By JENNA FRYER

AP Auto Racing Writer

updated 6:38 p.m. ET Feb. 6, 2009

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Denny Hamlin was the new kid at Joe Gibbs Racing — an unknown in the shadow of defending NASCAR champion and teammate Tony Stewart — when he rolled into Daytona International Speedway for his 2006 rookie season.

He needed just two days to change that.

With a push from good buddy Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hamlin stole the victory in the non-points Budweiser Shootout to rocket into NASCAR stardom.

Four years later, he considers that victory one of the greatest accomplishments of his short career.

Only problem? In Hamlin's mind, he's done very little to back up that breakthrough win.

"That's the thing — when you have so much early success, it can be hard to fall off that mountain," Hamlin said. "If we would have come in during my rookie year and struggled a little bit, then we could have looked at the last two years and said, 'Hey, we're getting better. We're heading to where we need to be.'

"Now it just seems like we had that early success, and then we just kind of maintained over the last couple of years."

Nevermind that Hamlin has stats many drivers only dream of, winning four races and notching 59 top-10 finishes through his first three seasons. He also earned a coveted spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship all three years.

He was a career-best third in the final 2006 standings, raising expectations that he was on the verge of becoming a serious championship contender. Instead, he sunk to 12th and eighth the next two seasons and has yet to sniff a NASCAR title.

It's made Hamlin eager to correct past mistakes and make 2009 the year to remember. His bid to turn it up a notch begins Saturday night with the Shootout, the unofficial start to the season.

"I expect more from myself than that," Hamlin said of his first three years. "I've been successful at so many different levels. ... When you win one out of every four or five races or something like that, you wonder, 'Why can't that happen in the Cup Series?' What I don't like to hear is: 'You've got a lot of potential.'

"It's my fourth year. It's time to be a champion. Not a guy that contends."

His timing couldn't be better.

Stewart's 10-year run with JGR is over, leaving the organization with a huge hole to fill both on and off the track. The two-time Cup champion was the leader of the team and an experienced voice the younger drivers could turn to.

Without him, they head into this year with 23-year-old Kyle Busch and 18-year-old rookie Joey Logano — leaving the 27-year-old Hamlin to joke about his status as the team's elder statesman.

"The thing that keeps J.D. and Joe awake at night — I will be your senior driver next year," he said to team owners Joe and J.D. Gibbs during last year's season-ending awards ceremony.

At the time, he said, it was a terrifying thought.

But something has clearly shifted in Hamlin, who insists he's ready to lead.

"Denny, to me, really, really has matured," Joe Gibbs said last month.

The change likely came after his very public meltdown last August in Michigan.

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His motor failed with six laps to go, resulting in a 39th-place finish that put his berth in the Chase field in jeopardy. He publicly criticized JGR's engine department and crew, creating hard feelings among the people he depends on to give him quality race cars.

"That was a tough week," crew chief Mike Ford admitted. "We had some double throwdown and not-so-friendly meetings. The next couple of weeks were very difficult."

But it was the breakdown the team needed to move forward.

"From that, a lot of lessons have been learned all around. Communication has been better," Ford said. "Until you hit the floor and stand back up, you're not going to move anywhere and be able to share an experience."

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