[media-credit name=”Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”236″]
[/media-credit]Babe Hamlin? Okay, it might not roll off the tongue as nice as Denny Hamlin but, like George Herman Ruth of old, Hamlin was bold enough to call his shot and was good enough to pull it off in winning at New Hampshire last Sunday. Yes, I still don’t love him, I may still think of him as a bit of a SOB, but you got to admit that this SOB has style.
The race still was not one of those visual fiestas, such as what we expect to see in a couple of weeks in Talladega, but it was not bad for a one trick pony event. For much of it, Hamlin led, so you had to find the pop elsewhere. Kyle Busch might not have made the Chase, but it was great to watch him near the front until his engine went pop, and so did a couple of veins in the lad’s neck in frustration.
We watched to see where the dozen Chasers sat as the crawl went across the top of the screen, to see whose car and heart got broke this time. For the most part none were ever found outside the top twenty. You can’t write a guy off just yet until he at least slips a good 50 points out, and none are quite there yet. Jimmie Johnson is a point up on Brad Keselowski, with Hamlin seven back, Tony Stewart is 10 in the distance, as Clint Bowyer and Kasey Kahne remain within 15. Jeff Gordon is in the rear, but even though he is 45 points off the pace even he made up some ground on Sunday.
It was more a day about what might have been. Might someone catch Hamlin? No, as it turned out. Might someone wreck? Not really. Might someone find their hopes good and dashed? Unless you consider Martin Truex Jr and Greg Biffle finishing 17th and 18th a disaster, not so much. Just about the only thing we might have watched for, and got rewarded for doing so, was to see if Hamlin could make good on his promise. He ran out of gas and finished 16th in Chicago so he declared he was going to come back to win it all this time out. Could he, did he? Damn right he did. It marked his 5th win of the season, and the 22nd of his Cup career. In his seventh full season, the 31-year old has never finished outside the top twelve. A SOB with style, indeed.
While Hamlin did win at New Hampshire previously five years ago, we are discovering past success or a lack of it does not mean a whole bunch. That might not be the case in Dover. Jimmie Johnson has won seven in 21 tries at that venue. Seven. Add his ten Top Fives and 15 Top Tens, and one starts to get the feeling that odds are Jimmie is going to have a good weekend.
As for Hamlin, he has four Top Tens in 13 attempts. It might not look promising, but after that called shot, maybe he will now promise some young boy that he will win at Dover on Sunday. Whatever happens, it might be wise for Joe Gibbs not to trade him anywhere, or he might not win the Sprint Cup title for another 86 years. Enjoy the week.
