California Dreaming

With the string of bad luck Denny Hamlin has been having, he was praying he made it out of Fontana without having more of the same that has been plaguing him. He qualified 21st for the Pepsi 500, not bad considering he wasn't the only Chase contender scattered throughout the field.

When the green flag waved, Hamlin quickly made his way through traffic to the front. During race commentary, the announcers mentioned that JD Gibbs had talked to Denny about showing emotion without criticizing the team. Then there was a replay of Denny's in-car audio following a pit stop. He praised the Fed Ex crew for their superior pit stop and promised that if they continued to give him pitstops like that...he would give them everything he had.

He held true to his promise, as always and Mike Ford and the Fed Ex team got everything their driver had in his arsenal. He drove his heart out and when he climbed out of the race car his smile was blinding. He seemed to float on air and was beyond happy with his team's performance. It's amazing how happy a driver can be when things go right.

The growth and maturity shown by D Ham and the team is evident. Not only in the interviews, in-car audio between driver and crew but also in their on-track performance. They are performing like a team that has gelled and that is on fire. Or, as I prefer, en fuego. There's no better way to describe the #11 team that En Fuego lately. Hamlin posted his second third place finish in a row at Auto Club Speedway. Serving notice to anyone watching that he's not going down without a fight. Oh..but he's not going down. He's on his way up!

Going into Richmond this weekend, this unstoppable hurricane will have to continue their determined fight to lock in a spot in the Chase for the third year in a row. Barring any unforseen fortune, the Fed Ex boys will be sitting in 6th place after the field is reset for the Chase showdown. While Hamlin may be a little too far back to beat teammate Kyle Busch at this point, the other guys had best look out. Something about going back home where friends and family give added support in stressful times, Hamlin will be hard to stop. Forget Hurricane Hanna. Try your luck to outrun Hurrican Hamlin.