“Something I Think About Every Week” – Denny Hamlin One Win Away From NASCAR Milestone, but Also an Unwanted Record

There is little doubt that Denny Hamlin is a sure-shot NASCAR Hall of Famer. Despite not winning a Cup Series title, Hamlin’s contributions to the sport, both on and off the track, guarantee him a place among NASCAR’s elite. And ever since his win in Kansas earlier this year, Hamlin has been on the verge of another milestone, something that demonstrates Hamlin’s quality as a driver but also highlights that one glaring career miss.

Hamlin is on 49 wins currently and his 50th career win coming at Pocono would make matters even sweeter, considering he had won the race last year but had it taken away after failing post-race inspection.

Denny Hamlin is “pretty optimistic” about reaching his milestone

Ahead of Sunday’s race, Hamlin admitted that reaching half a century of race wins had been on his mind since his last win. The JGR driver said, “I don’t know how many really truly legit shots we’ve had where we had grasps on the race. We were the fastest car, and didn’t win. Certainly, there are little things here and there you can do better, but I don’t feel like since Kansas (that) we’ve had the one race that we’ve just been good enough to win and didn’t win. So, I think it hasn’t gotten frustrating quite yet.”

Hamlin does indeed think about the moment, and wants to get it out of the way as soon as possible, saying, “It’s something I think about every week and something that I’m pretty optimistic every seven days I’ve got a shot (to do).”

Denny Hamlin will be the holder of an unwanted record after his 50th win

When Hamlin does indeed get his 50th win, not only will he become one of only 15 drivers with 50 wins at the Cup level, but unfortunately, he will also become the only one on that list who has zero championships to show for it. To be noted, Junior Johnson, who is also on 50 career wins, does not have a championship either, but he rarely competed in a full-time capacity.

Among full-time drivers, the next driver on the list is Mark Martin, who finished runner-up four times, before finally retiring with 40 wins to his name. Hamlin is currently tied with Tony Stewart on 49 wins, with the latter having three Cup Series championships to his name. All said and done, getting his 50th career Cup win will be an incredible achievement for Hamlin.

But he will certainly want to remove himself from the list of one of the greatest NASCAR drivers to retire without winning the final prize.