Denny Hamlin is in a precarious position chasing his dream of winning his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series championship. On the driver side of things at JGR, he is indeed up for the task, but as a team owner at 23XI Racing, he’s gotten involved in a public spat with NASCAR. After declining to sign the charter agreement, 23XI along with FRM have filed an anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR.

Now it is hard to guess if this stance of defiance will have any ripple effect on Hamlin’s hunt for championship. But what if we tell you that NASCAR and Hamlin wouldn’t mind sharing the podium after his hypothetical championship? It is indeed hard to imagine the top brass from NASCAR felicitating the veteran driver, but Steve Phelps wouldn’t mind handing the silverware to Hamlin.

Denny Hamlin doesn’t need any extra motivation to win the championship

Will this be the year when Hamlin finally wins his first NASCAR championship? This is a question that often does rounds among the racing community. A section of fans discuss this topic with optimism, while others use this to make the mockery and fun of the driver. However, 2024 could just be the year where things finally work out in his favor.

The Gen-7 era hasn’t been too kind to the JGR driver. Despite winning multiple races in the regular season, he seemed to stumble at the final hurdle. In 2022, he was out-smarted by Ross Chastain’s hail-melon move at Martinsville, which saw him miss out on the Championship 4 race. Whereas, in 2023, his #11 Toyota Camry ran into mechanical failures at Miami Homestead, and this was enough to derail Hamlin’s championship pursuit.

Now 2024 hasn’t been all great for the #11 team. They incurred a hefty L2 engine penalty all because of Toyota’s muck-up, and they were questioned on their tactics in the playoffs that nearly had them worried. But they managed to survive the onslaught and have reached the Round of 8, but for Hamlin as a team owner, he is at loggerheads with NASCAR over the charter dispute. One that has reached the courts.

A championship victory would indeed taste sweet given the turmoil and pressure Hamlin has had to go through this season. But surprisingly, NASCAR President Steve Phelps is all optimistic. “.@dennyhamlin said it would be extra special to win the championship this year and to have Steve Phelps help him lift the championship trophy in Phoenix with the lawsuit occurring. According to Hamlin, Phelps told him he’d be happy to do it.” Dalton Hopkins from FrontStretch shared this on X.

Now that Denny Hamlin has managed to clear the obstacle of the challenging schedule in the playoffs, he is optimistic about his chances in the Round of 8.

Hamlin is glad that he made it past the first two playoff rounds

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Now Hamlin isn’t a big fan of cramming non-traditional events in the playoffs. NASCAR had two superspeedway configuration races and two road course races in the stretch of the first six races in the knockout phase. But, having cleared that hurdle, Hamlin is now looking forward to the stretch of three races in the Round of 8. Moreover, we can say he’s endured his fair share of bad luck this year, so he should be able to see this round out.

“I’m 43 years old; there’s a point where there’s diminishing returns on time and effort I spend to get better on road courses. Now if it’s going to continue to be a big part of crowing a champion, then I’ve got to do what I got to do. But now, that’s why I’m overjoyed; yes, I’m still in it, and now we’re going back to traditional NASCAR racing. We made it, and now sky’s the limit.” The JGR driver said this on Action’s detrimental podcast.

Speaking about hitting his strides with traditional ovals, Denny Hamlin will start the Las Vegas race in the second row in P4 after a solid qualifying run.