The 19th attempt is also going awry. Denny Hamlin, the No. 11 Toyota driver of Joe Gibbs Racing, was seeking to snap that two-decade drab streak. Holding 3 wins, 11 top-fives, and 17 top-tens this season, Hamlin was hopeful. He even overcame numerous hurdles – like retaining his playoff spot with a good Bristol run. However, recent incidents have brought an axe down on his hopes.

Martinsville Speedway is supposed to be Denny Hamlin’s home turf. He is the strongest at the 0.526-mile short track among active drivers, holding five victories. Yet Hamlin’s last Paperclip win came in 2015, way before the Next-Gen car debuted. Throw in a practice disaster and you have got a solid recipe for almost nullified championship hopes, as Hamlin agreed.

Denny Hamlin admits to having a dwindling run

Unfortunate issues have plagued the No. 11 Toyota team throughout 2024. For instance, NASCAR slapped the L2 penalty on it for disassembling and rebuilding the car engine before presenting it for post-race inspection after Denny Hamlin won in Bristol. The news came mid-August, depriving the team of 75 points in the regular season and 10 playoff points. As if that was not enough, Hamlin faced a slew of playoff problems, the latest coming at Martinsville practice. Despite having one of the fastest cars, Hamlin crashed in Turn 3. Not only did that relegate him to the back of the field, but it also gave him the last pick of pit stalls for the upcoming Martinsville race.

So Denny Hamlin cannot help but be pessimistic right now. In a pre-race interview for the Xfinity 500, Hamlin at first reflected on the delayed penalty from the Bristol mishap. “Yeah, it’s certainly a factor. But nothing to do about it, you gotta race from where the ball lies. So we got to go here and win. That’s what we’ll try to do.” According to the NASCAR Cup Series playoff forecast, this incident gives Hamlin just a 13% probability of making his fifth career Championship 4 appearance. Hamlin himself had given an ominous warning when the penalty came three months ago. “Just a huge swing for us… and we know that these cutlines come down to the number, (it) always does.”

Now in Martinsville, that omen that slipped from his own lips has robbed Denny Hamlin’s optimism. He dejectedly admitted that winning on points is no longer a possibility. “I think that it’s all straightforward, right? …Unless someone stubs your toe, I just don’t think that there’s an opportunity to gain that many points. I mean, there is…Certainly, some strategies can get flipped on restarts, things like that. You just never know. But for the last handful of races, I’ve not wanted to know anything about the points. Just let me get the best finish that I can and that’s what we’ll do this week.” 

Yet just two weeks ago, Denny Hamlin was looking forward to teaching NASCAR a lesson.

Hamlin had two objectives

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Well, the first is obviously breaking his 19-year-long championship-less streak. It is about time that the 53-time Cup Series veteran etched his name on the title winners’ block. Secondly, Denny Hamlin is on a mission at present. Being at the helm of the NASCAR lawsuit with Michael Jordan and Bob Jenkins, he is seeking to revolutionize his beloved sport. For that, Hamlin is battling the upper echelons of NASCAR, which has maintained a monopoly over racing for the past 76 years. So if the JGR driver achieved his coveted championship title amidst the courtroom drama, it would have been a mighty treat for him and his fans. Imagine receiving the Bill France trophy from the very entity you are battling legally!

Denny Hamlin admitted to striving for just such a scenario, just after gambling on fuel mileage to finish 8th at Las Vegas. “Yeah, I would like to have that problem, truthfully (laughter),” said Hamlin after the race. “I always say if you have an issue, you cross that bridge when you get there, but it is a problem that I would love to have, but I would understand the responsibilities of a champion and certainly, knowing what I’m representing, I think I would be able to do a good job of separating the two.” Yet Hamlin’s hopes for a guilty pleasure seem to be melting away. He will be starting from the rear – the deepest a Martinsville winner has ever started is 36th by Kurt Busch in October 2002.

Now, let us wait till Martinsville and see how things pan out.