Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin discussed his schedule and revealed how he switches between two tracks after the end of a race weekend. He explained that he spends no more than five days concentrating on a track before taking a two-day leave.
Hamlin mentioned that his schedule differs from that of the team because they have to work on the car. But being a driver, the 44-year-old is more focused on mentally preparing himself for the track and hence takes a break before switching his focus on the next race track.
"Well it's a little different from me than what it is for the race team, right? So they'll start working on that probably two or three weeks in advance. They've got to get a car built. They've got to figure out what parameters they want to build that car for that particular track," Hamlin said.
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The $65 million-worth Denny Hamlin (as per Celebrity Net Worth) explained that he prepares his schedule for five days a week. Once the race is done and the weekend is over, he takes a short break before switching over to the next weekend. This method helps him stay on a schedule and focus more on racing.
"For me, I narrow it down and really into a five-day window. I am all about one track for five days and then I'll kind of switch. Two days is my off day. But it really switches in that essence, but five days is what I can concentrate on one race track."
Taking Homestead-Miami and the next race at Martinsville into account, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver mentioned that he would take a break on Tuesday before beginning work for the next five days for the race.
"Monday is the final day that I'll be working on Homestead and then Wednesday I'll switch to whatever that next track is Martinsville coming up. Then I'll run that stretch all the way, run it all over again. And so it's easier for me certainly than it is for the teams, but I found that that kind of works for me," the Joe Gibbs driver concluded (via Claire B Lang).
Denny Hamlin will be looking for his first win of the season at the Martinsville race this Sunday (March 30).
Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin on the error that cost him the victory at Homestead-Miami
Denny Hamlin was in a competitive position during last week's race at Homestead-Miami. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver won the second stage of the race and competed for the victory; however, during the closing stages of the race, he made an error that cost him the win but still he managed to finish within the top five.
"I was just in a spot where I really wanted to get to second behind Bubba [Wallace] really really badly. I thought I was going to be better in the long run, which I had been," he said on his podcast Actions Detrimental.
After clearing up Kyle Larson, he put his Joe Gibbs' Toyota in a fight with Alex Bowman's #48, who was leading the race for a long time before getting into battles with other cars. As Hamlin tried to battle the car for the position, he carried too much speed into the turn, which hampered his chance to gain position.
"At that time, immediately what happens in my head is I get off the line and I’m looking and say, ‘Can I just slide up and clear? Can I gas it, slide up and clear? At the time, I’m clear," he said, as he saved himself from a crash.
Denny Hamlin ended the race in fifth position, his second-best finish of the season so far. While he is yet to win a race, his close finishes at Phoenix and Miami seem promising for the season ahead for him and Joe Gibbs Racing.
