On the Verge of Another Heartbreak, Denny Hamlin Admits It’s “Hard to Not Get Emotional”

Is Denny Hamlin the unluckiest driver in NASCAR? Think about it, throughout his career, Hamlin has tasted several race wins, crown jewel records, and track records. But when it comes to winning the championship, the Cup title, he simply hasn’t had that luck. Because let’s face it, luck plays a big part in winning a title. And while Hamlin and his team have put together several supreme campaigns over the years, bad luck has mostly watered it all down when it matters.

This was an idea that Hamlin himself recently discussed on his podcast Actions Detrimental. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver touched upon how bad luck has plagued him in the key moments of his career days after an unfortunate wreck at Miami put his title hopes in jeopardy.

Denny Hamlin has had setbacks in the past, but he won’t give up

Speaking on his podcast, Hamlin claimed that while they are doing all the right things, year after year, crazy things happen to them. The veteran recalled the time at Martinsville when a short in his dash led to his car getting cut out until it eventually ended their day. Hamlin also mentioned the time at Talladega when a roof hatch fell off his #11 racecar. And of course, the Hail Melon move from last year.

But despite all of these things, Hamlin claimed he won’t give up. “I’m gonna just keep trying. I’m gonna let anything get me down on it. I feel like I’m putting my best effort forward every single week,” he described.

“I feel as good about our chances every single week as I’ve ever been. I do. I feel like every single week we can win. Not many teams can say that and we show up.”

Hamlin on his life’s work, and how he will approach Martinsville

Further talking on this subject, and quite vulnerably so, Denny Hamlin added how things haven’t worked in their favor in the past. “Results have shown it’s not always been in our favor as much as it’s been against us,” he said. However, that won’t stop him from trying their luck in the hope that one day it’ll come their way.

He further added, “It’s hard to not get emotional about it because this is my life’s work. This is what I push every year to try to do and accomplish. But man, I just can’t seem to get the right breaks at the right time or just not have bad things happen at the most inopportune times.”

So this leaves us with the question, one that Hamlin’s co-host also asked him later which is whether he thinks he is in a must-win situation for Martinsville. “No, I’m not,” Hamlin said as he added that he can guarantee, he will be in kill mode from the get go and treat it as a must-win nevertheless.