Freshrubber Blog

Someone call a witch doctor. Denny Hamlin is on the line. Hamlin needs some magic. Or Voodoo. Or a lucky rabbit’s foot, at least. Something. ANYTHING. The guy just can’t win. He’s starting to look like Charlie Brown after the football gets pulled away. Every time Hamlin starts to dominate a race — like he did at Richmond on Saturday night — you might as well start planning on watching someone else drive to victory lane. Hamlin apparently stormed off without speaking to reporters after a fantastic evening at his home track turned sour. And really, who can blame him? First it was a bad pit stop (thanks to a dropped lug nut) that let several cars get ahead of him. Once he was stuck back in traffic, his car stopped handling the way he needed it to. Despite leading a race-high 148 laps, Hamlin finished 14th. Another chance to win in front of friends, family and adoring local fans was gone. Again. On the other hand, Hamlin shouldn’t be surprised. He’s said many times before that he expects something will go wrong — and he’s usually right — whenever he gets out front. Flat tires. Fuel pickup problems. Freaky, weird things. What’s the deal, Denny? SceneDaily.com

After Kyle Busch won Saturday’s race, he crawled through his window and pumped his fists as he jogged to get the checkered flag. Though there were some cheers, there were also plenty of fans who booed and turned their thumbs to the ground. “Whether it’s one-finger salutes or thumbs-up or whatever,” Busch said, “it’s all good.” Or is it? When Busch was younger he seemed genuinely unaffected by the catcalls. But on Saturday, each statement like the one above was followed by one that made it sound like Busch just wanted to be loved. “For me, it’s fun to go out there and play the villain role sometimes,” Busch said, “and be liked other times.” — Free Lance-Star