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Best Richmond International Raceway Drivers: No. 2, Denny Hamlin
In more ways than one, Richmond International Raceway and driver Denny Hamlin are joined at the hip.
Hamlin is from nearby Chesterfield; his family has had season tickets on the Richmond frontstretch for roughly 20 years; he'll hold his annual charity race at RIR this year and, by the way, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver happens to be pretty damn good there.
Because of his success at the 3/4-mile short track, Hamlin is the No. 2-ranked driver in our Richmond International Raceway countdown. For those Hamlin fans upset that he’s not No. 1 – despite being tops in NASCAR’s driver rating statistic at the track – we can assure you it was a close call.
But even if he’s not in the top spot among current drivers, Hamlin is still already among the best Richmond drivers ever. And to think: Hamlin was once a little kid sitting in the stands, just fascinated by it all.
“I just always remember getting there about three to four hours before the race started and going to all the souvenir haulers,” Hamlin said. “I would always go to Bill Elliott’s hauler and make sure I got a shirt or hat of his. Each race, my mom would let me get that.
"That's just what I remember about it, is watching (Elliott), lap after lap. I never watched the lead if he wasn't in it. If he was running 30th, I'd watch him. My mom said I would just be fixated on wherever Bill Elliott's car was."
Hamlin said he also remembers the Richmond atmosphere from when he was a race fan, and still enjoys it so much that he went up into the stands and watched a Nationwide race there a couple years ago.
"And it was still as exciting as it was when I was a kid," he said.
Watching all the laps at Richmond over the years apparently benefited Hamlin more than just in an entertainment sense. Hamlin said partly because he's been such a keen observer from the seats, "I feel like I have a line around there that really works well for me."
It’s to the point now, he said, where he believes “I should be able to run top-10 here running around on my feet.”
Hamlin’s Richmond record seems to back that up.
His first start in the Sprint Cup Series at RIR was a runner-up finish in 2006, and it seemed like his first victory would soon follow.
But it didn’t. Hamlin famously had to wait until September 2009 – his fourth season in Sprint Cup and eighth start at Richmond – before he won at his hometown track.
The buildup had been excruciating (anyone remember when he led almost the whole Richmond race in May 2008 before getting a flat tire?), and Hamlin told anyone who would listen that a Richmond win was at the very top of his wish list – even more than the Daytona 500.
So when he finally won in ‘09 – avoiding the overly long waits endured by Dale Earnhardt in the Daytona 500 and Tony Stewart at Indianapolis – Hamlin was overjoyed.
He followed that up with another Richmond victory in last September’s race, leading 251 of the 400 laps.
As the most recent Richmond winner, Hamlin will be either the favorite – or one of them – in the upcoming Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400.
So what is Hamlin’s secret for Richmond success?
”If I told you, I”d have to kill you,” he said. “Other than that, I”ve got a great feel for that racetrack. It”s just a track that we”ve always run extremely competitive at.”
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