Bob Pockrass
FOX Motorsports Insider
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Denny Hamlin could feel nerves during the race Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.
Denny Hamlin waves as he is introduced during the pre-race driver introductions before the start of the NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400
His fiancée, Jordan Fish, was six days past due with their third child and Hamlin and his team had decided if they got past Lap 50 of the 200-lap race, he wouldn’t be told if she went into labor.
Things worked out for Hamlin. He won at Michigan and 90 minutes after the race, was still at the track doing media. He talked about why he needs to be at the birth, baby names … and fierce taunts of the crowd in Michigan.
That’s Hamlin, living amid chaos and then creating even more for himself.
“I don’t want to be so ho-hum with winning that it’s boring because then I lose my drive,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin, who has a group of friends who are Ohio State fans, gave the “O” sign to the Michigan crowd and resurrected his line that he told his father he wouldn’t use anymore as he crowed to the crowd: “I beat your favorite driver.”
The boos reigned and Hamlin chuckled.
Denny Hamlin celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway
“I do thrive on it just simply because you feel like you’ve got 60,000 people that are rooting against you,” Hamlin said. “When you have that, it just feels really, really good and gratifying to prove them wrong.
“I love that feeling.”
Hamlin had spent Saturday night in Michigan as Fish had not had any labor symptoms. Fish posted an Instagram story late in the race that she was at home.
“I felt decent enough about it,” Hamlin said. “We had to set some sort of cutoff of whether I was going to finish or not.
“So I was very nervous last night and then this morning to getting the call because I knew I had a race-winning car after yesterday.”
Hamlin is known to run well, even with outside distractions. And he has the additional drama of the race team he owns (but doesn’t drive for) 23XI Racing embroiled in a lawsuit against NASCAR. Earlier in the week, the team was dealt a blow in the U.S Court of Appeals and faces the prospect of the 23XI Racing cars not being chartered in a few weeks.
It seems that he has been able to focus when he’s at the track since that lawsuit was filed last October. The worries about missing the birth of his child, though, seemed to weigh on him more.
With JGR simulator driver Ryan Truex at the track, in case he needed to leave, Hamlin knew the team was prepared for him to leave if Fish went into labor. He knew he had a strong car and had a good feeling about the race.
Granted, Hamlin didn’t have the fastest car. Chris Buescher probably did, but his car wiggled as he tried to run down the leaders late in the race. This cost him valuable momentum and he ended up coming across the line a second after Hamlin.
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William Byron had a strong car, but like many others, he had to save gas near the end, relinquishing the lead with less than four laps to go and then running out with a little over a lap remaining.
Hamlin’s team made sure he had enough fuel on the final stop to be on the attack at the end. And he executed flawlessly to the finish. And his wife was still at home, posting on Instagram near the end of the race.
“I was a little nervous just because we put the Lap 50 cutoff,” Hamlin said. “If it happens before Lap 50, I just go ahead and get out, just because of the time.
“If it was after, I thought that by the time she gets her s— together and gets to the hospital, all that stuff? You just never how it all turns out. But I think I can make it, as long as I had a three-hour window.”
It marked the third win of the year for Hamlin and his 57th career victory in his 701st start.
Now it’s on to Mexico City, and Hamlin indicated he would be willing to stay home if Fish has not given birth by the weekend. Obviously, it is a much longer flight from there than it would have been from Michigan to his North Carolina home.
NASCAR would grant Hamlin a waiver to miss a race and consider it for medical reasons, meaning he would still make the playoffs and get to keep playoff points earned during the season.
“It’s the bigger picture. You never know when you’ll ever have another one,” Hamlin said about wanting to be home for the birth of the child. “You may not. I’ve been really supportive of her, the way that she wants to have this play out, which is as natural as possible.
“Everyone asks, ‘Why don’t you just schedule, schedule, schedule?’ I don’t know. You’ve just got to let her decide in these situations. If it causes me to miss a race, it’s one of 701 races that I missed and it’s just not that big of a deal.”
His team owner, Heather Gibbs, when asked earlier about whether she was nervous for Hamlin, quipped: “It’s funny, because I have four [children]. They [husbands] don’t really do anything. When he gets home, he’ll be home. It was good.”
Hamlin’s response: “Well, that is true. I’ve been in the room before, and she needs something really hard to grab onto, and my hand is perfect for it. I’m definitely going to be there this week — hopefully — to hold her hand.”
The same could have been said for the way Hamlin grabbed the lead just when he needed to and held on for the victory.
“He kind of thrives in chaos, right?” Heather Gibbs said. “It was true, we wanted to get him in the car. … He’s as cool as they come, that’s for sure.”
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