Denny Hamlin seems to be feeling good about his chances of making a run in the 2025 NASCAR playoffs. On the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin was asked if he could win at any of the playoff tracks other than the Charlotte Roval and Talladega.
“Absolutely,” Hamlin said. “My goals remain the same. I like to win a couple more races before the end of the season. Whenever they are, they are. If they advance me, they advance me. I’d like to win a couple more races. That’s the goal. Let’s get to 60 this year.”
Based on where Denny Hamlin is in he playoff standings, he can do more than just win a couple of races. But if he does that, he will likely be competing in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race in November. The one thing Hamlin hasn’t done in his Hall of Fame career is win a Cup Series title, and he knows navigating through the playoffs successfully will be challenging.
Denny Hamlin wants a big change with the NASCAR playoffs
“It’s all fluid,” Hamlin said about the NASCAR playoffs. “Every three races, we reset the scoreboard. I don’t know. Let’s just win races. The playoffs are the playoffs. We got 10 more. Let’s just keep going.”
Hamlin has reached the championship race four times in his career, and his best finish was third in 2014 and 2021. In 2010, Hamlin finished second in the final standings, while Jimmie Johnson finished first and won his fifth Cup Series title.
In July, Hamlin spoke to Dale Earnhardt Jr. about wanting the championship race to be changed into a round format. “I think that would reward the better champion,” Hamlin said on Dale Jr. Download. “Not that there’s been a champion that’s not been deserving, but it’s certainly the bigger the sample size that you give it’s going to be more indicative of your top drivers that perform week in, week out like you talk about. Not just one particular week.”
“I certainly would be in favor of a championship round,” he continued. “You have all the other rounds, why not a championship round? I think there’s enough compelling stories that TV could make it work.”
