Hamlin Frustrated, But Keeps Focus

This is the perfect example of the new "big picture" Denny Hamlin.

Instead of seething in anger over becoming a victim of Jimmie Johnson's late-race bump-and-run and denied his first Sprint Cup Series of the season in Sunday's race at Martinsville Speedway, Hamlin realized there were other concerns.

"We still got a solid finish. Sure, it's disappointing," Hamlin said after the Goody's 500. "We're not going to win the championship this weekend. We're going to win the championship later this season.

"We know we have a great package. This is a Chase race (in the fall), so I'm happy about that. But we have to make sure we're in position first - in the top 12."

There is good and bad to be found in Hamlin's performance the last two weeks.

He's run good enough to win and come up short, but his consecutive second-place finishes have entrenched him in the top 12. He moved up three spots Sunday and sits fifth in points, 148 behind leader Jeff Gordon.

"To come to two straight short tracks and be in contention to win both races, it's uplifting," Hamlin said. "We didn't win, but you can't help that things don't always fall your way."

Hamlin's day could have been much worse.

His Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, both experienced tire problems brought on by excessive brake heat. Busch finished 24th and Logano 32nd.

And in previous seasons, Hamlin may have become irate after a move like Johnson's late in the race and not remained as focused.

"Today we could have easily ended up 25th. Denny didn't let that happen," said his crew chief, Mike Ford. "In hindsight, that's experience, and that's experience that Denny's gaining and wisdom along with that."

Ford said Hamlin's No. 11 Toyota didn't have any of the brake heating issues his teammates fought through on Sunday.

"It goes back to last year. They both had the same thing and worked really hard to keep the temperature out of the (tire) bead," he said. "But you saw that a lot today.

"Denny is very easy on brakes. This is not even close to our hardest braking track. We were aware of the problem, but it didn't come into play for us."