Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin continued his streak of seasons with at least one Cup win when he won at Michigan in 2011. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has won at least one race in each of his six full seasons of Cup competition.

But the victory and subsequent ninth-place points finish was a far cry from what had been expected from Hamlin and the No. 11 team. Hamlin enjoyed a career year in 2010, winning eight times and battling Jimmie Johnson for the championship, eventually losing by 39 points to finish a career-best second.

Still, the Michigan victory gave Hamlin 17 wins for his career and his $5 million-plus in winnings for the season pushed his career earnings to more than $40 million.

Hamlin, a former Late Model standout, earned rookie-of-the-year honors in the Cup series in 2006 and became the first rookie to qualify for NASCAR’s Chase For The Sprint Cup that same year, finishing third in the points standings. He has qualified for the Chase for six consecutive seasons.

Hamlin has won multiple races three times – winning twice during his rookie season, four times in 2009 and then eight in ’10. He has 66 career top-five and 111 career top-10 finishes, as well as nine poles.

After a six-year stint with Mike Ford, Hamlin enters the 2012 season with Darian Grubb as his crew chief at JGR.