DOVER, Del. – Denny Hamlin’s emotions have been running at full speed lately. If he can find a way to make his race car just as fast, he could get back into contention in the Chase for the Championship.
Playoff drivers are using a variety of methods to keep their minds from playing games. Brad Keselowski sleeps. Jimmie Johnson turns off the television and doesn’t read the newspaper. Tony Stewart goes dirt-racing.
Hamlin, who is last in the playoff standings, is seeing a shrink.
No matter how many sessions Hamlin has with noted sports psychologist Robert Rotella, he can’t make his Toyota driving any faster, avoid crashes or get better fuel mileage. If he’s going to help Hamlin work through his frustrations and be more positive, it’s clear there’s still plenty of work to do.
“I mean, I wish there was an anchor I could throw out and get rid of it, but it seems like we’ve just got something attached to it each and every week that hampers us from getting the finishes that we want,” Hamlin said.
“No, we don’t have the all-out speed that we need right now. If it came out to a shootout, we would need some help.”
While Hamlin is working to better cope with his slow start in the Chase, his car still didn’t show a lot of speed during two practice sessions Friday for the AAA 400 at the Dover International Speedway. Of the 12 drivers in the playoffs, he was eighth-fastest, 23rd overall.
Mark Martin was quickest in the final practice at 155.072 mph. The rest of the top-five were: Juan Pablo Montoya, David Stremme, Travis Kvapil and Michael McDowell.
Pole qualifying is today at 1:40 p.m. After that, all that’s left is Sunday’s main event at 2 p.m. on ESPN.
Although Johnson is the five-time defending series champion, he’s also off to a slow start in the Chase. But he’s not fretting – yet.
“I try not to focus on the negatives,” he said. “You just focus on doing your job and going fast.
“We’ve got two races behind us and eight to go, and there’s still plenty of time to be a part of this championship.”
Tony Stewart was winless during the regular season. Now he’s undefeated in the Chase. After winning last Sunday at New Hampshire, he said one of the keys was a cryptic comment about getting rid of the “deal weight” in his life. He refused to elaborate any further.
He said last week was proof he can prioritize his life to anything from becoming a distraction. He knows he leads the current point standings, but he doesn’t know who’s second. More important, he doesn’t care.
“I’m not even looking at any of the 11 guys; I’m worrying about what we’re doing with our car honestly and not worrying about where everybody else is at,” he said. “We got to go out and do our job. If we don’t do our job it doesn’t matter where they’re at or who it is, it’s irrelevant if we don’t go do what we do.”
Keselowski is paying attention – when he’s not taking another nap.
“You’ve got to continue to limit your distractions to perform at a high level, any of your dead weight, no matter what it is,” he said. “Obviously, it’s doing something for him.”
