Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports

Denny Hamlin on winning the NASCAR Cup Series Championship: ‘This is the year’

Originally posted on 5 GOATs | By Jonathan Howard | Last updated 5/5/24

Before the Dover race, Denny Hamlin got on his podcast and called his shot, saying he was for sure going to win the Wurth 400. Then, he did just that and won the Wurth 400. Now he’s calling his shot at the NASCAR championship.

Denny Hamlin won at Kansas last season. He hopes to repeat at the AdventHealth 400. With three wins already to his name this year, Hamlin is having a season like he did back in 2010. That year he had eight wins total but came up short of the championship.

With a hot start and one prediction followed through on, Hamlin called his shot on the Bill France Cup.

“This is it. This is the year, this is the year it’s gonna happen,” Hamlin said after goading from Clint Bowyer.

"This is it. This is the year it's gonna happen."- 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Denny Hamlin? pic.twitter.com/aUmpj2Yvvq
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 5, 2024

Denny Hamlin has won the Busch Light Clash, Bristol, Richmond, and Dover. Those short tracks are his bread and butter and he’s proven it this season. However, Kansas and these intermediate tracks are also strong for Hamlin.

With how good he’s been this season, it’s not wild to say Hamlin is the favorite or at least one of a few favorites for the championship. The next five weeks are going to show us a lot about how good this team really is.

Denny Hamlin set up to go on a run

With how the schedule is laid out, Denny Hamlin could go on a run here soon. Kansas, Darlington, Charlotte – those are three races that he could win this year. He likely won’t win all of them, but if he came out of this stretch in the next few weeks with one or two wins, it wouldn’t be shocking.

Hamlin didn’t make the top-10 in qualifying, but he’s going to start in the top-15. From there, it won’t be hard for Hamlin to move up throughout the race and make the moves that he wants to make. Avoiding other people’s mistakes will be the biggest task.

Toyota has been really strong this season. It has been a Joe Gibbs Racing versus Hendrick Motorsports battle throughout the year. Hamlin and Larson are the representatives of that competition, finishing 1-2 at Dover last week.

Denny Hamlin has three wins and looks like one of the best drivers in the Cup Series right now. Crew chief Chris Gabehart has Hamlin firing on all cylinders. Will he win tonight and later this season, the championship?

This article first appeared on 5 GOATs and was syndicated with permission.

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