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In NASCAR a lot of the success is about timing and getting hot at the right time can be the difference between 10th place in the standings and a title. Just ask Tony Stewart or Kyle Busch. Both know all to well but for different reasons.
The driver of the hour is now Denny Hamlin. In a sport where fans and media want to crown the champion after every lap of every race (I mean that is why my twitter feed is constantly littered with the if the chase ended today standings right?). Hamlin is smoking hot. Back to back wins have a way of doing that.
"You know, you wish you could bottle it up and take these wins and put them in the Chase," said Hamlin."But they are worth something, they're worth six points, and we've gained six points in the Chase. That's six spots."
Momentum is important, being the likely number one seed in the chase is cool.But only twice in the Chase era has the points leader after the regular season, gone on to win the championship.
The good news for Hamlin fans is he has been here before. Twice had a good chance to win the title, and he feel the third time could be the charm.
"I'd say we've got a pretty good shot," said Hamlin. "I mean, when I was in the championship hunt my rookie year at Homestead, I was just so young and dumb, I had no idea what I was doing in the first place. I was having fun and real loose and just took the weekend as it was.
"In 2010 it was a pressure situation. We had just came off of a bad week before, and we just -- the team just didn't feel it that final week. And so you take that and you take those experiences and you -- being experienced is something that you can never take away, and it never hurts you"