Both outspoken and never shying away from speaking their mind, Kyle Petty and Denny Hamlin have a long and spicy history. This weekend, the JGR driver’s association with the Petty name had a positive tinge though, as the win at Dover took him to 54 wins in the NASCAR Cup Series, tying him with Kyle’s grandfather, Lee Petty. The NASCAR analyst spoke highly about Hamlin, who he firmly believes is the best driver of his generation and “will be a Top-10 guy”, insinuating that by the time he retires, he would have crossed Kevin Harvick’s tally of 60 wins.
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Petty, who has warmed up to Denny Hamlin in recent times, expressed that when he started, the #11 driver had just two things – talent and speed. Over the years, he has refined himself as a driver who, Petty believes, “..taken that talent and he’s become that guy that has that magic bag of tricks; he can start anywhere, anytime and make something happen in those last five or six laps of the race.”
“If we look at the guys that started at the same time, Martin Truex, same year, he has 20 more wins than Martin Truex,” the veteran added. Interestingly, Truex has one Cup title while Hamlin has none, pretty much the only knock against the three-time Daytona 500 winner.
The 23XI owner has maintained that if given the choice between having 60 wins with no titles and 20 wins with a Cup title, he would take the former, something he reiterated to the media after Dover.
Can Hamlin realistically cross Kevin Harvick’s tally of 60 wins?
Now to Petty’s claim, Hamlin sits 12th all-time, one win behind Rusty Wallace and six wins behind Kevin Harvick, who occupies the 10th place. To displace the Closer and enter the top-10, Hamlin needs seven wins.
Over the last five years, Hamlin is averaging just over three wins per season. Incredibly, he has three wins already in the first 11 races in 2024. Assuming he does not have a single win in the remaining 25 races (highly unlikely), he will end the year at 54 wins.
At the same rate, he needs just two more seasons to cross Harvick. Considering he is 43, it is a safe assumption that there are atleast three more seasons left for Hamlin in the Cup Series. In all probability, Hamlin will end up in the top-10 on the all-time list. Then the conversation can shift to Hamlin crossing long-time JGR teammate Kyle Busch, who has 63 wins, on the list.
