Richard Petty Has an Answer for Denny Hamlin’s Unending NASCAR Nightmare

For the better part of the playoffs, it seemed what Denny Hamlin said about this season being their season, that in 2023 he might just win his first-ever NASCAR Cup title, could come true. They were running strong week in and week out and looked like an absolute lock for the final 4 in Phoenix.

However, heading into the last playoff race at Martinsville, Hamlin’s situation has changed drastically. The #11 driver finds himself below the cutline, on the verge of a shocking exit, with his own prophecy on the verge of turning out to be a shattered dream. So what went wrong?

This was something that was recently pointed out by the legendary Richard Petty.

Richard Petty assesses the recent playoff woes of Denny Hamlin

During a recent Q&A session, Petty described what has gone wrong with Denny Hamlin’s playoff campaign and what he can do better to recover. “He needs to improve his finishing in order for him to win a championship,” Petty said.

“If you look back at the last 3 or 4 races, he’s probably been as dominant of car that’s been out there. His luck just hasn’t been with him where he was able to finish off the races and just like Sunday, he had a little bit of different strategy than everybody and it was working for him and something broke on the car because he’s not the kind of a driver that’s gonna lose the car like that.”

Q1: Where do you guys think @dennyhamlin needs to improve to be able to clinch a championship?

Question via Facebook user, AJ Marsh

You can have Richard Petty & Dale Inman answer your question by replying to our social media posts after every race. pic.twitter.com/my8EonjCSb

— Richard Petty (@therichardpetty) October 24, 2023

A lot has changed for Denny Hamlin in just over a month

After his win at Bristol last weekend, Denny Hamlin emphasized further on his claim about this year being their year. He wrote, “It’s our year,” on his social media, then further described how he feels about 2023 being different for him.

“Certainly this year is different. I told you guys before the playoffs started, this year just feels different with the capabilities of our team and the speed we’re showing,” he said as per AP News.

It’s our year. pic.twitter.com/ABCd8TB04B

— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) September 17, 2023

However, the way things are going for him now, Hamlin’s claim may not turn into reality after all. In fact, you wouldn’t think he’d take accountability for his own words in this regard. But then again, if he and his team can fix their issues at Martinsville, who knows?

This might just be Hamlin’s year then.