Denny Hamlin is keeping his head up despite a moderate start to The Chase presented by Mobil 1. After securing the regular-season championship a race before the first 26 rounds concluded, the No. 11 driver opened the postseason with an average finish of 11.7 across the first three events, placing him eighth-best among championship contenders. Even so, his team has accumulated 105 points, sitting behind only Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, and Christopher Bell.
“The [Nos.] 5, 20 and 22, those guys have been up front every week; they are reaping the benefits of running well at the right time and they’ve caught right up,” Hamlin said during a media scrum on Saturday at Kansas Speedway. “We’ve got to put the pedal to the metal.”
Across Darlington Raceway, World Wide Technology Raceway, and Bristol Motor Speedway, his best result is eighth. At the Southern 500, he led 68 laps before a tumbling pit stop at the start of the final stage dropped him into traffic. Contact from Michael McDowell sent him into the wall less than five laps after the restart, leaving him to limp home to an 18th-place finish. Another rough stop hindered him late at Gateway, though a flurry of late yellows and a double overtime allowed the No. 11 car to salvage ninth after dropping as low as 20th.
Hamlin believes the issue isn't a lack of speed in the No. 11 machine, but rather imperfect balance throughout the opening races of The Chase. “I think we will get a better indication after this week,” he noted regarding his pace, adding that struggles on restarts stem directly from balance issues rather than a true drop in speed. While he acknowledges the field improves as the year progresses, he feels his own group has advanced as well.
For the first time since Sonoma Raceway in June, Hamlin arrives at a weekend without holding the top spot in the championship standings. Earlier in the year, he went on a tear with three consecutive wins to erase a 129-point deficit to Tyler Reddick over six races. “When you’re leading, your confidence is always higher,” Hamlin explained. “When you are chasing, you are thinking, ‘I’ve got to get it.’ It’s a little different; I’m talking 5, 6%, for me personally, of leading versus not.”
The middle portion of The Chase offers a favorable stretch with three upcoming intermediate races. Earlier in the spring, Hamlin posted finishes of fourth or better at Kansas, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway, highlighted by a victory in Sin City and a defending fall race win at Kansas. He is targeting “big points days” over the next three weeks, aiming for a minimum of 50 points per race.
With practice and qualifying canceled due to weather, Hamlin will line up sixth for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400. Kansas remains one of his strongest venues, featuring eight top-five and nine top-10 finishes in his last 10 attempts, though he narrowly missed out on victory in the previous two visits after both races pushed into overtime.
