Denny Hamlin’s disappointing outing at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 added to his misery. Two days before the events of Daytona, Toyota’s engine fiasco came to light, not only costing JGR financially but also causing a setback for Hamlin in terms of Playoff and driver points. While his playoff spot is secure, his rank is diminished, and more importantly, the penalty ended his hopes of winning the Regular Season Championship.

After being docked 75 points from his tally and a DNF at Daytona Hamlin dropped to eighth rank in the regular season, having been at number 3, only a few days ago. This has opened the door for 23XI’s Tyler Reddick who is leading the standings and Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson to battle it out for the championship with one race to go.

How do the NCS standings look after Daytona?

After yesterday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, there is more bad news for the #11 driver. He got involved in a Stage 2 carnage that changed the course of the race, ending in his elimination and his fourth DNF of the season. Now, only two teams are in the fight for the championship bid in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Tyler Reddick is top with 823 points, despite a 28th-place finish in Daytona. The #45 driver has displayed promising potential through the 2024 Cup Series season, with 2 wins to his credit and a consistent 17 top-10s. He has surpassed the previous championship leader, Kyle Larson, with 17 points.

Larson has 4 wins and has led almost double the laps compared to Reddick. But he had an unfortunate slip-up at Michigan International Speedway that left him finishing 34th, with just 3 points earned from that race. At Daytona, he finished 21, which again didn’t help his cause. Right now, he sits second with 806 points.

The #5 driver is closely followed by his #9 teammate, Chase Elliott, with just one point’s difference. So, the chances for HMS to get the regular season championship title are pretty bright.

For Michel Jordan’s still-nascent 23XI, to be in the championship hunt in the last race of the season is a big step forward. But for Hamlin, missing out on the chance to win the regular season title and watch a team he brought into existence just four years ago be a strong contender would be a hard pill to swallow.

A day before Daytona, NASCAR penalized Hamlin and JGR heavily after it was found that Toyota tore down an engine before it could be inspected following his win at the Bristol Motor Speedway in March.

The L-2 penalty was issued for failing to meet NASCAR’s engine seal requirements. NASCAR’s statement read, “Each race-winning engine must be inspected by NASCAR once the race team determines that its life cycle is complete. In this instance, prior to presenting the engine to NASCAR for inspection, Toyota Racing Development disassembled and rebuilt the No. 11’s Bristol-winning race engine.” It also noted that Toyota itself reported the violation.

Consequently, apart from Hamlin’s point deduction, the Bristol win was stripped of eligibility for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, advancement in the playoffs, or eligibility for non-points events and tiebreakers. The #11 team was also fined $100,000.

While Reddick, Larson, and Elliot will be fighting it out for the championship in Darlington, they won’t be the only center of attention for the crowd.

A lot of eyes will be on the end of the Playoff lineup, as there are many drivers taking a jab for the last two spots. Jeff Gluck tweeted the names of the top and bottom contenders on X ahead of the Cook Out Southern 500.

Martin Truex Jr. is the only driver so far who has secured his NASCAR Playoffs spot just through points. All 13 drivers above him have race-win eligibility. And given the top-10 and top-5 performances of the playoff bubble drivers, it is likely one of them might also get victory lane eligibility. Denny Hamlin’s prodigy, Bubba Wallace, is contending for that spot with just 21 points off the mark. But there’s also a possibility of Kyle Busch in the mix going by his runner-up finish in Daytona.

As for Denny Hamlin, he just needs to focus on a good finish for a slight improvement in playoff points at the season’s end. His battle will only be in the postseason for the elusive title.

Will Hamlin ever consider driving for 23XI Racing?

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The winningest driver who has never won a Cup championship has a lot on his plate to chew off. The penalty and the Daytona DNF could damage some momentum as the driver is seeking a legacy of his own at JGR. But if he is unable to do that, will the lure of driving for his co-owned 23XI tempt him away?

Answering this question on “Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour,” in March, Denny Hamlin said, “I want to end my career with Joe Gibbs Racing because I want to be loyal to the person that gave me my start, but yes, there is a part of me that wants to drive for 23XI, absolutely.”

But it might be time for him to reconsider the call of sticking with his roots. While talent and hard work play the most important role in success, luck also has a part to play. 23XI might be the change he needs to get to the title. But both JGR and 23XI have the same technical partner. So, it won’t make much of a difference, in effect.

He was also asked if he guides his 23XI drivers through important races, to which he said, “At 23XI we let Joe Gibbs Racing handle it.” With such an amicable alliance, leaving JGR does not seem logical at all. And as 23XI is on the championship radar, it can be considered a win for the #11 driver himself.