A confident Denny Hamlin isn’t worried about losing his crew chief to a six-week suspension.
Denny Hamlin will be without two key members of his No. 11 team the next six weeks, crew chief Darian Grubb and car chief Wesley Sherrill, both of whom were suspended by NASCAR Tuesday.
The sanctions, which also included Hamlin losing 75 points and Grubb being fined $125,000, stem from issues with the rear firewall block-off plates discovered in post-race last Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Nevertheless, Hamlin is confident he and this team will not miss a beat with no significant drop in performance. Joe Gibbs Racing has named Mike Wheeler interim crew chief in Grubbs absence.
"I've been with Mike Wheeler longer than I've been with anyone in the Cup Series," Hamlin said Friday at Pocono Raceway. "We worked together a lot and pretty confident in the job that he's going to do. Even though it's tough losing those guys and it's tough for them especially I don't think things will change at the race track too much. Darian is in constant contact with (Wheeler) at all times and myself. So, it's not too bad as far as that's concerned."
While losing a crew chief is a setback it also isn't always crippling. Just last year JGR teammate Matt Kenseth won the Southern 500 without suspended crew chief Jason Ratcliff. And Grubb won the 2006 Daytona 500 as a fill-in crew chief for Jimmie Johnson when Chad Knaus was ejected by officials following a rules violation.
"With the way things are today with your limited amount of practice time, the limited amount of things you can change on the race car, a crew chief being at the race track probably isn't nearly as bad as it was the last time I was suspended quite honestly," Knaus said.
Grubb and Sherrill are eligible to return for the Chase for the Sprint Cup opener Sept. 14 at Chicagoland Speedway. JGR has appealed the penalties, though no hearing is set.
Not being at the track does come with some advantages, according to Knaus. In Grubb's case he can focus extensively on preparing for the Chase. Hamlin is already assured of a playoff spot having won in May at Talladega Superspeedway.
"I think Darian is going to have some opportunities to sit back and try to get focused on what he needs to do going into the Chase," Knaus said. "Now preparation is the key. If they can get prepared before they leave North Carolina, before they get to the race track I don't think it's going to bother them the least little bit. That is a solid team. ... They will be fine. They will do a good job. Coming into the Chase maybe it will be good for them."
Having posted three consecutive top-10 finishes the No. 11 team seemed to be in stride, and Hamlin concedes the No. 11 team may lose a "bit of that momentum." However, by the time the Chase begins Hamlin fully expects to be among the championship contenders.
"You use stuff like this as motivation to go out there and prove that you can run fast no matter what and you can run well," Hamlin said. "We were on a run there last really month and a half to two months that I feel like our cars were really starting to turn the corner. Really, I'm excited about what these next six weeks brings. We've got some great race tracks ahead of us -- a lot of them which we feel like we can win."
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