Denny Hamlin’s quest for a NASCAR Cup Series Championship remains elusive, as the trophy slipped out of reach once more. After the Martinsville Speedway race on Sunday, where Hamlin initially secured a 5th place finish, he faced disqualification—extending his 20-year journey without a championship win despite his on-track prowess.

NASCAR veteran Kevin Harvick, a long-time supporter of Hamlin’s talent, shared his thoughts on Hamlin’s latest setback. Known for his very open outlook on Hamlin, Harvick’s six-word comment on the driver’s future may spark yet another fiery reaction from the Joe Gibbs Racing’s driver.

Kevin Harvick shares his stance after Hamlin doesn’t make it to the Top 4 

The saga of misfortunes seems to be never-ending for Denny Hamlin. It all started at the Atlanta Speedway, right from where Hamlin had started to showcase quite deplorable performance. Hamlin finished in the 23rd position. However, Hamlin would probably not have been striding so hard for points if he didn’t receive the L2 penalty for foul play on engine inspection at Bristol. Toyota ended up mistakenly disassembling and rebuilding the engine before presenting it for inspection. The team, as well as Hamlin, lost 75 points in the regular season standings.

Throughout the season, Hamlin showed an average performance. Yet with Martinsville as his final chance, it seemed luck played an unfavorable game. During the practice session, Denny Hamlin ended up crashing his car. Although the team managed to get it up and running without having to outsource it. It slowed down the car and caused some internal issues. The car was not the best to make it to the victory line, and yet Hamlin was able to make it to the Top 5 after he started from the tail-end position. Towards the final stage of the race, it was evident the No. 11 Toyota was unable to hold the pressure from drivers like Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott.

However, he has not been able to make it to the Cup Series Championship even for once, which does carve a sad story. Given that the driver is now almost 43 years old, it just takes away the hopes more. Reacting to how this was probably the last time he had the opportunity to make it, Kevin Harvick said, “Atlanta wasn’t good in terms of the outcome and the way he raced. The momentum just wasn’t there from week one. Then, looking at Martinsville this week, it just seemed like there was so much bad luck. A piece of rubber got in there, and the throttle stuck. They had a lot of speed throughout the season, but, like we talked about with our championship guys earlier, you just can’t let your foot off the gas. You can’t go to a racetrack thinking you need to calculate these finishes. You have to go there aggressively, aiming to win those races and run up front”. 

However, it is not only luck and Hamlin’s penalty session that has contributed to this current anomaly. 23XI, owned by Hamlin and six-time winner and NBA legend Michael Jordan are a part of not signing the charter agreement with NASCAR along with Front Row Motorsports. This could also be a major reason why Hamlin has not been able to put his major focus on the tracks.

Citing this issue as well as his inability to make it again for the 2024 season, Harvick dismissed Hamlin’s ability to make it to the Cup Series Championship before his retirement. In a six-word verdict, he said, “It’s tough to start the playoffs in that kind of situation, with all the drama and the lawsuit. It just felt out of sync from round one of the playoffs. ……..think this was his last shot. No, I actually think last year was his last real shot. After last year, I didn’t think it would happen.” Kevin Harvick’s verdict is a disappointing sign for a lot of NASCAR fans. In a career that ran for over two decades, the Cup Series title always eluded No. 11 Toyota.

On the other of the spectrum, Kevin Harvick has a very different view of Hamlin’s teammate Christopher Bell.

Harvick sides with NASCAR on Christopher Bell’s penalty 

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It seems as though, along with Hamlin, Kevin Harvick has an opinion about his teammate Christopher Bell as well. Recently, the Martinsville Speedway saw Christopher Bell imitating the iconic “Hail Melon” move by where he climbed on the high wall. This attracted a severe penalization from NASCAR which made Bell lose his seat at the Top 4 and replacement by William Byron. While there has been quite a divided opinion about whether this penalization was fair or not, it seems that NASCAR veteran Kevin Harvick has quite a strong stance on the same.

Harvick said, “Ultimately I think that was the right call by NASCAR and an easy call, based upon the hardcore driver opinions that happened after Martinsville and the Ross Chastain incident. There’s no black and white rule, but it was overwhelmingly with the drivers and NASCAR that it needed to be that way and not be able to be utilized”.  Anytime a car hits the wall, along with the driver’s safety, it is also the audience’s safety that one is putting at risk. Although the intensity of the wall climb by Chastain and Bell was not the same, Harvick believes that this is a move that had to be taken.

NASCAR competition vice president, Elton Sawyer has also been quite vocal about what prompted NASCAR to take this decision. He said, “When you look at it today, (Bell) clearly got up against the fence there in (Turns) 3 and 4, and rode the fence all the way off (Turn) 4 there. Strictly it’s to protect our drivers as well as our fans, so yeah, it was pretty straightforward”.

Do you also think that Harvick is of the right opinion or could Bell have been relegated with his position intact at the Top 4?