“You Still Got Drive?” – Denny Hamlin Proclaims the “X Factor” He Needs to Be in the Same Class as Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt

In a recent conversation on the Actions Detrimental podcast, Denny Hamlin spoke about achieving a certain milestone. To be precise, he is aiming to reach 60 career wins in the Cup Series. So far, Hamlin has recorded 48 wins in his career and the 2023 NASCAR Cup campaign has only just begun. This offers him a chance to increase his tally and get closer to that elusive 60-win mark. Unfortunately, at the Auto Club Speedway, he failed to reach Victory Lane, with former teammate Kyle Busch taking the checkered flag.

Hamlin shared a clip from the podcast on Instagram, wherein he is seen as saying, “My crew chief asked me, ‘You still got goals? Still got drive? You got all this sh*t going on, you still got drive?’

“I was like ‘Yeah man! If I’m going to get to 60 wins, I got to start going quickly.’ So I just feel like if you can get to 60 wins. That is a class that is just so rare of the drivers that are in it. Racing and winning, I believe, is tougher than ever because everything is more similar. So the drivers, the X factor in it. 12 more to go.”

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How did Denny Hamlin perform at the Auto Club Speedway?

Though he must be disappointed with the final result, Hamlin actually performed decently. The #11 driver was actually the best of the Toyota drivers, at a race where the Chevrolet drivers were running riot. Busch led a Chevrolet 1-2-3-4 ahead of Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, and Daniel Suarez. Kevin Harvick was leading the Ford charge from fifth place, and Hamlin slotted in right behind him.

With the Auto Club Speedway race done and dusted, everyone is looking forward to the next race. The next race on the calendar is the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This will be a chance for Hamlin to redeem himself and his chance to hit the ground running. From there, he will be hoping to finally achieve his dream of lifting the NASCAR Cup Series championship trophy.

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