It is now or never for Hamlin in his pursuit of elusive Cup Series title

Denny Hamlin enters the revamped Chase format because the No. 1 seed and the favourite to win his first NASCAR Cup Sequence championship (-110, per DraftKings).

In any case, the 64-race winner — good for ninth all-time — boasts the second-most wins within the sequence (4), leads the sequence in top-fives (14) and is tied for probably the most top-10s (17). Of these 4 wins, Hamlin gained three of them consecutively for the first time in his career and in addition tacked on an All-Star Race win for good measure.

Because the Chase makes its return in Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 (5 p.m. ET, USA Community, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the top-16 drivers in the series will start the ten weeks to crown a champion, with the one who accumulates probably the most factors in these remaining races hoisting the Invoice France Cup.

Whereas the re-seeded discipline trims Hamlin’s factors lead from 89 following Daytona to simply 25 over Ryan Blaney, the title nonetheless runs by way of him if the regular season is any indication.

Denny Hamlin in prime place for first Cup Sequence title

For starters, it’s troublesome to discover a observe over the ultimate 10 weeks that Hamlin won’t be a menace at. Except for the excessive banks of Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 25, the place he solely has one top-10 end within the final 5 races, there isn’t a clear hurdle standing in Hamlin’s method, perhaps other than himself and his No. 11 crew.

Even earlier than the arrival of the playoff elimination format that was in existence from 2014-25, Hamlin has skilled a number of near-misses preventing for the championship.

In 2010, he noticed a 63-point benefit disappear within the penultimate race at Phoenix Raceway when a gasoline miscalculation necessitated a late pit cease and dropped him to twelfth within the working order, paving the way in which for Jimmie Johnson to chip away on the deficit and win his fifth consecutive title one week later at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Regardless of profitable the pole and working second with 60 laps to go within the 2019 title race, Hamlin was pressured again to pit highway after a bit of tape that his crew placed on the nostril to enhance dealing with proved to be too massive and induced the engine to overheat.

Ross Chastain’s notorious “Hail Melon” wall-ride in Turns 3-4 at Martinsville Speedway in 2022 leaped him forward of Hamlin by 4 factors to advance to the title race, whereas a sequence of misfortunes to start the Spherical of 8 in 2023 saved him eight factors from advancing.

Then there’s final season when Hamlin was three laps away from the elusive championship till William Byron blew a tire and despatched the race to extra time. On 4 tires to fellow title contender Kyle Larson’s two, Hamlin couldn’t overcome the misplaced observe place and came away empty-handed again. 

Nonetheless, with the elimination of the playoff format and a extra conventional strategy to the ultimate 10 races, there isn’t a higher alternative than now for Hamlin.

He has no less than one victory at every observe and a number of wins at eight of them. In truth, Hamlin has been so constant this season that his solely end outdoors the highest 10 at a non-drafting-style observe or highway course was an Eleventh-place end within the spring Darlington race.

With profitable even more crucial within the Chase format, all eyes can be on the top-seeded Hamlin. He has come shut so many occasions, but when he and his pit crew don’t beat themselves, the 2026 title ought to run by way of him.