Denny Hamlin focused on winning, not revenge from Chase Elliott

He's far more concerned about overcoming Brad Keselowski's 19-point lead in the Can-Am 500 to earn the fourth and final spot in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. 

After qualifying second, 14 positions ahead of Keselowski, Hamlin has the upper hand.

“We're fast,” Hamlin said. “We're doing everything we need to do to put pressure on the other guys and try to get a win. Our car is obviously fast enough, just got to tune it in (during Saturday's practice) and get this thing going for 500K or something like that.”

For the second consecutive week, Hamlin has qualified second. He lost the pole by .001 seconds to Ryan Blaney on Friday. Still, he’s encouraged by the speed in his car. 

“I think we have a car that can win,” Hamlin said. “I think that we had a very good practice today. So I think that definitely the car has good speed in it. We've still got some work to do in race trim, but we're pretty close to where I need it to be. 

“We honestly need to see how many points the 2 car (Keselowski) gains at the beginning of the race. I mean, that's really the key for us, knowing where our strategy goes for the second half of the race.”

Hamlin says the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team won’t change its strategy knowing Keselowski will start mid-pack on Sunday. Hamlin won here in 2012 and has posted five top fives and eight top 10s in his last 11 starts. 

"I didn't think they were going to qualify that great, but they typically race pretty well here,” Hamlin said of Keselowski, who was 17th-quick in first practice. “I'm not going to count on anything – not until we get to the end of the first stage and I see where we're at. 

“I'm confident that starting right there, we should probably be up front all day.”

That might be the safest place for Hamlin, with Elliott starting fourth on Sunday. Two races ago, Hamlin dumped Elliott, who was leading with three laps to go at Martinsville.

"Was I worried last weekend? No, and I'm not worried this weekend,” Hamlin said. “No, I'm not worried. Everyone up front is professionals and we all have one job to do and that's to win. Our objective is the same objective as his – it's to go out there and win on Sunday. You really can't worry about other guys. If you've got that in front of you and you're thinking about that, your chances of winning are slim to none."