It is clear that the Cup Series playoffs are as unpredictable as they could get. With 2023 regular season champion Martin Truex Jr struggling and Christopher Bell making it to the finale, nothing remains granted. The case isn’t much different for Denny Hamlin, who has been impressive yet looking unlikely to qualify for the final race at Phoenix. However, the Joe Gibbs Racing feels otherwise.

After a bright start to the playoffs, Hamlin seems to have lost his way. With just one race left in the round of eight, the #11 driver finds himself below the cutoff line. All hope lies in his performance in the coming weekend.

Denny Hamlin believes in a promising show at Martinsville Speedway

Given his experience and stellar skills behind the wheel, Denny Hamlin has always been a favorite for the championship. While he has been unsuccessful in winning the title so far in his career, his form this season presented a great platform to triumph.

In fact, his start to the playoffs was certainly impressive. Along with a victory at Bristol Motor Speedway, Hamlin finished in the top five three more times. However, his form has taken a dip in the last three races with only a single top-ten finish. Unfortunately, this has led him to desperately need a miraculous win at Martinsville Speedway on the weekend.

With such an uphill task at hand, the odds of him winning are comparatively low. Having said that, Hamlin remains quite confident about his chances of making it big at Martinsville. Speaking on the recent episode of his “Actions Detrimental” podcast, he explained why he feels so.

He said, “Oh, I agree with you. I think winning one race is an uphill battle. But I certainly believe that we can win this weekend. I believe we can win next weekend [at Phoenix] after that. But there’s a lot of factors in it. We talk about ’em every single week. But I certainly know that we’re going to my best track.”

It is indeed one of Hamlin’s most successful tracks. In 35 races, the #11 driver has registered five victories so far. In addition to that, he has 18 top-five and 24 top-ten finishes. Without a doubt, he relishes racing at Martinsville and will be a massive threat on Sunday.

Given his impressive record at the track, Hamlin believes in achieving the desired result. He said, “We’ve been, behind the eight ball before and we usually show up in these situations and we put our best effort forward. So I certainly feel like there’s, there’s heavy motivation coming this week. We know what we’re capable of, we’re gonna go do it.”

So, is a win mandatory for Hamlin on Sunday?

Hamlin expresses his approach for the crucial race at Martinsville Speedway

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With the race on Sunday being the last race from the Round of 8, the stage is set for a fierce battle. Given the current standings and there are still two places up for the grab, Martinsville Speedway could witness an explosive race. At present, William Byron and Ryan Blaney stand 30 and 10 points respectively above the cutoff line.

WATCH THIS STORY: Blaney’s Triumph Amidst Hamlin’s Tactics

As far as the remaining four drivers are concerned, Tyler Reddick is 10 points below the line. Both Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr remain 17 points below the cutoff line. The most difficult case remains for Chris Buescher, who stands 43 points. Safe to say, a victory is mandatory for him. While Byron just needs to finish the race, it all remains circumstantial for others.

However, Hamlin looked clear with his approach. Speaking on the same episode, he said, “I guarantee you I will be on kill right from the get-go and treat it as a must-win.” It is indeed amazing how confident the JGR driver is. It only makes it more interesting to see how he does on Sunday.

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