Indianapolis is the last crown jewel to cross off the checklist for Denny Hamlin and the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 team, and it isn’t hard to find the emphasis placed on doing so in Sunday’s Brickyard 400.
Hamlin was third fastest in Friday’s practice session, where it was reported that Chris Gabehart, his crew chief, has prepared for this weekend with championship-level intensity and scrutiny. Gabehart told NBC Sports that it was all-in with the work getting ready for Indianapolis. By the time Hamlin’s Toyota rolled onto the track, there was nothing else Gabehart felt he could have done to be prepared.
“A lot,” Hamlin said of how badly his team wants to win Sunday afternoon (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC).
The last time NASCAR competed at Indianapolis on the oval, in 2020, Hamlin was leading with seven laps to go when he blew a right-front tire and hit the Turn 1 wall. He’s led 131 laps at Indianapolis in 15 starts and completed 98.9 percent of the laps run, but he’s never finished better than fourth.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]
“I know there are only so many opportunities I’ll have here at the oval, so it’s a big emphasis because it’s a gaping hole in the resume, and it would complete all the majors,” Hamlin said. ‘’But Chris wants it pretty bad, too. He’s a little butt-hurt over 2020 and how that ended, so, without a doubt, we knew going into this weekend he had spent extra time on this car, making sure all the details were looked after, and he brought me the fastest car he could.”
Gabehart was paired with Hamlin in 2019, and the duo has won every other crown jewel event together. There were back-to-back Daytona 500 victories in 2019 and ’20, and the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway was added in 2021. The No. 11 team, sans Gabehart on the pit box because of a suspension, went to victory lane in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2022.
In 194 races together, Gabehart and Hamlin have 22 victories.
As for what Hamlin could do to help the team finally break through at Indianapolis, he laughed and said, “The only thing I could do better is drive better.”