Amazing how quickly things come together sometimes.
Last December, Joe Gibbs Racing announced a shift among some of its driver-crew chief pairings.
So far, so good, at least for one partnership in that group. On Sunday, Denny Hamlin and new crew chief Mike Wheeler stormed to victory in the prestigious Daytona 500. They opened with a win in the previous week's season-opening non-points race, the Sprint Unlimited, also at Daytona International Speedway.
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Not bad for their first races with Wheeler in command. Now they continue their hunt for Hamlin's first Cup championship.
Wheeler spent last season in the Xfinity Series while Hamlin finished ninth in the standings with crew chief Dave Rodgers. Before that, Wheeler spent 10 years working with the No. 11 team for which Hamlin began driving full time in 2006.
After the season, JGR announced changes to the Cup crew chief lineup that included aligning Wheeler and Hamlin.
"It's pretty crazy, that's for sure," Wheeler said after the win. "You work your butt off all these years trying to get to this spot. You put in the hours. You work your guts out trying to be the best. Finally have the opportunity to be the crew chief, lead the team, it's really satisfying to see everybody so happy, sponsors so happy …
"Seeing Denny say it's his biggest race, biggest thing he's got, makes me happy."
Before the race, Hamlin reportedly talked to Wheeler on the radio about how this was going to be their year.
Afterwards, he mused about how this partnership had developed.
"We loaned him to the Xfinity shop for a year," Hamlin said. "Do you know what year I promised you this job? [20]09, '10?"
"Something like that," Wheeler said.
Hamlin said that he always expected to work with Wheeler once more, that "you can only be a great engineer for so long before other teams are going to come knocking."
He might not have expected to pay this sort of dividend so quickly, though.
"Even though I probably prematurely promised him the job, a little soon, you know, I was happy that [team owner Joe] Gibbs said, 'Let's just take you through the same process that all of our other crew chiefs had,'" Hamlin said. "I'm glad he was only gone for a year."
Looking at their ability to work so well together so fast, Hamlin said it is because the crew chief part is just the latest stage in a friendship; that he and Wheeler communicate well.
"A lot of it is we're friends first," he said. "Him being my crew chief, it's a mere sidebar for our relationship. So this is one that I'm very proud and happy for him. He's got a new family of his own that he gets to go back to. Like I said, this is my guy."
One that has already helped him set a career mark — winning his first Daytona 500.
What else is in store for this pairing? Time will tell.
"For them to be together this short period of time and to be able to accomplish what they have I think is an amazing story," Gibbs said.