NASCAR mailbag: Where does Denny Hamlin rank within Joe Gibbs Racing?

Not only did Denny Hamlin check off having visited victory lane at a road course for a first time, his win Sunday also elicited quite a few emails about his overall career and status within Joe Gibbs Racing. Among the emails received, the one leading off the weekly NASCAR mailbag succinctly summarizes the feelings many of you have toward the popular Virginian driver.

Mailbag questions can be submitted by emailing jordanmbianchi@gmail.com.

Looking at Joe Gibbs Racing’s drivers, everyone talks about Kyle Busch (for obvious reasons) while Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth get a lot of attention as well, but what about Denny Hamlin? He seems overlooked to me even though he wins regularly every year and makes the Chase. Doesn’t Denny deserve more credit? He’s every bit as good as Matt and Carl.

--T.J.

At first glance Hamlin’s résumé is impressive. He’s amassed 28 Cup Series victories --€” including the Daytona 500, Southern 500 and All-Star Race -- and now has won on every style of track thanks to his triumph at Watkins Glen.

However, there is also a sense among some within the garage that Hamlin hasn’t fully taken advantage of his considerable talent, nor his situation when you consider he’s been in Sprint Cup for 11 years full-time and always with one of the sport’s supreme teams.

Whether that’s fair depends on your viewpoint, but there is evidence to suggest this isn’t a misguided opinion. If you’re going to cite Hamlin’s volume of wins as proof he’s more deserving of attention, then you must also acknowledge Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth have regularly outperformed him.

Despite being with JGR for shorter stints, Busch and Kenseth each have won with greater frequency. Busch has collected 34 victories since joining JGR in 2008, while Kenseth has 14 since coming aboard in 2013 -- Hamlin has 25 wins dating back to 2008 and just six since 2013. Even Carl Edwards, who jumped to JGR last season, has the same number of wins (four) as Hamlin in that time.

It’s hard to earn respect when, even within your own team, you rank no higher than third on the proverbial totem pole.

Then there is the perception -- whether fair or not -- that Hamlin is a choker, someone who can’t be expected to come through when he absolutely needs to. That reputation largely stems from how he gagged away the 2010 championship, including letting Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick affect his psyche in the days leading into the season finale. In Hamlin’s defense, that was the first time he had ever been in that position, and many a driver (including Johnson himself) has squandered their first shot at a title due to nerves and inexperience.

Although a hard stigma to overcome, it’s not impossible.

First, Hamlin is only 35 and has many years to continue racking up multi-win campaigns, which gives him a reasonable shot of hitting the magical 50-win marker. Secondly, as Busch demonstrated in taking the 2015 championship, whatever preconceived notions may exist about a driver can quickly be erased with a title.

Before last season, Busch was also regarded as someone who “couldn’t win the big one.” The consensus was that he lacked the maturity and resolve needed to withstand the rigors of the 10-week Chase grind in which every race matters. He more than showed otherwise by avoiding previous missteps, then winning the season-finale over title challenger Harvick in a close finish.

As for Hamlin, his career will be looked at in changed context if he can win a championship. Similar to how Busch’s accomplishments have taken on a different scope since the events of last season.

Is it strange Furniture Row Racing only signed Erik Jones to a one-year deal? You would think he would be there longer considering going through all the trouble to add a second car just for him.

--Mike

The uncertainty whether Jones remains with FRR or returns to JGR after 2017 hinges on what happens with Kenseth, whose contract expires at the end of next season.

If the former series champion, who’s given no indication he’s close to retiring, continues to race and JGR wants to keep him, Jones will simply stay with FRR, where he’ll have essentially the same equipment as if he were actually driving a JGR-owned car. But if Kenseth decides to step away or cannot agree upon an extension, then Jones is the ideal replacement.

Either way, JGR is protected. It either retains the services of a driver who’s still very competitive, or brings in a young talent who many regard as a surefire superstar. That’s an enviable position to be in.

So, basically Furniture Row is just a feeder team for Gibbs. How is that beneficial to bring a driver on for a year only to see him leave a year later?

--Logan

Considering Martin Truex Jr. leads the series in laps led, came within a whisker of winning the Daytona 500 in February and is a championship favorite, the benefits are quite apparent.

Beyond that, there is the all-important money aspect. FRR’s relationship with Toyota provides financial support absent under its previous association with Chevrolet -- an important element for a team that has been almost entirely self-funded during much of its existence.

Just compare FFR’s present state to where it was prior to aligning with Toyota and JGR: a single-car outfit devoid of any outside primary sponsorship and behind Hendrick Motorsports, Stewart-Haas Racing, Richard Childress Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing on Chevrolet’s pecking order. Although the team was making it work and achieving some success, those are a lot of hurdles to continually overcome.

And now? FRR’s partnership with Toyota and JGR has brought additional money, superior equipment and provided an opportunity to add a second car for a young talented driver.

Sure, in all likelihood Jones will leave after one, maybe two years, but in that period FRR does get the benefit of employing his services, and it’s not unreasonable to think that will translate into wins and playoff berths. That all helps a still-burgeoning team continue its development into one of the sport’s marquee organizations.

And when Jones does inevitably return to JGR, his seat at FRR will then be filled by Daniel Suarez, or William Byron, or Christopher Bell, or some yet-unearthed young driver Toyota recruits. That sequence should help lessen the blow of Jones leaving.