Denny Hamlin is widely considered to be one of the greatest NASCAR drivers ever, despite not having won a championship. A big reason for this is the longevity he has displayed at the top level of the sport. At 45 years old, he is still actively competing for wins in the Cup Series and being a thorn in the side of the younger drivers.
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Usually, the performances of drivers like him wane with age. But he has cracked the code and found a way to stay relevant. It was around 2019 that data analytics became a big part of driver strategy. Teams shared data amongst themselves, and this gave Hamlin a chance to learn from other drivers. He identified his weaknesses and turned them into strengths.
The outcome of that is how he has been performing since 2019. In the summer of that year, Kyle Busch had 22 Cup Series wins more than him. Fast forward to 2026, and that gap has reduced to just two wins. Asked about this at Las Vegas last weekend, Hamlin spoke about how important data analytics has been in his late push.
“When we started sharing data and stuff like that, while it was negative because my information got out, it was also a positive at some racetracks where I wasn’t very good,” he said. “It was a double-edged sword. I think that I really embraced. ‘Okay, here are the tools I got to identify my weaknesses, now what am I going to do?”
Before data began playing such an important role, drivers had to physically go to other garages and talk to fellow competitors with the hope that they would teach them a thing or two. It wasn’t a reliable way to fix mistakes. The landscape changed, and some clever ones like Hamlin took advantage.
Mark Martin is one of the sport’s old guard. Even he is thoroughly impressed with Hamlin. He said during a media availability this week, “I don’t care what car he drove, you look at his numbers, and it’s some of the greatest ever, and I appreciate that he can win a race at 45 because most winners can’t win races at 45. It’s pretty damn cool.”
Martin kept racing even after he was 50 years old. So, he knows just how difficult it is for aging drivers to sustain at this level. A championship at this age would truly epitomize Hamlin as a legend, and there’s nothing to say he can’t go out there and win it this season.
