Having spent close to two decades with Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series, the hopes to secure his first-ever championship still eludes the grasp of Denny Hamlin. Throughout all of these years, he made it to the championship four races on four occasions but failed to secure the win due to one or the other unfortunate sequence of events.
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Fast forward to the current season, Hamlin has been powering through the season’s standings, locked into the third spot for the playoffs at the moment. Furthermore, he has also won two races, nabbed 9 top-5s and 12 top-10s in 26 races so far.
Looking at his on-track performance this season, the JGR veteran recently spoke about his own chances of fighting for the championship title. During the ensuing conversation, Hamlin analyzed both outcomes, regarding the reasons that could lead him to win, and what could send his chances of winning into disarray once again.
Denny Hamlin why he may win the championship this year
Talking about his championship-winning chances, Hamlin stated, “All right championship, why we will? I feel I’m better than I ever had been, I’ve got experience. I’ve got the most playoff points I’ve had in a couple years. Probably a couple of years. I think we’re coming in hot. I do, I think that we’re peaking at the right time. That gets us into the final four. The track’s layout very, very nice for us.”
The JGR veteran went on to explain how their cars had improved on the short tracks compared to the year prior, explaining, “I think that was a kind of a downside to our cars.”
He added that the JGR cars had been “very fast” on some of the intermediate tracks. However, they weren’t as good on the short tracks, with the exception of tracks like Martinsville.
He then added, “I just think that this team is ready. I think our pit crews really coming into its own. We have every piece of the puzzle together to win a championship.”
“We need some things to fall away or let’s just say not fall our way. Like I’m sorry, not go against us. Don’t have ill-timed cautions, don’t have crazy things happen. And we absolutely have a shot to win a championship. I firmly and truly believe it that we’re better than we’ve ever been.”
Hamlin explains why he may not win this year
Speaking further into the podcast, Hamlin also took the time to explain what could be the reason for him not being able to win the championship this year. He explained, “Why we won’t? Man, I’ve just been super unlucky in the course of my career.”
“I’m the black cap of death when it comes to having bad luck when at the most ill-timed things in the playoffs crazy things happening. But you can only knock on the door so much before eventually somebody opens it. This is the year someone’s going to open it.”
Whether he gets unlucky once again this season remains to be seen. In the meantime, there are several rounds of playoff eliminations to fight through. Even though, as per the current playoff points, Denny Hamlin is secured up top. But as the races progress, literally anything can happen.
Therefore, the JGR driver would have to remain at his top form throughout the remainder of the playoffs, right up till the championship four race at Phoenix.
