Power Rankings: Down Hamlin already eyeing 2012

Denny Hamlin may not yet be out but he's sure down.
After suffering through another miserable day Sunday at Michigan that ended with a trip into the wall and a 35th-place finish in the Pure Michigan 400, Hamlin's chances of challenging for the Sprint Cup championship are bleak.
In fact, Hamlin himself says the odds of him even getting into the Chase to have a shot at the title are on life support.

"I don't know," Hamlin said, shaking his head after his dismal day in the Irish Hills. "I'm going to do everything I can -- to get better. It's tough. Trust me, it's going to be very, very tough on a realistic standpoint for us to just go out there and say, 'You know what? We'll suck it up the next three weeks.' There's more to it than that at this point. We've got to crawl first these next three races before we even think about what happens at Chicago."
Unless Hamlin can hang on to one of the two wild-card spots he currently holds, Chicago -- where the Chase begins in mid-September -- will be where his 2012 season begins.
Hamlin is at a point where he thinks that might not be the worst thing for the struggling Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 team.
"Who knows, maybe missing the Chase would be the best thing for us for next year," he said. "We could spend 10 weeks screwing around and thinking of new ways to make our cars better and not have a points race for 10 weeks.
"I want to make the Chase. Trust me. [But] missing the Chase opens the door for communication, for us to take more chances and experiment with new things and if it makes us better next year, so be it."
It's hard to believe the driver who won eight races last season and went down to the wire in the championship race with Jimmie Johnson is talking about being a spectator for this year's Chase.
But with a rash of engine problems, assorted mechanical problems and a dash of bad luck thrown in for good measure, Hamlin's 2011 has been more of a nightmare than the dream he had hoped for after last season's success.
He still holds a ticket to the big dance in the form of a wild card, and despite his pessimistic attitude on Sunday he still plans on doing whatever he can to somehow right the ship and not just make the playoffs but be a presence when the Chase begins.
"We have three weeks to get ourselves back on track," Hamlin said. "I've got to get back to doing some of the stuff I did last year that made me successful, whether it be communicating more with [crew chief] Mike [Ford], whatever that is, I'm willing to do, whether it's Mike traveling with me to and from the race track every single week, we have to do whatever we have to do to get back to that."
He had better hurry.