During a recent episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast, an interesting discussion regarding Denny Hamlin and his role in NASCAR took place. It all began with the question of will Hamlin have another shot at having a championship run. After all, he is 42 now. The guest on the show, journalist Jeff Gluck, mentioned the research of David Smith from RFK Racing that concluded that a driver’s peak age is 39.
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And while it doesn’t mean it’s all downhill from there, there comes a point when the curve begins to fall instead of rising or being constant. Having said that, Gluck claimed there were obviously exceptions, such as Mark Martin, to which spotter Brett Griffin agreed and added, “Denny Hamlin, 3 wins this year, 51 in his career, 3 Daytona 500s, future Hall of Famer, doesn’t have the championship, has two more chances at it we think.”
“Can he stay healthy? Can he be fast? Can he win races? Can he make it even into the playoffs not to mention into the final 4? It’s part of what makes this sport great,” Griffin described.
“I think Denny is great for the sport, his podcast is good for the sport, his performance is good for the sport. Solid team behind him. At some point, he’s gonna get too old to go out and compete at the level that he competes.”
NASCAR needs people like Denny Hamlin for it’s own good
Yes, Denny Hamlin is one of the best drivers and has been for the last decade in the Cup Series. But there’s one other role he has in the sport that proves how much he is needed in NASCAR, a role Brett Griffin also pointed to. “Denny Hamlin, whether you like him or not, is a needle mover,” he said.
“We need more needle movers in this sport in both directions. We have Chase Elliott, big-time needle mover. We have Denny Hamlin, the opposite spectrum, big-time needle mover.”
Griffin pointed to the curious case of Kyle Busch, how he went to RCR this year, won 3 races, looked like he would be a needle mover this year, but didn’t turn out to be. “He’s not pulling at my emotions. He is not making me happy. He is not making me mad. He’s not doing either one. He has become just a normal guy, like Harvick became,” he claimed. The spotter concluded that Kevin Harvick used to be a big needle mover, but he isn’t anymore even though he has a big fanbase.
As for what’s in store for Denny Hamlin, be it his role in NASCAR or his bid for the elusive championship, it’s clear that he has a lot to offer and a long way to go. But then again, it won’t be that long for obvious reasons.
