Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing is among the most gifted racers of our generation. Throughout his career, he has won more than 50 Cup races, making him the most successful racer who has never won a championship. Since making his full-time debut in 2007, Hamlin has competed in the playoff era throughout his career, and he doesn’t like the changes that have occurred over the past 20 years.
The way the championship is now structured, drivers who can produce clutch runs in the final 10 races of the season are rewarded more highly than those who have been dominating the entire year. It’s not the ideal method to decide the entire championship based only on a season finale signal race. Recently, Denny Hamlin gave an explanation for his distaste for the current structure.
The co-owner of 23XI Racing made the observation that the driver with the best luck in the most recent race typically wins the championship. The previous season was the best illustration of clutch performance combined with good fortune to win a championship, as Ryan Blaney finished on top four times to support Team Penske in their ongoing dominance of the Next-Gen era.
It’s not something I adore. I don’t love it when it comes down to just one race since racing is a lucky sport. And it’s not—people use the term “luck” extremely loosely. Frank the Tanks Fleming told Denny Hamlin.
Denny Hamlin argues against having a single race decider for the championship.
The JGR driver went on to say that, in contrast to team games in the playoffs, races shouldn’t be determined in a single event. He emphasized how, in contrast to team sports, NASCAR features thirty-three racers vying for the top spot, all of whom have the ability to wreck a day for championship candidates.
In contrast, when you play in a championship match in any other sport, your team plays against another team one-on-one. In NASCAR, the difference is one vs three. However, there are 33 other guys that have the ability to ruin your entire day. stated Denny Hamlin.
For a considerable amount of time, both drivers and fans have been requesting that NASCAR alter the playoff structure. Denny Hamlin has often requested that the season finale be reduced to a three-race round rather than a single race. However, it appears that the sport’s present priorities don’t include modifying the current format.