CONCORD -- Denny Hamlin can laugh about it now.

NASCAR's points leader didn't find the whole thing quite so humorous a couple of months ago when last the Sprint Cup series visited New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

But the driver dealt with a tough situation and a bit of costly miscommunication in a way he might not have in the past and that, in part, gives Hamlin a bunch of confidence going into next week's Sylvania 300 in Loudon.

The 10-race Chase to the Sprint Cup Championship begins this afternoon with the Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Race 2 is next week at NHMS.

Hamlin likes his chances. At New Hampshire. And for a championship.

“In my eyes, we're primed for a championship run,” Hamlin said during a promotional appearance in Concord on Tuesday. “There's no weak link to our team right now and really there's nothing that should hold us back. Gosh, our cars are running real good right now and I feel like we've got everything kind of clicking. Me and Darian's relationship is getting better and obviously it's showing up on the racetrack.”

Darian is Darian Grubb, the crew chief who won the Sprint Cup championship last year while calling the shots for Tony Stewart. Stewart announced before the title run, though, that Grubb was going to be replaced after the season.

In the offseason, Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing recruited Grubb to come over to their side.

Now, the crew chief is a major reason that Hamlin's confidence is soaring.

Part of the growth of their relationship was the direct result of miscommunication at NHMS in July.

Hamlin appeared to be in control of the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 with just over 60 laps to go as they prepared for a pit stop. Both wanted to change two tires and maintain their position on the track, rather than take more time to take four tires and give up valuable track position.

Grubb told Hamlin they would take two tires.

“I said OK, I just need tires,” Hamlin said. “He thought I was talking him into four. That was him not knowing me and me not knowing him.”

They went with the four and Hamlin lost track position and got shuffled back in the field. He charged back towards the front, but was not quite able to get there and finished second to Kasey Kahne.

He and Grubb have improved their communication considerably in the weeks since, Hamlin said.

“We're clear on what we want to do,” he said.

Then he laughed. “Especially when we get back in that situation in New Hampshire. We're taking two.”

The other part of the equation was how Hamlin dealt with the situation on the track that day at NHMS.

“Normally I would have just been going bananas inside the car, but I was pretty composed,” Hamlin said. “I felt like we nearly still won the race. A few years ago I probably would have taken it a little differently and let it both me and then raced differently because of it.”

Hamlin and the team moved on won at Bristol and then Atlanta, giving him a series high four wins and putting him on top of the standings — by three points over Jimmie Johnson, Stewart and Brad Keselowski — as the Chase begins.

Now it's a matter of staying there.

In 2010, Hamlin had a decent-sized lead in points on Johnson with two races remaining and was unable to hold him off and Johnson won his fifth straight Sprint Cup title.

Hamlin is ready to take another shot at his first.

He's looking for big things at NHMS, based on how the July race went, and down the road would love nothing better to be within striking distance of a championship when the Chase wraps up in Homestead,Fla, on Nov. 18, which happens to be his 32nd birthday.

“This year I just hope I have the same opportunity to kind of redeem ourselves as a team because I think we really gave one away as much as Jimmie won it,” he said. “Maybe I needed to go through those hard times to hopefully get to these good times this year.”

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Hamlin visited with the New Hampshire National Guard's 169th Med-Evacuation unit on Tuesday, did a question and answer session with fans and also stopped by a polling place on Election Day when he was in town.

The 169th is due to deploy to Afghanistan on Sept. 29. Members of the unit and their families will be the guests of Jerry Gappens, executive vice president and general manager at NHMS, for the Sylvania 300.

Hamlin said the plan is for him to get together with them again in Victory Lane.

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Frank Stoddard, the Sprint Cup owner out of North Haverhill, has added another layer to the local-guys-make-good story he's putting together for next weekend at the Sylvania 300.

Mike Olsen, Stoddard's buddy growing up, will drive a Sprint car for the first time when he pilots Stoddard's No. 32 Ford in Sunday's race.

Last week, Stoddard announced that North Country Ford of Lancaster is coming along for the ride, too, as a sponsor of the FAS Lane Racing car for the race.

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Chase driver Matt Kenseth will take part in a question and answer session during Thursday night's free FanFest at NHMS. FanFest starts at 5:30 p.m. and also includes a Sprint Cup hauler parade and concert at 9 p.m. by country singer Jamie Lee Thurston, a Vermont native.

Sprint Cup pole qualifying is on Friday afternoon and there will be Cup practice on Saturday.

The F.W. Webb 100 NASCAR Whelen Modified at 12:15, the G-Oil 100 K&N Pro Series East at 2:30 and the Bond Auto Parts ACT Invitational at 4:30 will all be raced on Saturday.

A Travis Tritt concert is part of the pre-race entertainment on Sunday. The Sylvania 300 is scheduled for 2 p.m.

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Allen Lessels may be reached at alessels@unionleader.com.