Long Pond, Pa. – Rookie Denny Hamlin never turned a lap at Pocono Raceway before this weekend.
Well, not in reality, anyway.
For his first career Nextel Cup win, the 25-year-old owes some credit to the makers of his video game.
“They got every tree on the site, everything’s mapped out perfect,” Hamlin said Sunday after winning the Pocono 500. “Visually, I know where my letoff points are.”
There was nothing virtual about the realities of this win, though: First, a blown tire sent Hamlin spinning. Then NASCAR’s elite drivers pushed him hard down the stretch.
But he never lost his poise, showing Tony Stewart, his champion teammate, that he might have some company in the points race.
“I think he’s on the verge of something big down the road,” Stewart said.
Hamlin overcame the early blown rubber, surged late and held on to solidify his spot as NASCAR’s top rookie.
“I honestly didn’t think it would be this easy,” said Hamlin, 25.
Hamlin’s introduction to the 2 1/2-mile triangle – which he said was like driving on salt flats – came Friday. But he had logged enough virtual hours to get comfortable, playing video games for three hours a day to familiarize himself with the comparatively flat Pocono track.
“It helps with track awareness,” he said.
Hamlin held off the challengers – including Stewart – on the final five tenuous laps after the caution came out late following Jeff Gordon’s harrowing accident.
Nothing slowed down Hamlin in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Chevrolet – not even his tire problems – winning a race in his 21st career start and jumping from 11th to ninth in the points standings. He’s the third driver to win from the pole this season and he led 83 of the 200 laps.
“We’re trying to get into the Chase and this is a great way to do it,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin is trying to become the first rookie to qualify for the Chase in its three-year history. Hamlin is only the third driver to win his first time out at Pocono.
“I knew right from the get-go we had a very strong car,” Hamlin said.
Kurt Busch, who won here last July, was second while Stewart was third. Brian Vickers and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top five.
Nextel Cup/glance
Keys to victory: Denny Hamlin blew his left rear tire on the 51st lap and spun into the grass, making a nice save to avoid damaging his car’s body. Hamlin fell as far back as 40th before remarkably racing back into the lead shortly past the halfway point.
What you might have missed: Tony Stewart said he felt no soreness and that he was close to full strength after driving all 500 miles just two weeks after he broke his right shoulder blade.
Back on track: Sunday, 3M Performance 400 presented by Post-it Picture Paper, Michigan International Speedway, Fox, 11 a.m.
