Hamlin earned a win at Talladega, Ala., to become eligible for the Chase and appeared to get his performance back up to par in time to begin the Chase and a chance to win his first series championship. Unfortunately, a fuel-intake problem and subsequent accident last weekend at New Hampshire leaves in a precarious position as one of the four drivers who could be eliminated from title contention after Sunday's AAA 400 at Dover.
After being asked about whether he will be paying attention to other drivers in the Chase during Sunday's race, Hamlin explained how important this race is to him:
"Short of just winning the race, it matters what other guys do. For us, we don't control our own destiny unless we win. I really don't want to know. Honestly, this will be the hardest race I'll definitely ever drive for 400 miles. I'm just going to be as aggressive as I can, not put myself in a bad position," he said.
"This is the most important race of my career because it's the most significant of my career at this point. We got to get the job done and I'm going to do my part to try to make sure we're successful."
