AVONDALE, Ariz. — Denny Hamlin spent nearly two months of the offseason in the Scottsdale area, hoping to get away from racing for a while, reinvigorate himself for the 2012 season.
It seemed to do wonders, leading to a win at a place where he had one of the biggest disappointments of his career.
Hamlin pulled away when NASCAR’s best closer ran out of gas and then had to sweat out his own fuel mileage before completing a confidence-boosting win at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday.
“It’s a little bit of satisfaction there, for sure,” Hamlin said. “It’s a bittersweet track.”
It was, in fact, the site of one of his worst memories as a driver.