Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Denny Hamlin sat alone in his South Beach hotel room, a single room service tray sitting on the desk, a comedy flick he can no longer remember showing on the television.

His friends had tried to get him to go out that Sunday night last November. They wanted him to try to forget that he had begun the day leading NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup and ended it knowing that downstairs in the same hotel where he was staying, Jimmie freaking Johnson was holding another freaking victory celebration.