Denny Hamlin Confirms Chase Elliott’s Return to the Championship Hunt With a Win Long Due

Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin had vastly differing days at Texas Motor Speedway this past Sunday. Yet somehow, these familiar rivals, found themselves tussling on the final restart before Hamlin spun himself out of podium contention to send the race into overtime. This resulted in Chase becoming the third Hendrick driver to claim a win, nine races into the 2024 season. 

Nevertheless, Elliott’s triumphant Texas advance on the #11 Toyota’s two race-wins has garnered support from the driver himself. But Hamlin realizes that in his own bid for a first Cup Series championship, Chase has emerged as the latest “championship threat.”

‘Championship threat? Absolutely!’: Denny Hamlin on Chase Elliott’s resurgence

When the green waved on the 276-lap overtime event, Denny Hamlin started from P11, while Elliott popped off from behind in the 24th spot. Their respective teammates, Ty Gibbs and pole-winner Kyle Larson, started the race from the front of the pack. The #9 Chevrolet had an amazing breakthrough through Stages 1 and 2, finding itself in the top 10 mix both times. Chase eventually earned a debut victory on an intermediate track in the NextGen car. This anecdote was brought to light by Denny on the latest release of Actions Detrimental alongside co-host Jared Allen.

The near-two-decade Cup Series veteran admitted to Elliott winning a “legitimate race,” although his woes began when Elliott’s seemed to end after a 42-race winless streak. The #11 driver also talks about “how much it helps” the #9 for his future advances. He says, “Now he’s like, ‘Okay, this is how aggressive I have to be. This is what I need out of my car for it to be fast.’ You start to understand those things and the next thing you know, these wins just start reeling off.”

Denny Hamlin then recognizes his newest challenge, while stating his reasons for this early-season acceptance. He says, “So… Absolutely I would consider them a championship threat because if you look just at the numbers, there’s two organizations right now winning all the races and that’s Hendrick and Gibbs, so if you’re a part of one of them. You should be winning.”

Chasing NASCAR’s 14-track win record?

Following Texas race week, the discussions revolved around Chase’s emphatic comeback victory, and Hamlin had some interesting conclusions to draw. According to Hamlin, when the media asked him if the Texas victory made Chase a “championship contender,” He interestingly dissected how things look from his perspective. “I thought that he’s been improving all season long. He’s fourth in the points right now. And he didn’t just appear there after this win. Like he finishes really well. Now, had he been leading laps like his teammates this season? No. He didn’t have the wins either but he’s been there. He’s been in contention.”

He reiterates his current belief in an outstanding conclusion: “He found a way to win. That’s the hard part…”

As it so happens, even before the duo finds themselves exchanging paint for a possible Bill France Cup in the probable future, the 6x MPD is inching toward Hamlin, as well as teammate Kyle Larson in a bid to break a modern-era NASCAR record of “14 consecutive victories at different tracks.” The Darlington race next month will be Elliott’s first true chance to take on the record, as he has yet to win at a track too tough to tame.