Denny Hamlin simply can’t catch a break in the playoffs, can he?

The No. 11 was involved in not one but two wrecks at Watkins Glen International, which has caused a severe dent in his championship hopes after just a couple of postseason races. The 43-year-old finds himself in a precarious position ahead of the race at Bristol Motor Speedway, six points below the cutline after disappointing results in the opening two postseason races. With time running out for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, could he overcome his slump before the Round of 12 begins?

Speaking in an interview after the race, Hamlin shifted the attention from his poor postseason performances to NASCAR’s choice of tracks in the playoffs. By doing so, perhaps he intended to ease the pressure going into a must-win race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The JGR driver trying to deflect attention from lackluster form

Denny Hamlin’s quest for his first-ever Cup Series championship is slipping further away with each playoff race. His day at Watkins Glen began disastrously when he was involved in a Lap 1 wreck with Ryan Blaney, forcing the Team Penske driver to retire early due to terminal damage to his No. 12 Ford. “It sucks because I knew the damage was bad,” the No. 11 said right after this opening lap incident.

Not just this, Hamlin’s troubles continued in the final stage of the Go Bowling at The Glen. On Lap 46, he went three-wide in Turn 2 and made contact with Brad Keselowski’s No. 6 Ford, leading to a spin. The incident inflicted additional damage to Hamlin’s Toyota, turning a challenging weekend into a complete disaster. Explaining the wreck he said, “We were three-wide, and [Keselowski], I thought, could have let off there because we were so far ahead, he kept it three-wide and I wrecked.”

Despite never having lifted the elusive championship trophy, Hamlin has always entered the postseason as one of the favorite drivers to make a deep playoff run. However, when asked by NBC Sports if he had ever been through a slump like the one he’s experiencing now, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver didn’t mention the wrecks but instead went on to say, “No, not really. But we haven’t had tracks like this in the playoffs for the most part. Usually, we got road courses and superspeedways and a lot of them but you don’t have this many in the playoffs as what we have this year. It’s just making for a lot of attrition and some good cars below the cutline that are likely to get eliminated.”

Could the variety of tracks be a factor in Denny Hamlin’s playoff slump, or is he using it as an excuse to deflect from his struggles?

Despite his vast experience, the 43-year-old driver qualified P22 for the Go Bowling at the Glen. This poor starting position contributed to his involvement in an early wreck and a disappointing finish. And Hamlin’s conservative approach at Atlanta Motor Speedway only adds to the concern.

But all is not lost. The JGR driver has a chance to turn things around at Bristol Motor Speedway, a venue where he’s excelled recently. With wins in his last two races there, Bristol could be the perfect place for a much-needed boost before the Round of 12 at Kansas Speedway.

Hamlin frustrated with Watkins Glen outcome

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It should come as no surprise that Denny Hamlin isn’t enjoying the Cup Series playoffs at the moment. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has endured two frustrating postseason races, failing to finish higher than 23rd place so far.

Results at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Watkins Glen International have put the Joe Gibbs Racing driver in a risky position going into the final Round of 16 race, and with his back against the wall, the pressure is firmly on the racing veteran’s shoulders to get a result at Bristol.

Hamlin, who wrecked once in practice and twice during the race at Watkins Glen, expressed his frustration while speaking to NBC Sports after the race. When asked if he could describe his anger at the race’s outcome, the Florida native replied, “I mean, yeah, it’s just a couple of races where things were out of your control. Just didn’t go well. The first lap, I mean. Certainly, I take responsibility for what I did on Saturday, which was not qualifying well. That’s on me. Certainly that put us right in the middle of where wrecks usually happen and we got shoved into it.”

Being involved in a multi-car wreck wasn’t exactly what Denny Hamlin had in mind when he began his race at Watkins Glen International. His No. 11 Toyota’s right front tire cover received significant damage in the incident that involved Corey LaJoie, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Christopher Bell as well.

The early race incident, combined with a final stage wreck, summed up Hamlin’s struggles in the postseason so far, but with a race at Bristol Motor Speedway on the horizon, the veteran racer will hope that his luck changes very soon.