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[/media-credit]TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Denny Hamlin — Notes & Quotes Charlotte Motor Speedway – May 24, 2012
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Did you learn anything in the All-Star race for Sunday’s 600? “Not really. We didn’t run that well in the All-Star race. It’s time for us to revamp our setup. We come here this week with nothing from the past weekend.”
What does it take to be good at Dover? “Dover — I still haven’t figured out what it takes to go fast there. I’ve not had very good success at that race track since I’ve really been in the Cup Series. I’ve had a couple of second and third-place runs, but haven’t really been that competitive at Dover. You might want to ask someone like Kyle (Busch) about Dover — he seems to excel at that place.”
What are the challenges of getting on pit road at Dover? “Pit road at Dover used to be worse than it is now. At least with the wall out there, you can spread out a bit further. Dover is not quite as narrow as it used to be. You can see the wall around the corner a little more than you used to be able to. It’s just a tough track when it all comes down to that. It’s a track that you carry a ton of speed at. You make one small mistake and it magnifies it greatly.”
What monster intrigued you the most as a child? “Probably whatever was hiding in the woods in our house. We lived in a house in the woods off the beaten path and I would hate to walk around my house at night because I would always hear funny noises in the woods. Whatever Bigfoot was doing — I was scared of that one.”
What do you anticipate with the repave at Pocono? “I think it’s going to be pretty treacherous. Pretty much every new surface that we come upon is very treacherous for the first at least three or four years because we have to run such a hard tire at that track. Pocono will be no different from what I hear from the guys that tested — there was a tire that was pretty good and comfortable, but Goodyear thought it was wearing a little too much so they’re going to go with probably a harder tire that doesn’t wear out. It will be a track position race like most new pavement tracks are.”
What do you expect from the Michigan race with the higher speeds? “It could go either way. It could be wild on restarts, but it could also be not so wild during the race because typically when you have a track that has a new surface and hard tires, there’s not a whole lot of side-by-side because the car is all handling and tire will handle that so it’s going to take a while to get good racing there.”
How does the 600-mile race wear on the drivers? “Some of the 500-mile races we run are just as long simply because of the average speed that we run. I don’t treat it any differently. I try to hydrate a little more and that’s about it. I don’t notice that much of a difference between the 500 and the 600. To me, I notice more between a 400 and a 500-mile race. It seems like with the 600, you have a little more give and take the first half of the race than you would normally have. You just try to set your car up to be in good track position on lap 300 because the cooler the temperatures get, the harder it is to pass.”
Do you keep food in the car for the 600? “We will — we’ll stash some energy chews or something like that for this race. Simply because it’s going to be so important to stay hydrated and keep your body fueled.”
Have you heard of drivers eating strange things during this race? “Not that I’ve heard and not that I know of. You see constantly throughout pit stops when we come off of pit road, you’ll see snacks and what not being thrown out and wrappers and things like that. I’ve never heard any crazy stories of anything. No peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or anything.”
Is it hard to eat with your helmet on in the race? “You want to have something that the seals already been torn open — something you can grab and take your gloves off real quick during a caution and get it in. You always look for the least messy option as possible.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing (continued) How do you feel after the 600? “You’re tired — no doubt about it. It’s physically grueling, but with it being as hot as it is — it’s going to be very tough. Really, you’ll cramp up a lot the next day and even that night. For me, it’s harder to sleep the more physically demanding the track is.”
How strong is your pit crew? “We qualified as good for the All-Star race as we did last week because of the pit crew and the pit stop. The pit crew challenge is not — it’s not really pit road speed, it doesn’t really relate. It’s more about the push and things like that. Our pit crew kept us in the ball game all of last weekend. I still feel like we have the best pit crew on pit lane.”
