Hamlin’s runner-up finish fuels his drive to unseat Johnson in 2011

Denny Hamlin led Jimmie Johnson by 15 points heading into the final weekend of the 2010 NASCAR season. After the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway though, it was Johnson, not Hamlin, holding the Sprint Cup. Even though Hamlin won a series-high eight races, he couldn’t capture his first series title.

So is 2011 the year for Hamlin to break through?

The Yahoo! Sports panel of experts has Hamlin picked to finish tied for third in the points with Carl Edwards. However, Jay Hart points out a very interesting fact. After finishing runner-up in 2007, Jeff Gordon’s 2008 campaign was less than stellar. Same for Carl Edwards’s 2009 season after a nine-win 2008 campaign. Mark Martin had a heck of a 2009 season, winning five times, but in 2010, he did not reach victory lane once.

Will Hamlin buck the trend of runners up who have a terrible time repeating their past success?

Crew chief Mike Ford sat down with David Caraviello of NASCAR.com and told him last season was disappointing, and it’s tough to get over a loss like that.

“You never get over it. You’ll never, never get over that,” Ford told Caraviello. “This is your life, this is what you do. Your families pay a price for you doing this. You never get over this. That said, if you turn that energy into motivation, you’ll be better in the end because of it.”

Hamlin and Ford will go down swinging this year. If the past is any prediction, Hamlin won’t be as good in 2011 as he was in 2010. But, I’m not betting on it. He’ll contend for the title again—no doubt about it.