Can-Am Duels at Daytona 2017 recap: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s night turns into Denny Hamlin win

This wasn’t a night for feeling sentimental. Dale Earnhardt Jr. may have been in his first race back since a concussion nearly ended his career seven months ago, and for much of the second Can-Am Duel appeared well on his way to a second straight Daytona 500 qualifying race win.

It would’ve made for an idyllic story. NASCAR’s revered son and 14-time most popular driver wins in his first start since recovering from a concussion that caused him to miss the entire second half of last season. Adding to the narrative, this was Daytona International Speedway, the track that for reasons good and bad is forever synonymous with the Earnhardt name.

Except Denny Hamlin was having none of it. He didn’t care about Earnhardt racing for the first time since July 9. Nor did he care that the race was largely insignificant, even though NASCAR was distributing points to the top-10 finishers as part of its offseason race reformatting.

What mattered to Hamlin was winning. Earnhardt’s return was all well and good, but this was business not personal.

“I don’t feel bad,” Hamlin said smiling. “No, no, not at all. He’s won a lot. He’s still going to win a whole lot more.”

If you hadn’t known, you would’ve never guessed Earnhardt hadn’t turned a wheel in a competitive setting over the last 18 races of 2016. Starting on the pole, he jumped to the front subsequently leading 53 of a possible 60 laps.

And it wasn’t just that Earnhardt led the same percentage of laps as his car number (88), it was how he did it. Controlling the race by repeatedly smoothly crisscrossing his Chevrolet across Daytona’s top and bottom grooves to impede any pass attempts, it was exactly what you would expect of the driver whose 10 restrictor-plate track wins ranks third all-time.

But while Earnhardt is at the head of the table when it comes manipulating the aerodynamic draft to his advantage, Hamlin has more than earned a seat, too. He won the 2016 Daytona 500 and is a consistent contender anytime NASCAR tackles Daytona or sister track, Talladega Superspeedway.

Hamlin’s plate prowess was on display Thursday night. During the early stages, he was the only one capable of challenging Earnhardt, even wrestling the lead away for a couple laps thanks to some side-drafting. However, it was the decisive pass Hamlin made of Earnhardt that showcased his ability.

Seeing a charging Austin Dillon in his mirror, Hamlin used Dillon’s momentum to propel himself forward. He had such a run Earnhardt admitted afterward he was a virtual sitting duck. Whichever way Hamlin chose to go, Earnhardt was going to be hard-pressed to throw a successful block.

“It’s like a free kick in soccer,” Hamlin said. “As a goalie, you guess which way they’re going to kick the ball. He thought I was going one way and I went the other.”

Afterward, all Earnhardt could do was praise Hamlin, who scored his third duel win on the same day he announced a contract with Joe Gibbs Racing.

“I don’t know what I could have done differently to defend that,” Earnhardt said. “Once I heard (Dillon) was clear on the outside, I knew they was going to have a big run. Denny is so smart and he knows what he’s doing out there. He’s one of the better plate racers out there. Any which way I would have went, he was going to go the other way and probably get by me.”

Had Earnhardt been more forceful, a replay of last weekend’s The Clash would’ve ensued where Hamlin tried to block a Brad Keselowski who already had the inside position and the two crashed.

There was no such occurrence Thursday night. Earnhardt may have been dominant, but Hamlin executed when it mattered most. Sentimentality be damned.