Denny Hamlin was seen as a direct rival to Kyle Larson’s championship aspirations throughout the regular season. However, since then, the TRD engine debacle and an underwhelming start to the playoffs have seen Hamlin take a backseat. A team that was an outright contender for wins every weekend suddenly found themselves scrapping for points to advance to the next round.

Meanwhile, Larson overcame his hurdles with a dominant win at Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend. The 0.533-mile track was seen as the #11 team’s fortress, but Hamlin wasn’t in the picture as the contender for the win. Nerves certainly played a role in that, given that the JGR driver needed to execute the race well after torrid results in his last two races.

But what’s next? Will Denny Hamlin get back to his usual self, trying to bully his rival on the track in the next round? Well, Kevin Harvick feels he will need to come out of his shell with a more aggressive approach. If he wants to win the championship this year.

Kevin Harvick wants Hamlin and his team to go on the offensive

Hamlin has had to deal with a wide range of issues apart from just racing. The big gut punch came with the engine penalty, which took away those precious bonus points. Forcing him to go on the defensive and play for points. Atlanta was the prime example of it. Not only that, his team 23XI Racing is at loggerheads with NASCAR on the charter negotiations deal. So it’s fair to say he’s got a lot on his plate.

But now that he has dodged the bullet in clearing the first playoff round, Harvick wants to see the JGR driver back in hunting mode and challenging for race wins. “Denny Hamlin and Chris Gabehart—those guys are offense players. I wanna see them on offense; I wanna see them battling for the lead. Pushing the pace of the race, controlling in the race, doing what they have to do. I’d still rather see him up front battling Kyle Larson and taking the chances to win the races.” Harvick said this on episode number 59 of the Happy Hour podcast.

If there’s one driver who could prove to be a real thorn in Larson’s championship run, it’s probably Hamlin. The two drivers have raced for wins in the 1-2 position six times, and the JGR driver has gotten the better of his rival every time. Hamlin’s win at Dover was the most recent example of him proving his credentials as a title contender. But Harvick feels he needs to find his mojo before it’s too late.

“I don’t believe that; that’s the way you’re gonna win the championship with Denny Hamlin. And I think that they know that. I think they got their butt scared over the first two rounds with the way that they raced at Atlanta and the things that happened at Watkins Glen…I believe that those guys can do that; I don’t wanna see them counting points,” Harvick added.

Long before Kevin Harvick would table his demands from the #11 team, Hamlin had already stocked the fire for a comeback after the Bristol race.

Denny Hamlin is eager to script a comeback

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The agenda at Bristol last weekend was for Hamlin to avoid unnecessary trouble and finish strong. He wasn’t in a position to test his luck in contesting for a win against high-flying Larson. However, now that the points are reset, he can take charge of the races and try to dominate them. Fortunately for him, the first race of the Round of 12 is at Kansas Speedway, a venue that has been one of his strong suits.

In the Next-Gen era, Hamlin has finished inside the top 5 places at the 1.5-mile trio-oval intermediate track. This also includes a win from last year’s spring event. Similarly, Larson is also very fond of the mile-and-a-half venues. So it will be interesting to see the two drivers going at each other this weekend.

As far as change in tactics or race craft is concerned, Hamlin has moved on from his rough patch and is now ready to trade blows. “It’s all offense from this point moving forward. So yeah, we’re going to Kansas, a track where we’ve been really good at and yeah, I’m looking forward to the rest of the run.” The JGR diver said this in the post-race interview at Bristol.

The Larson-Hamlin rivalry has been one of the big talking points this year. Hopefully, the Kansas race would serve the fans the battle they are eagerly waiting for.