Surging Hamlin's not afraid to say he's a title contender

RICHMOND

They sat beside each other in a press conference after Saturday night's race at Richmond International Raceway

There was Jimmie Johnson. The champ.

Next to him was Denny Hamlin. The successor?

While many will favor Johnson, the three-time defending series champion, Tony Stewart or Mark Martin to win the title, Hamlin deserves consideration.

It's not because he won at Richmond, leading 299 of the 400 laps. He's always been strong at his home track and Saturday easily could have been his second or third Cup win there instead of his first.

It's because Hamlin has shown strength and consistency the past three months. More importantly, he's shown he can challenge Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing - the sport's dominant teams.

Hamlin was vocal earlier this season that Joe Gibbs Racing was not strong enough to compete with the Hendrick and Stewart cars. He said he called for a team meeting in June because "everyone needed to get on the same page, drivers, owners, engineers, crew chiefs." While Hamlin couldn't make the meeting, the progress has been evident for his team.

He's finished in the top 10 in 10 of the past 12 races. The only blemishes were a 34th-place finish at Indianapolis because a drive shaft broke and a 15th-place finish at New Hampshire, where he struggled most of the day.

Even with his success, Hamlin isn't satisfied.

"We're not there," he said of catching the Hendrick and Stewart cars. "We are consistent. Nine times out of 10, we are surrounded by those guys."

He said that after Stewart sat to Hamlin's right, literally putting Hamlin between Johnson and Stewart at the press conference.

"It's just a challenge to keep up, I'll be honest with you," Hamlin continued. "Our cars have really got to be on to challenge them for race wins. We are starting to bring better cars to the race track."

Better equipment emboldens Hamlin. Steve Addington, crew chief for teammate Kyle Busch, said it's not just what the team has done that's led to better performances for Hamlin.

"Driver confidence," Addington said. "He believes in everything that is going on at Joe Gibbs Racing and he believes in his guys. They've got it where I think they're hitting it at the right time."

Asked on Friday who he saw as the team to beat in the Chase, other than his own, Hamlin said: "We're the ones to beat right now. We're the only ones that can beat ourselves."

He was the only driver of several asked that question not to give a political answer and name a few drivers or say the Chase could be as wide open as it has ever been.

Hamlin concedes maybe he needs to be more boastful, noting the only two races he's said he was going to win this season, he did.

For as good as Hamlin was Saturday and has been on the short tracks - four top-five finishes in five races this season - he said the team is better on the larger tracks where horsepower and aerodynamics are critical. Those are areas that Hendrick and Stewart cars have shown to be strongest. Nine of the 10 oval races won by Hendrick or Stewart cars this season have been on tracks more than 1 mile long.

Even so, Johnson was asked if he's worried about Hamlin in the Chase.

"You could at least ask me this when he's not sitting next to me because now I have to say nice things," Johnson said after the race.

"They are a very good organization and Denny is one on the track that has been able to balance aggression and patience at the same time. It's no surprise to me, and I think he's going to be very competitive in the Chase."