Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 ending with 249 laps was detrimental to more than just Kyle Larson. Joe Gibbs Racing superstar Denny Hamlin was on a streak of leading 17 consecutive Cup Series races going to Charlotte. The storm that hit the track broke this chain which began last fall in Las Vegas. Notably, Hamlin is the only driver with more than 600 starts to lead 17 or more consecutive races.
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Responding to a post that put up this stat on X, Hamlin wrote that he had just run out of time to make it an 18-race streak. He was handed a fifth-place finish after the race was called due to challenges in drying the track. While he has already secured multiple wins this season and fixed his playoff spot, his goal right now is to create further records and collect as many playoff points as possible.
Ran out of time for 18
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) May 30, 2024
With that in hindsight, can he begin a fresh leading streak in the next Cup Series which is scheduled to run at the Gateway Motorsports Park in Illinois? Hamlin’s past in the 1.25-mile World Wide Technology Raceway is as extreme as it gets. In the oval’s first Cup Series race in 2022, he finished in 34th place. He followed that up with a runner-up finish in 2023.
Last year’s race was a remarkable one in that it took multiple red flags, lightning delays, and an overtime for the race winner Kyle Busch to hold off a speeding Hamlin. According to numbers from DraftKings Sportsbook, Hamlin is the current favorite to emerge as the winner with opening odds of 11-2. Quick on his heels is Kyle Larson with odds of 6-1.
Denny Hamlin has got momentum on his side heading to Illinois
Kyle Larson’s mishap last Sunday came in handy for Hamlin as took his position at the top of the points table. He has turned in four straight top-five performances from behind the wheel of the #11 Toyota Camry XSE and looks set to continue on the path. He is currently the best in average running position, on restarts, in driver ratings, in green flag speed, and other statistics.
Talking about his chances he told the press, “I feel like it’s a good track for us. We were really strong last year and stayed in the top five all day. It’s just going to be super important to unload strong and get a good qualifying spot and a good pit stall to have a shot on Sunday.”
