At Superspeedway, Hamlin is aiming for his first victory of 2021

GLADEVLLE, FRANCE — Denny Hamlin enters Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway with no wins in 16 races this season, but he believes he’s on the verge of a breakthrough.

“I know my team and I are capable of winning races,” Hamlin said Monday in discussing the return of Cup racing to Middle Tennessee for the first time in 37 years, and the reopening of the track after a decade’s shutdown.

“It’s just a matter of everything coming together.”

During the Superspeedway’s last 10-year run, Hamlin, who drives the No. 11 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing, competed in the second-tier Xfinity Series, but he doesn’t recall how he did.

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“It’s been so long I can’t remember, but know it wasn’t first,” he said with a laugh.

Hamlin recalled the difficulty of negotiating the one-of-a-kind 1.33-mile concrete track.

“It was different and difficult,” he said. “It’s narrow with a low groove and was really challenging.”

Despite not winning this year, Hamlin’s consistent high finishes have given him a 47-point lead over second-place Kyle Larson.

Larson leads all drivers with three victories, including the last two in a row, and is coming off a $1 million triumph in the All-Star race in Texas last Sunday.

“He’s on right now,” Hamlin says of Larson.

“He’s in the zone. He’s a great driver with a great team and it’s up to us to get better.”

In his 15-year Cup career, Hamlin, a 40-year-old Virginia native, is chasing his first championship. He came close in 2010, finishing third.

But he insists he isn’t bothered by his lack of a championship on an otherwise outstanding racing resume.

“To me it’s about winning as many races as I can,” said Hamlin, whose 44 Cup victories include three Daytona 500 wins.

He is now ranked 19th all-time and third among active drivers, trailing only Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch. “I don’t think it (the championship) is as valuable as it used to be.”

Even without a win, Hamlin appears to be a lock to make the championship playoffs, and once there, he will be among the title favorites.

At the start of the season, Hamlin formed a new team with retired NBA superstar Michael Jordan, with Bubba Wallace driving. Despite his full-time driving duties, Hamlin is a hands-on co-owner.

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“I’m in contact with the team every day,” he said, “either by phone, email or Zoom.”

Wallace is NASCAR’s sole African American driver, and the 2021 season has been difficult for him. According to Hamlin, he and the rest of the team are always there to offer encouragement and support.

“It’s a learning process and he’s got us at his disposal,” Hamlin said.

Hamlin’s partnership with Jordan creates the foundation for him to become a full-time team owner after his driving days are over – whenever that may be. He stated that he had no plans to retire.

“I’m learning about the overseeing side of the sport,” he said, “but right now I just want to know I can win on any given week. That’s my focus.”

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