Denny Hamlin needs all the help he can get. The racing veteran is currently in the middle of a playoff slump after disappointing results at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Watkins Glen have cast serious doubts about his championship hopes. However, things could have been far worse, had BJ McLeod not turned up as an unlikely ally at the Quaker State 400, while former teammate Kyle Busch also ‘did him a solid’ at the 2.45-mile road course.

Could these gestures finally pay dividends in Hamlin’s pursuit to lift the elusive championship title at Phoenix Raceway later this year? That remains to be seen. As things stand, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver needs to focus all his attention on Bristol Motor Speedway, hoping that an excellent result will propel him into the Round of 12.

Denny Hamlin hails Kyle Busch’s selfless gesture

Denny Hamlin has never had the chance to race for a win at Watkins Glen, did he? At a time when points were of utmost importance for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, lady luck wasn’t on his side after he was caught up in an opening lap wreck. Despite recovering enough to secure a point at the end of Stage 2, he was forced to settle for a 23rd-place result after enduring another on-track incident. The result was far from good enough for the racing veteran, who is currently 13th in the playoff standings, six points below the cut-line.

However, things could have been far worse for the 43-year-old racing driver, had Kyle Busch not shown a selfless gesture at Watkins Glen International. With Rowdy racing for nothing but pride, he knew that the stakes were higher for Denny Hamlin in the second playoff race of the season, and his thoughtful deed did not go unnoticed. Reflecting on Busch’s favor, Denny Hamlin said on the Actions Detrimental podcast, “I think he had damage like I did, but I also think he did me a solid.”

With both drivers battling it out for a free pass, Kyle Busch graciously chose not to overtake his former teammate to get a competitive advantage. Whether it was because of tinfoil being at the back of Rowdy’s damaged No. 8 Chevy or just a selfless gesture, Denny Hamlin was thankful to the Richard Childress Racing driver. He told Actions Detrimental co-host Jared Allen, “I could see behind me like he would get runs in certain places. Again, I thought his car was damaged enough that he didn’t feel confident jamming it in there and getting in side-by-side with me without taking risks. Because my car was still okay under breaking, but I could still see he was being patient. Certainly appreciative from my standpoint because I thought he cut me a break.”

It’s hard to imagine just how bad Hamlin’s playoff situation would have been, had it not been for Busch’s favor at Watkins Glen, and BJ McLeod’s helping hand at Atlanta Motor Speedway. However, all hope is not lost, and with the final Round of 16 races at Bristol on the horizon, the Florida native has the time to make amends on a track he has traditionally excelled at. Hamlin will be hoping he won’t need any more ‘handouts’ from other racing drivers to keep his playoff hopes alive, even though without them, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver would have been in a much more precarious position than what he finds himself in.

Hamlin optimistic about his chances at Bristol Motor Speedway

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If there was ever a track that Denny Hamlin could feel confident about, it’s Bristol’s 0.533-mile oval. Unlike the Watkins Glen road course, a format in which the racing veteran has traditionally struggled, Bristol Motor Speedway has been a happy hunting ground for the 43-year-old in the past. Hamlin has secured back-to-back victories in his last two appearances on the track, and will hope to repeat such a performance to keep his title hopes alive.

Reflecting on his race at ‘The Glen’, Denny Hamlin looked at his disappointing result in a positive light, while expressing optimism about his chances in the final Round of 16 playoff event. He said, “Great effort to keep us in it. Obviously, the car is just destroyed. To finish 23rd, I guess is a positive. We were in a worse place that mostly all day and luckily, we had some attrition at the end that helped us out. I feel like we can go [to Bristol] and win. We are going to an oval, back to a normal track. We can control our own destiny there.”

Despite being out of the picture in the opening two postseason races, drivers looking to progress into the Round of 12 won’t be underestimating Hamlin going into the 2024 Bass Pro Shops Night Race. With stakes higher than ever, the veteran racer knows that the time to perform is now, or run the risk of missing out on the elusive championship trophy once again. Will he rise to the occasion at Bristol or crumble under the growing pressure to perform when it matters? Time will tell.