NASCAR Press Conference 11/5/08: Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin heads into PIR 12th in the Chase Championship.  PIR is one of his teams better tracks and is looking forward to a good run there because he's used to the track and doesn't need adjustment time.

Though he and Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson have been the only ones to make the Chase in each of the years it's been run, he finds it a bit frustrating but also motivating to make the Chase.  It's rewarding to get in the Chase, but stays hungry wanting that elusive series trophy.  He touched on how next year they have to pay more attention to the minor details that impeded their contention this year such as mechanical issues.

Denny touched on retaining his confidence when he's in the situation he is in now, 12th in the standings.  He replied that they are as competitive as they've ever been and having bad luck makes it just a bit easier to swallow.  He touched on an example of how Mark Martin had been competitive in years past and luck changed his results.

When asked what advice to give parents about what to do to get their kids into NASCAR, I think Denny's answer showed his focus on the Chase more than to the question, as he replied that one needs to prepare pretty well and noted how tough it is mentally and emotionally to try to make it at this level, competing with 42 other guys out there.

When asked about the haves and have nots in regards to the disparity of available sponsors to the different teams, he said that J.D. Gibbs and Joe Gibbs called it when they once said that it was going to be 11 teams with four different independent [car] teams and how, ultimately the sponsors are looking to the teams that perform well.  With that said, the larger teams have the advantage over the smaller teams.

And that's what Denny had to say to today at the NASCAR press conference.