Denny Hamlin thinks new rules will eliminate Daytona hangover

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Denny Hamlin won the most important race of his career and the most lauded spectacle of any NASCAR season when he arrived at the checkered flag of the 2016 Daytona 500 an infinitesimal .01 second ahead of Martin Truex Jr.

And then he waited. And waited. And waited for something to matter a fraction as much. He knew it would be a long time.

For although Hamlin’s victory brought him in the macro sense permanent acclaim with the Harley J. Earl Trophy and in micro an automatic berth in the Cup playoffs at the earliest possible chance, it also sowed the opportunity for a post-500 hangover. The new  Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular-points system, which awards points for placement during race stages that carry into the postseason, will provide the tonic for that problem, he said.

“I know personally, for us, we went into test mode for probably two months during the summer, working on intermediate tracks, knowing that’s where you were going to have to win the championship,” Hamlin said. “I just don’t think you can take any races off (now). You can’t afford to spot Jimmie Johnson or Kevin Harvick, these guys, two points, five points. You can’t just keep spotting them that many points and think that you’re going to go through a round and they’re not.”

Hamlin’s season was hardly a waste. Even before he triumphed in that memorable Daytona 500, Hamlin opened 2016 by besting the field in NASCAR's first competition of the season, the exhibition race now called The Advance Auto Parts Clash (formerly the Sprint Unlimited), also held at Daytona International Speedway. The Clash will once again kick off the Cup season when former Clash winners, 2016 pole winners, former Daytona 500 pole winners and drivers who made last year's playoffs hit the 2.5-mile superspeedway in a 75-lap shootout Saturday night (8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1).

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After his success at Daytona, Hamlin won twice more — at Watkins Glen International and in the regular season finale at Richmond International Raceway — entered the playoffs just three points off the lead, had top-10s in the last five races and finished sixth in the standings. But he seems to wonder what could have been different under this system with more to gain each week.

And Hamlin’s reaction last season was not unique or extreme. Upon winning his second Daytona 500 in 2014 and realizing that in ending a 55-race winless streak he had all but assured himself a playoff spot, Dale Earnhardt Jr. giddily marveled at the prospect. He went on to win four times — three in the regular season — but was eliminated in the second round after being involved in accidents at Kansas and Talladega.

PHOTOS: Behind the wheel with Denny Hamlin

Jimmie Johnson (2006 and 2013) is the only driver to win both the Daytona 500 and a title in the same season since the playoff era began in 2004, but none has won the prestige race and championship since the playoffs were tweaked to make victories the main qualifier beginning in 2014.

Although it’s impossible to divine how this new system would have impacted the mindset, approach and subsequent performance of Johnson’s peers, all drivers will be forced to do more than focus on the 10-race playoffs commencing at Chicagoland Speedway, Hamlin said.

“I do know that NASCAR, when they asked each one of their stakeholders what their challenges were, for us, ‘Hey, the regular season, it just doesn’t matter as much as it should’,” Hamlin recalled. “So we started playing around with it. As a driver, what do you need to make every race exciting? Well, we already get paid, that’s not going to make us run harder. Make our road to a championship go through the regular season and you’re going to see exciting racing. For us, we came up with something where this is what’s going to make us run as hard as we can every lap of every race and not just know that we have a win in the bank and all we’re thinking about is Chicago at this point.”

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Former Cup racer and NBC analyst Jeff Burton believes drivers will be able to find another mental and physical level when forced, just as they did when the then-Chase format was originated and subsequently tweaked numerous times.

“When the current format first came out and we heard the drivers would have to drive a lot harder the last 10 races, I said, ‘They’re crazy. They’re not going to change how we race. I’m doing all I can do now’,” recalled Burton, who retired from full-time driving in 2013. “But I was wrong. Because I have watched, and I have participated in having to step up. And having your reality as clear as day, when reality and your situation is crystal clear, you tend to do things differently.

“When there is more to gain or more to lose, they will dig deeper.”

And in theory, a lot more often.

Follow James on Twitter @brantjames

PHOTOS: History of the Daytona 500