Despite Three Daytona 500 Wins, Why Denny Hamlin Is Down on the Great American Race

The Daytona 500 race is as big as it gets in NASCAR and nobody knows that better than 3-time winner Denny Hamlin. Driving the #11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, he won the prestigious event in 2016, 2019, and 2020. However, as the driver guns for his fourth win this year after clinching victory at the Busch Light Clash, he carries one regret on his strong shoulders.

Talking about the 500 with the press in Los Angeles, Hamlin was asked for his thoughts about the upcoming race. He answered by noting how such big events are usually scheduled at the later end of the season in other sports. He added, “The only downside is it is the first race of the season, right? And there’s no time for buildup in the sense of seeing where you’re at with the season.”

Though his experience with the media led him to clarify that he wasn’t advocating for a switch, he did emphasize that the timing of the Daytona 500 was the only negative to it. The Busch Light Clash is often considered a practice race for the Daytona 500 that ought to help with the “buildup” that Hamlin talks about, but he has never been in favor of that perspective.

He explained in an interview before last year’s 500, “I know a lot of people try to draw conclusions from that race to the Daytona 500, but when the field is cut [in] half, there’s not as much energy in the pack itself”. He continued to draw a stark line between the Clash and the Daytona 500 mentioning how teams didn’t always reveal their cards at the former and waited for the bigger event to unleash their hands.

Hamlin reveals the formula that it takes to win the Daytona 500

After 18 seasons in NASCAR, it is quite obvious that Hamlin has mastered the Daytona 500. He decodes the formula for dominating the fixture as, “It takes 33% luck, 33% of it is driver skill and the other 33% is execution, which is not making mistakes. Especially with this Next Gen car, it is so difficult to make it back to the front if you get to the back of the pack. It’s hard to get all three of those things to line up perfectly on any given day, but much less on the Daytona 500.”

Even the best of the best like Dale Earnhardt haven’t managed to get their hands on the 500 trophy multiple times owing to one of these factors not falling into place. Hopefully, Hamlin will be able to build on his incredible achievement this year and set the standard for the upcoming grand event.