Denny Hamlin Finds Himself Leading in an Unfortunate NASCAR Stat, Ahead of JGR Teammate Kyle Busch

Denny Hamlin has been enduring a rather complicated season in 2022. He has two Cup wins already, which qualify him for the Playoffs. However, if we had to look at the situation from a point’s perspective, Hamlin is well down the order in 19th place.

Aside from the wins, he only has four top 10s under his belt. In the meantime, the top two contenders, Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain, have amassed 13 Top 10s each.

Last year, Hamlin was a picture of consistency with no DNFs to his name. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said this year, as he had four DNFs in the first nine races.

To make matters worse for him, Hamlin is leading the pack in one category, penalties. So far, the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver has racked up 29 penalties.

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The closest driver to that tally is his teammate Kyle Busch, who sits on 24.

What kind of penalties has Denny Hamlin faced?

As per NASCAR statistics, all six Toyota cars feature on the list of the 17 most-penalized drivers. To make matters even worse, the list includes five former Cup Series champions as well as the defending champion himself. The two most experienced drivers also feature in the top five.

Focusing on Denny Hamlin, he has picked up penalties for a variety of reasons. Apparently, the #11 driver has 14 pitting-before-pit-road-opens penalties, as opposed to six last year. This is most likely because he was involved in 11 accidents, spins or stalls. In terms of unintentional penalties, the veteran driver has 12, tying him with Kyle Busch.

The driver will be glad to know that he only has four penalties for speeding in the pit lane. This is actually one of the most common penalties that a driver can pick up. What doesn’t help his case is that two of them came after pitting from a top-five position.

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In all, he amassed six driver penalties and seven crew penalties. The crew penalties entail illegal adjustments, equipment interference, pit crew transgressions, improper fueling, and a loose wheel. Hamlin’s work is also cut out for him because he is a driver and team owner.