As per his own admission, Denny Hamlin feels this might finally be his year. And why not? The JGR driver has three wins and has been one of the most consistent drivers this season. The sentiment that this is Hamlin‘s year to grab his first Cup Series title is also shared by NASCAR driver and analyst Parker Kligerman, who insisted this week that despite everything still left to play for, the #11 team is still the frontrunner to take the title at Pheonix.
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Appearing on the Motorsports on NBC podcast, Kligerman doubled down on his earlier stand that come November, it will be the 23XI cio-owner who will take home the Cup Series championship after coming close several times before in his career.
Kligerman feels Denny Hamlin has the best team in NASCAR
Hamlin started the playoffs in blistering fashion, with three top-5s and one win at Bristol in the first five races, establishing him as one of the frontrunners for the final four along with HMS duo William Byron and Kyle Larson.
“I think this #11 team is probably the top race team in all of NASCAR right now in a lot of ways from top to bottom. They just execute such a high level. I have such a respect for this race team and what I see them talk about and what they sort of look at and how they think about the sport differently, throughout everything they do basically,” Kligerman said.
Kligerman maintains that even though every year seems to be Hamlin’s year, down to the fact that he always finds a way to stay in contention late into the season, 2023 has a different feel to it.
“I believe though that this is the year that they get it done,” Kligerman added.
Denny Hamlin has no need to panic even if Homestead is not a good race
This weekend Hamlin enters Homestead just two points above the cut-line, meaning he needs an excellent result to keep his head above the water before the all-important Martinsville race. But Kligerman does not feel this week is a do-or-die scenario yet for Hamlin.
“I think this weekend could be a quieter weekend for them but that doesn’t worry me knowing they have Martinsville coming up. I think the #11 team definitely finds himself going for a championship,” the driver concluded.
In the last 4 seasons, the #11 driver has made the Final Four three times, and considering his record at Martinsville, where he has 5 wins over his career, Hamlin still looks to be in a strong position to fight for the title in Phoenix.
