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Dale Earnhardt Jr. Reveals “Cold Hard Truth” Behind What Is Left in the Tank for Denny Hamlin

Gowtham Ramalingam
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Denny Hamlin

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (L) and Denny Hamlin (R) | Image credit: Imagn

Denny Hamlin won the 57th race of his NASCAR Cup Series career at Michigan on Sunday. It brought him another step closer to 60 wins and put him right on the brink of breaking into the top 10 on the all-time wins list. While this is an undeniably optimistic situation, there’s a darker, more emotional side to it.

Hamlin’s race in Michigan was his 701st start. The driver who won the most after making 700 starts is Richard Petty (22). Next to him are Kevin Harvick (7) and Jeff Gordon (6). Only 10 drivers in Cup Series history have won a race after making 700 starts and Hamlin is the tenth of them. Dale Earnhardt Jr. explained why this is a concern on Dale Jr. Download.

From Junior’s point of view, Hamlin may only win a few more races from here on. That means his long and illustrious career is coming to an end. He said, “You know, 57 races. And he’s sitting here right now. Right out in front of him is only six more trips to Victory Lane. Damn. That’s a cold hard truth. The end is near, brother.”

He also said that simply being aware of this would be emotionally tough for Hamlin, even if he doesn’t admit it. Junior expressed how deeply sentimental it is to watch an athlete’s entire career from their debut to their retirement and realize that you have been following them through it all.
The number of wins that Hamlin can secure from here on can only be speculated. After all, not many expected him to win three races this early in the season. But regardless of how many more wins he collects, one has to admit that the end is near for him. It is a matter of how high he sets the benchmark before retirement comes calling.

Why missed wins bother Hamlin now more than ever

Hamlin is surely aware that he has limited shots left in his gun. This is why he gets highly frustrated when he misses out on race wins by narrow margins.

Junior said, “I was thinking about it the other day. He had a race somewhere where he should have won. He ran second or third. He said, ‘Oh I’m really more bothered by that today than I would have been when I was in my 20s or 30s.’

“And I was thinking man you’ve done so much and you’ve won all these races. Why would you get so bothered by having a race slip out of your fingertips?”

The reason for that, again, is the awareness that now his runway is short. For now, Hamlin is running well enough to win races. But the sand in the hourglass is running out and Junior warns the racing community of that reality.

Post Edited By:Abhishek Ramesh

About the author

Gowtham Ramalingam

Gowtham Ramalingam

Gowtham is a NASCAR journalist at The SportsRush. Though his affinity for racing stems from Formula 1, he found himself drawn to NASCAR's unparalleled excitement over the years. As a result he has shared his insights and observations by authoring over 350 articles on the sport. An avid fiction writer, you can find him lost in imaginary worlds when he is not immersed in racing. He hopes to continue savoring the thrill of every lap and race together with his readers for as long as he can.

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