When Kevin Harvick joked about Jimmie Johnson having a golden horseshoe last season, he problably wasn'r that far off. Because winning a Sprint Cup championship is not just about having an incredible amount of driving talent. It's also about team work, strategy and luck. Just ask Denny Hamlin.
"We've just honestly been stricken by a lot of bad luck,' said Hamlin. "We've ran out of fuel, we've gotten in wrecks, we've cut tires, things like that. We've blown engines, we've had mechanical parts that have failed, had so many different things that's bitten us this year. I can't pinpoint one reason why those things have happened."
It's a 180 from where Hamlin was a year ago. When NASCAR headed to the Kansas Speedway in 2010, Hamlin was the points leader. And he was a threat to dethrone Johnson as champ all the way down to the final race. In 2011, Hamlin battled just to make NASCAR's playoffs and currently sits in 12th place, 68 points out of the lead. The most points you can make up in one race, is 47.
