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“I was a little on the plan of Denny Hamlin, but they fell … a lot.” (at 6:34)
“I was on Team Denny for a while. I thought this was the guy who won all these races, which was finally the year. In the last seven races, he finished an average of 23rd,” added Rice. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Hamlin has 54 Cup Series wins in a career spanning more than two decades, including three victories in the Daytona 500. However, he has yet to win a Cup Series championship. Alan Cavanna, PRN’s other co-host, thought things “will be fine” once drivers and teams enter the 2024 playoffs. “I mean, I can sell my Denny’s team jersey here very soon. Let’s see what he does now, he can go out and crush the field in Richmond. He’s very good on short tracks.” (in 7:3)
NASCAR returns to Richmond Raceway after a two-week hiatus for the 2024 Paris Olympics for the Cook Out 400 on August 11. With just four races remaining before the first round of the playoffs, Rice believes No. 11 Hamlin has had a strong run at Richmond. Showrunners also stated that performances in the four remaining regular races will affect the rest of the season for Cup drivers.
“I’ve got to take advantage now” – Denny Hamlin on the urgency to win the championship. NASCAR veteran Denny Hamlin is one of the most successful drivers of the modern NASCAR era. The 43-year-old JGR driver and co-owner of 23XI Racing recently spoke about how his mindset has changed over the past two years, as he believes “the clock is ticking”. In an episode of Detrimental Actions, Hamlin spoke about his mindset and the limited opportunities he has to win the Cup Series championship. He stated: “The last two years I’ve definitely been more selfish on the race track than when I started, just because I know I have a goal and the clock is ticking. So there’s this urgency.” (at 48:16)
“I think the clock is ticking a little and that makes me say: ‘Okay, how long do I have to get there?'” So I’m going to take advantage now, so I think that’s what changed my mindset about how I’ve been driving the last few years,” added Hamlin. Hamlin is currently in 4th place overall in the Cup Series. He’s 43 points behind to the leader and rival Kyle Larson. After 22 starts, the No. 11 Toyota driver has collected three wins, eight top-fives and nine top-10s.