Denny Hamlin, at 44, ends 31-race winless streak and shows his time is not up yet

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MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Not even NASCAR drivers can beat Father Time. Regardless of their accolades and past abilities, they eventually all slow down, and the winning stops.

That age in a driver’s career typically hits in their early-to-mid 40s. Jimmie Johnson’s last Cup Series win came in his age-41 season and Martin Truex Jr.’s in his age-43 season — each a Cup Series champion and a contemporary of Denny Hamlin, winner of Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway.

Going into the weekend, it was reasonable to wonder if the 44-year-old Hamlin would get to experience another trip to victory lane before he retires. It had been nearly a full year since his last win — April 28, at Dover — and in the time since, his mastermind crew chief was promoted to a different role within Joe Gibbs Racing, and the No. 11 team, while still formidable, didn’t look like its typical dominant self.

Then came Sunday, with Hamlin delivering a masterful throwback performance to the days when he so often ruled Martinsville. He led 274 of 400 laps and had a nearly five-second margin of victory over second-place Christopher Bell to score his first Martinsville win in 10 years. That 31-race winless streak was also snapped, emphatically.

“It was just aggravating to be the next best at this track for the last five years,” said Hamlin, who has finished in the top five at Martinsville 10 times since his last win there. “Just never having ‘it.’ The ‘it’ is the ability to control a race, run as fast as you need to to lead the race, and pull away when you want.

“Today we had ‘it.’ That’s what feels good. … Sure, when you run in the top five, you will have some wins fall your way. I want to dominate. I’ll take any win I can get, but I want days like this where I’m in complete control.”

Denny Hamlin kisses Martinsville’s trademark grandfather clock trophy after Sunday’s win. The 44-year-old Hamlin snapped a 31-race winless streak. (Logan Riely / Getty Images)

Nearly every great driver thinks they’re the exception, that their ability to continue winning will defy conventional standards. But for every driver who wins into their late 40s, the list is even longer of those who don’t.

There’s no question which camp Hamlin resides in. Tell him he can’t do something, and he’ll try to find a way. That persistence is why he’s a 55-time Cup Series winner and a first-ballot NASCAR Hall of Famer when eligible; why the team he co-owns with NBA legend Michael Jordan, 23XI Racing, has experienced success in just its fifth year of operation, including a near championship last year; and why he’s still among the very best drivers on the track.

“I probably am the king of irrational confidence,” Hamlin said. “I mean, generally speaking, I know that when I got the car to do it, I can be the best. I haven’t felt like I’ve held back the car at any point. Certainly, I’m not immune to understanding that Father Time is undefeated.”

Hamlin is right, of course. There will be a day when he won’t be able to continue warding off the inevitable. At some point, he will stop winning, just as it suddenly happened to Johnson and Truex.

But it doesn’t feel like that time is coming soon for Hamlin. His team lauds his commitment to his craft, his work on the little things that often are the difference between winning and losing. It’s why he continues to enhance a resume that makes him one of the best drivers of his generation, still pursuing that first-ever championship.

“He’s probably in the simulator more than anybody,” said team owner Joe Gibbs, a three-time Super Bowl-winning head coach. “I think that says a lot about him. The one thing I’ve learned about athletes, the ones that really have it and are special, you better be careful about anything early. Let them go.

“So we’re going to ride Denny for as long as we can here.”

On Sunday, Hamlin, in the euphoria of another win at a track that is special to the native Virginian, celebrated with his two young daughters and his fiancée, who is expecting the couple’s third child. The kids sprinted down to Martinsville’s frontstretch to join their dad after he performed a smoky burnout to commemorate his 55th win, tying him with Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace for 11th on the all-time list — whose last career win appropriately occurred at Martinsville in 2004.

“Certainly, you learn to appreciate ’em a little bit more,” Hamlin said. “When you’re in your 30s or something, you got such a long runway ahead of you, you’re always thinking about, ‘We’ll go win next week, the week after that, the week after that.’ Certainly, however many races I’m going to win between now and the end, I’m going to value them just a little bit more just from perspective, from wisdom that you have, understanding the value of it, how hard it is to do. I don’t always have my kids here. I think it’s been a few years since they were in Victory Lane.”

There will likely be more experiences for Hamlin to enjoy with his family in victory lane. For now, anyway, that inevitable conclusion all drivers face is still being pushed off into the distance.

“Everything that I need to be (a good) race car driver is still really sharp,” Hamlin said. “I feel like it hasn’t happened yet. It will, but not yet.”

(Top photo of Denny Hamlin celebrating Sunday’s win at Martinsville: Logan Riely / Getty Images)

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