By Jared Turner

It took Denny Hamlin 19 races to score his first win of 2017. Now, with his victory at Darlington, Hamlin has two wins in his past seven starts. Not a bad way to build momentum ahead of the playoffs, which commence in two weekends at Chicagoland Speedway. Not that Hamlin is any stranger to carrying momentum into the post-season, having finished the 2016 regular season with a victory at Richmond — where the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returns this weekend. “This year is really no different,” Hamlin said. “I mean, we’ve been at this point before where we’ve had wins going into the playoffs. You know, luck has kept us from championships in the past, and mistakes have kept us from championships in the past. Not many times has it been performance. I think you’ve just got to put those two things together and prepare for anything that can get thrown to you.”