If you tout Denny Hamlin as a favorite to win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship this season, don’t expect the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs racing Toyota to contradict you.
“We certainly have a great shot,” Hamlin said on Saturday at Darlington Raceway, site of Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 (6 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). “I like our chances each and every weekend against anyone.”
Recent results back up that assertion. Hamlin picked up his fourth victory of the season Aug. 17 at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he passed Matt DiBenedetto with 11 laps left and pulled away for the win. Hamlin has accumulated 23 Playoff points so far, tied for second in the series with Joe Gibbs racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. and six behind leader Kyle Busch, another teammate.
“We won’t have as many points at Kyle, unless we win the next two races, but we’ll be close,” Hamlin said. “Certainly, closer than we’ve ever been as far as Playoff points are concerned. That’s obviously very crucial to get you past those first couple rounds, if you have a bad race.”
Hamlin hasn’t had many bad races recently. He’s riding a string of six straight top-five finishes that includes victories at Pocono and Bristol. Consequently, winning the next two events isn’t that far-fetched, especially considering his record at Darlington, where Hamlin has two Cup victories and an average finishing position of 6.2—not to mention five wins and nine top fives in 11 NASCAR Xfinity starts.
“I want to win as many races I can, especially after not winning any last year,” Hamlin said. “We want to take advantage of every single opportunity we can to win, and certainly over the last eight weeks, when you look at what we consider our best finishing-position potential, it’s all been a string of ‘1s’. I think certainly we want to capitalize on every single one.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
- Hamlin: ‘We just couldn’t get it going’ - April 14, 2024
- Finally: Chase Elliott wins at Texas in a double overtime finish - April 14, 2024
- Photos: NASCAR at Texas Motor Speedway Sunday April 14, 2024 - April 14, 2024