“That’s When I’ll Quit”: Denny Hamlin Puts His Foot Down After Cracking NASCAR Next Gen Code

The penultimate race of the regular season at Watkins Glen was dominated for large periods by William Byron, gifting the Hendrick driver his fifth win of the season. Starting from pole, Denny Hamlin finished second, giving the Joe Gibbs Racing driver his best finish on a road course in the Next Gen era. After the race, Hamlin seemed delighted with his performance in a format where he has more or less struggled in the new car.

With his final result, coupled with points leader Martin Truex Jr.’s sixth-place finish, it is still all to play for as far as the regular season championship is concerned. Heading into Daytona, Hamlin trails his teammate by 39 points, a deficit he feels he can very much cover if things go his way.

Has Denny Hamlin finally cracked the Road Course code?

After the race, Hamlin was asked about the emphasis he is putting on road courses, a format he has not performed well in the Next Gen era. The three-time Daytona 500 winner said, “I mean it’s a bigger part of our schedule now you have to, it forces you to. For us, you know, I never want to show up on a racetrack and not think I can win. That’s when I’ll quit, is when I know I can’t win. You know, I still feel like every week I show up I can.”

The #11 was yet to crack the top 10 at road courses since the 2021 season, something he was delighted to get out of the way at the Glen.

“You know I’ve been qualifying well in the Next Gen on road courses but I haven’t been able to put together an entire race of laps and I think today was the first time I did.”

Hamlin feels catching Truex Jr. is still “Doable”

The regular season championship is worth 15 extra playoff points, something that can prove pivotal in the race for the championship 4. Losing out on the final four to a freak Ross Chastain move last year, the JGR driver fully recognizes the importance of these 15 points.  Hamlin feels that covering the 39-point gap to Truex Jr. is doable, passing a cheeky reference to his penalty from earlier this season.

“I mean, it’s doable. You’ve got to have things go your way. But yeah, if we can talk NASCAR into those 25 points they took away earlier in the season, we’d really make it interesting.”

The last weekend at Daytona has plenty of storylines, with everything possible at both ends of the standings. It will be interesting to see if Hamlin resorts to a funny move on Truex Jr. like the one he pulled on Kyle Larson at Pocono if it comes down to the wire.