fact that he has a genuine chance to become a regular-season champion despite not winning a race, in contrast to Larson winning five, speaks for itself.
“We’ll just try to get every point that we can and go for the win. We’ll do everything we can,” Hamlin said. “We just can’t get a caution right, can’t get a restart right – just little tiny things right to get a win. But we’re in the hunt every week and that’s all we can ask for.
“I think we’ve got good momentum. We’re fast. Every single week we can win. There’s only maybe three cars that can say that every single week. Just feel like we’re in a good place.
“We’re steady. We just have to keep climbing towards the top.”
Hamlin is not far-fetched when he says that he can win every week. It is just the small things that haven’t gone his way. And he will continue giving his best in the remaining races of the season.