Denny Hamlin’s misfortunes continued this season at Darlington Raceway as he was involved in a multi-car crash.
As a result, Hamlin finished 21st in the race just as he did in the previous race. While the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver might have won a Cup Series race this season, he sits at 22nd place in the Series Standings. Compared to last season, it is a very different outcome for the struggling No. 11 driver.
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However, his crew chief Chris Gabehart believes that the team still possesses the speed to win races any week.
“I am convinced that we are the most dangerous … 22nd-place points team in the history of the sport,” Gabehart told NBC Sports. “I am convinced that we are the most venomous snake laying in the grass. Any week we can jump up and turn this thing on its ear. We could have won last week. We could have won this week.
“We’re all frustrated. Gosh, it’s hard. I don’t know what you do other than go race next week. Again, the speed and the ability of everyone on the team is not lacking. When it is, that’s what’s really hard to fix. That’s a long-term march and slog. … We’re not there, but gosh it’s frustrating to go through it week in and week out for sure.”
Nonetheless, Hamlin has been nowhere near what he is capable of. The last race was the fifth consecutive time he finished 18th or worse. In fact, his only top-10 finish this season came during his win at Richmond.