As Johnson reigns, Hamlin lies in wait

There was no hitch in Denny Hamlin's giddy-up as he strode onstage Friday night at Wynn Las Vegas to accept his check for finishing second in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

The workout fanatic could have run onstage, or, more appropriate to his series sponsor, sprinted onto it.

Hamlin just couldn't run down Jimmie Johnson for the series championship this year. But he came close.

He can't -- and won't -- forget how he lost a 15-point lead in the final race and watched as Johnson was crowned the year's champion in Homestead, Fla.

And for the past four days he was an observer to Johnson's fifth straight coronation as Sprint Cup champion.

Hamlin finished second, 39 points shy of claiming the most prestigious championship in American racing.

He can't forget what could have been. But eight months ago, Hamlin could barely walk, let along glide, across a stage before 1,500 fans and a live national cable TV audience.

Considering Hamlin had major surgery on his left knee March 31, it was impressive that he even was one of the top-10 onstage, let alone the No. 2 man with a series-best eight event titles.

"I'm glad we didn't have a throw-away year like maybe we should have," he said after receiving his runner-up award. "It's another year when I've learned a whole lot."

His competitors learned a whole lot about Hamlin, too. Like how tough he is.

Hamlin, a basketball junkie, damaged an anterior cruciate ligament in January and hoped to get through the year without surgery.

"I didn't want to deal with it until I had to," he said.

But he had to.

Surgery came a few days after Hamlin won his first Cup race of the year. A month later he won again, then went on to win six more times for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Many thought coming into the season that Hamlin had the best shot to halt Johnson's quest for a fifth straight title. Some, though, scratched Hamlin off the list after his operation.

Not teammate Kyle Busch.

"You could just see his drive when he came back, and he came back with a vengeance," Busch said. "That all comes from the type of person you are, and he just kept digging."

It has not been an enjoyable week for Hamlin because everywhere he turned Johnson was being honored, including Friday night. Hamlin realizes how close he came to being the king.

But as former Cup champion Tony Stewart said Friday, "They say sometimes you have to lose one before you can win one."

That's what Hamlin hopes happens. His fortitude certainly doesn't need repaired.

Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247.