Another weekend, another trophy for Chase Briscoe, who drove the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway for his second consecutive triumph in The Chase presented by Mobil 1. But while Briscoe and teammate Christopher Bell show serious speed, the big question facing the Joe Gibbs Racing garage is about a different driver entirely: Denny Hamlin.
Now six races deep into the 2026 postseason, the 64-time Cup Series victor and No. 1 overall seed still hasn't found Victory Lane. So, what is actually standing between Hamlin and a win? Our insiders broke it down.
Zach Sturniolo points the finger squarely at the No. 11 team itself, highlighting mistakes on pit road and errors on the track. The postseason opened at Darlington Raceway with Hamlin leading 68 laps before a slow pit stop dropped him midpack and into the wall, resulting in an 18th-place finish. At Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a decision to pit from the lead allowed championship points leader Kyle Larson to take the wave-around, and Hamlin later spun trying to make up ground. Top fives at Kansas and Charlotte were solid, but simply lacked the winning pace shown by his teammates.
Pat DeCola sees the 49-point deficit as the ultimate hurdle, especially given *when* it accumulated. Hamlin squandered his pre-Chase points buffer right away, then hit a three-race stretch of 1.5-mile tracks—his greatest strength this season—and emerged in a deeper hole. With the schedule's best opportunities behind him, the pressure is dialed up to 11, raising the risk of even more mistakes on track and on pit road.
Dustin Albino points out that in-race execution has been a major dagger, with Hamlin consistently surrendering points. Larson alone has outscored him by 104 points over the six-race stretch, and Hamlin now has to fend off teammates Bell and Briscoe. Still, a four-month winless drought could end at any moment, though surviving Talladega remains a wild card.
Cameron Richardson compares Hamlin's postseason shortcomings to the NFL's Buffalo Bills and NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs, citing unforced errors from both driver and crew. Pitting at Las Vegas while Larson was a lap down might just be the gaffe that costs him a golden opportunity. Hamlin's results are good, but he lacks the wins that Larson, Bell, and Briscoe have found.
Meanwhile, Zack Albert takes a different view, arguing that nothing is truly blockading the No. 11 team. Momentum in stock-car racing rides in waves—as seen in Tyler Reddick's 2026 campaign—and Hamlin's upcoming races will be held at venues where he has won multiple times. Breaking that postseason shutout, in his view, seems inevitable.
