It’s officially go-time for Denny Hamlin.
At the start of September, when The Chase got underway at Darlington (and Hamlin was the top-ranking seed) the consensus was that the veteran driver from Joe Gibbs Racing was in the catbird seat to FINALLY win a NASCAR Cup Series Championship.
That was six weeks ago, and, after a run-in with Michael McDowell at Darlington, a pair of so-so finishes at Gateway and Bristol, plus a self-inflicted mistake at Las Vegas, the Chesterfield, Virginia-native suddenly finds himself 49 points behind championship leader Kyle Larson.
Plus, he’s got his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe, both of whom have arguably been running better than the driver of the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE, breathing down his neck at 51 and 65 points behind Larson, respectively.
With four races remaining on the season – Phoenix, Talladega, Martinsville, and Homestead – Hamlin doesn’t believe he has to be in desperation mode, just yet, although the 45-year-old veteran of more than 750 NASCAR Cup Series starts knows it’s time to get moving when it comes to closing that gap.
“No desperation, but the gap needs to close starting now,” Hamlin said in a media availability at Phoenix on Saturday. “That’s probably pretty accurate with our position. Then just get back on our front foot. I think that you have to start by winning the day and then go from there, but, ultimately, with the races winding down, we’ve got to start chopping into this.”
There’s still time for Hamlin to make gains, too. The driver of the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE was the dominant driver last Fall at Phoenix, when it was the season finale, but fell short to Kyle Larson based on a late-race strategy call. Then, there’s the dreaded wildcard of Talladega, which has been nasty to Larson in years past.
“You don’t need to throw a ‘Hail Mary’ until the end of the game. Just have to start getting some gains. It’s something that we have to start chipping away. The time is going by and so chipping away will still get it done, but it has to start sooner rather than later,” Hamlin said. “I have not hit the panic button at all, but I can see it. I’m just not quite there yet. It starts this weekend, and if we end up with a larger deficit leaving here than what we started, we need to start pressing from this point on.”
Hamlin will take to the racetrack Saturday for NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying, where he will hope to get a good starting spot for Sunday’s Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix, happening at 3:00 PM ET on USA Sports.
