It's Hamlin's last stand for 2013 this weekend in Loudon - MotorSportsTalk

This weekend is Denny Hamlin’s last, last stand for the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

With just eight races remaining until the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup, and after missing four races earlier this year due to his injuries sustained at Fontana, Hamlin sits 26th in points, 122 behind 20th-placed Paul Menard. Hamlin would need at least two wins and to get up to 20th in eight races, a remote possibility at best.

It’s been a particularly brutal stretch of late for the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin has just one top-10 finish in the last six races, and finishes of 30th or worse in four of the other five.

Since Hamlin entered Sprint Cup full-time in 2006, he has not missed the Chase.

The only realistic hope for Hamlin to begin an eight-race surge would be a win this weekend at Loudon, where he won the September race last year and finished second to Kasey Kahne in the July race. Even then, he’d still need a lot of help.

But from a pride standpoint, since Hamlin has gone winless since last September at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, he’ll be desperate to shake this rough form of late and get back to his winning ways. And, as MotorSportsTalk noted a week ago, the word “quit” is not in Hamlin’s vocabulary.

The IndyCar Series has re-signed NTT as its title sponsor in a multiyear agreement starting in 2024.

NTT, a global information technology and communications company based in Japan, became the series’ title sponsor before the 2019 season after starting as a sponsor of the No. 10 Dallara-Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing.

NTT Data (a subsidiary of parent company Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp.) will remain the official technology partner of IndyCar, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indy 500 and the NASCAR Brickyard weekend.

With the extension, an IndyCar spokesman said NTT would become the second-longest title sponsor in series history. The longest title sponsor was PPG from 1980-97 (under the CART sanction of the Champ Car Series).

NTT replaced Verizon, which was IndyCar’s title sponsor from 2014-18 after IZOD from 2010-13.

“NTT is an excellent partner across our enterprise with strong expertise and a deep commitment to our sport,” Penske Corp. chairman and IndyCar owner Roger Penske said in a release. “From Smart Venue technology at the Racing Capital of the World to the reimagined Series mobile application, NTT is transforming the fan experience in new and innovative ways. We look forward to a bright future together.”

NTT has used artificial intelligence-enabled optical detection technology at IMS to provide information to the track’s operations and security teams, helping improve fan traffic flow and safety, the track said.

“IndyCar is a great partner for NTT Data because of our shared commitment to driving innovation, increasing sustainability and delivering amazing experiences,” NTT Data CEO Kaz Nishihata said in a release. “We also appreciate how IndyCar is so diverse, with drivers from 15 different countries, and races that range from short ovals and superspeedways to road and street courses. It’s both an incredible sport and a wonderful example for our world.”

NTT also has been instrumental in helping redesign the IndyCar app and providing more race and driver data for use in NBC Sports’ broadcasts by utilizing 140 data points from every car in the field.

“NTT is fully invested in the development and growth of our sport and has already established a terrific track record in our industry with problem-solving capabilities and access to top talent and tools,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said.

Said NTT Data Services CEO Bob Pryor: “We’re thrilled to continue our collaborations that enhance and expand the fan experience for motorsports and serve as proof points for data analytics, AI, and other innovative digital technologies. For more than a century, this racing series has pioneered innovations making driving safer for everyone, and by continuing this relationship, we will accelerate the pace of innovations and new technologies, particularly related to sustainability that ultimately can benefit organizations, communities and individuals around the world.”

Starting as a Japanese telephone company, NTT grew into a $100 billion-plus tech services giant with U.S. operations based in Plano, Texas.