After finishing third aboard his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at Michigan Int’l Speedway last Sunday, Denny Hamlin has had a lot on his mind.
Between Bubba Wallace re-signing with 23XRacing, which Hamlin co-owns with Michael Jordan, Kurt Busch remaining out for Sunday’s event at Richmond Raceway because of a concussion and Hamlin’s worries about his own finish at his home track, he’s had a lot happening.
“It’s well documented that I said that I felt we were holding Bubba back at the beginning of the year,” Hamlin admitted.
There were several mistakes the team made on pit road earlier in the season that hurt Wallace’s results, but Hamlin feels they’ve been more on target for the No. 23 driver as of late.
“And then on top of that, he’s continued to work on his game,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin’s drive has always been to build an elite racing team that has the potential to win on any given weekend — pursuing Wallace’s contract extension with 23XI Racing was part of that.
“He is part of this team because I believe he can win,” Hamlin said. “I think that he’s showing that he’s racing our cars to full potential right now.”
Wallace is coming off a second-place finish at Michigan, and going into this weekend, he is fueled by the incentive to perform for the fans who attended “Bubba’s Block Party” at Richmond Raceway on Aug. 11.
Hamlin called the community event a major success and is excited that NASCAR racing and pop culture have had the opportunity to mix and potentially broaden and diversify the sport’s audience.
As for the team’s second driver, Busch, he is missing his fourth straight race after suffering a concussion in a crash during qualifying on July 23 at Pocono Raceway. Hamlin is concerned about what the long-term picture is beginning to look like.
“We want to give him all the time he needs and, you know, this is proof that he’s doing right by his body and making sure he’s back to 100%,” Hamlin said. “No one race or season or whatever it might be is as important as your overall health.”
While Busch has been making some improvements off the track, he has also made it clear to his social media following that he is “not ready to be back in the race car.”
Although the race at Richmond has yet to be run, Hamlin is already thinking ahead to the regular season finale at Daytona Int’l Speedway in two weeks.
“Even if (Busch) is clear, I’m really not sure to be honest with you,” Hamlin said, referring to whether or not he’d want Busch behind the wheel at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
However, a qualifying crash certainly isn’t the way Busch imagined ending his career. The 23XI Racing team and fans alike are subject to the waiting game as Busch continues to recover and determine what is best for his health.
Meanwhile, Hamlin is preparing to attack Richmond Raceway as the Virginia native will use his knowledge about the three-quarter-mile track to his advantage. The winner of the spring race on the short track, Hamlin has four career Cup wins at his home track.
According to Hamlin, racing in front of his home crowd adds a special amount of pressure, as frustration levels are often higher and emotions are stronger.
“I would say I always feel more pressure coming to this race track in general,” Hamlin said.