DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) Denny Hamlin is continually questioning his confidence as he navigates his latest try for a NASCAR Cup Series title.

Hamlins win last week at Martinsville has him in the field of 16 when the playoffs come around in about five months. And hes prepping to run the Goodyear 400 on Sunday at Darlington Raceway, a track where he leads all current drivers with four previous victories.

Still, Hamlin said self-scouting is essential.

I think its always good to question your confidence, Hamlin said Saturday.

If you dont, Hamlin explained, youre left wondering if youve truly done all you can to make your race team as successful as possible.

Hamlin, 44, has done just about everything possible in the sport except claim a championship. Hes won the Daytona 500 and Southern 500 three times each and owns a victory in the 2022 Coca-Cola 600, the circuits longest race and considered another of the sports crown jewels.

Still, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver with 55 career wins has not cashed in his numerous opportunities at a title. He was in NASCARs last four four times (2014, 2019, 2020, 2021) without a final, career-defining win.

Theres a long stretch to go before Hamlin fully focuses on ending that title drought. Last weeks breakthrough victory was a positive step.

It was certainly a great week for the team, he said.

And whenever they can follow success like that at a track where Hamlin has won before the last time was the Southern 500 in 2021 it adds to the teams excitement to get back to work.

Points leader William Byron knows what its like to win at Darlington, which he did in this race two years ago. There are good feelings whenever you return somewhere youve had success before. Its a tough place to run, but knowing weve done well there helps, he said.

Byrons teammate, Kyle Larson, is second in points through seven races with a victory at Homestead-Miami two weeks ago. He, too, has felt the boost of confidence after a Darlington win, taking the Southern 500 in 2023, then finishing fourth in his last visit this past Labor Day weekend.

Its always been someplace Ive felt good about, Larson said.

Throwback weekend

Theres clearly a love-hate component heading into Darlingtons latest throwback weekend.

The celebration of NASCARs past has been part of the schedule here since 2015. Kyle Larson, who will run a throwback to Terry Labontes tiger-stripe car he ran to win at Darlington in 2003, likes seeing the different schemes many of the teams pull out for the weekend.

Fellow Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott thinks the throwback balloon has popped. I thought it lost it about four, five years ago, he said. If things continue, Elliott said, theyll be throwing back to me in 2018.

I think weve rode that horse to death, he said.

Brad Keselowski, owner at RFK Racing, said gaining trademark permissions from multiple parties to run an old scheme can take months or years to navigate. RFKs three cars are not running throwback schemes at Darlington.

Its calls with partners. Its calls with trademarks. Its calls, he said. You get to the point, Hey, I just want to race.

Odds and ends

Kyle Larson is the betting favorite, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, to take the Goodyear 400 on at +450, followed by Ty Reddick (+650), Ryan Blaney (+700) and Denny Hamlin (+700).

Larson won the Southern 500 in 2023 and has had seven top-five finishes in his 14 starts.

Up next

The series goes to Bristol on April 13 before taking its traditional Easter break.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/apf-AutoRacing

达灵顿，南卡罗来纳州（美联社）——丹尼·哈姆林在争取获得纳斯卡杯系列赛冠军的最新尝试中，不断质疑自己的信心。

哈姆林上周在马丁斯维尔的胜利使他得以进入16人决赛，这场决赛将在大约五个月后进行。他正在为周日达灵顿赛道的固特异400赛做准备，该赛道上他此前已经获得了四次胜利，目前领先所有现役车手。

尽管如此，哈姆林还是表示自我审视是至关重要的。

周六，哈姆林（Hamlin）表示：“我认为质疑自己的信心总是件好事。”

如果你没有做到，哈姆林解释说，你会开始思考是否真的已经竭尽所能使你的赛车队尽可能地成功。

44岁的哈姆林在赛车运动中几乎完成了所有可能的任务，除了赢得冠军。他分别三次夺得Daytona 500和Southern 500的冠军，并在2022年的可口可乐600赛中获胜，该赛事是该赛道的最长赛事，被视为赛车运动中另一项皇冠上的明珠。

尽管如此，这位拥有55场职业生涯胜利的Joe Gibbs Racing车手，仍然没有兑现其多次夺冠的承诺。他在NASCAR的最后四届比赛中（2014年、2019年、2020年、2021年）均未能获得决定职业生涯的最终胜利。

在汉姆林完全专注于结束这一冠军荒之前，还有很长的路要走。上周的突破性胜利是一个积极的步骤。

这无疑是对球队来说非常棒的一周。

每当他们在哈姆林曾经获胜的赛道上取得成功时，例如2021年最后一次的南方500赛事，这都会让团队重新投入工作，增加他们的兴奋度。

积分榜的领头羊威廉·伯恩（William Byron）深知在达灵顿赢得比赛的滋味，他正是在两年前的这场比赛中获得胜利。每当回到你曾经成功过的地方，都会有一种美好的感觉。'这是一个很难跑的地方，但知道我们之前在那里做得很好，这确实有帮助，'他说道。

拜伦的队友凯尔·拉森在七场比赛中以第二名的成绩得分，两周前在Homestead-Miami取得了胜利。他也因达灵顿的胜利而信心倍增，2023年赢得了南方500，然后在上周末劳动节期间最后一次访问中获得了第四名。

拉尔森说：“这（这个地方）一直以来都是我感到舒服的地方。”

怀旧周末

在达灵顿（Darlington）的最新怀旧周末活动中，显然存在着一种爱恨交织的复杂情感。

自2015年以来，纳斯卡（NASCAR）的怀旧庆祝活动一直是这里的日程安排的一部分。凯尔·拉尔森（Kyle Larson）将驾驶一辆怀旧版特里·拉邦特（Terry Labonte）的虎纹赛车参赛，该车曾在2003年的达灵顿（Darlington）赛道上帮助他获胜，他喜欢看到许多车队为周末比赛而推出的不同方案。

亨德里克车队（Hendrick Motorsports）的队友蔡斯·埃利奥特（Chase Elliott）认为，回归过去的想法已经破灭。“我认为它大概在四、五年前就失去了这个想法，”他说。如果事情继续这样发展下去，埃利奥特表示，“2018年他们可能会回归到我这里。”

“我觉得我们已经把那匹马骑死了。”

RFK Racing的拥有者Brad Keselowski表示，从多个方面获得使用旧方案的商标许可可能需要数月或数年的时间。RFK的三辆车在达灵顿赛道上并未采用复古方案。

这是与合作伙伴的通话，这是与商标所有者的通话，这也是普通的通话。

零零碎碎

根据BetMGM Sportsbook的赔率，凯尔·拉森（Kyle Larson）以+450的赔率成为Goodyear 400赛事的热门人选，紧随其后的是泰·雷迪克（Ty Reddick，+650）、瑞恩·布兰尼（Ryan Blaney，+700）和丹尼·哈林（Denny Hamlin，+700）。

拉尔森在2023年赢得了南部500英里大赛的冠军，并在他参加的14场比赛中获得了7次前五名的成绩。

接下来

该系列将于4月13日前往布里斯托尔，之后将进入传统的复活节假期。

美联社汽车比赛新闻：https://apnews.com/apf-AutoRacing