I am not a Denny Hamlin fan. He’s a polarizing character in NASCAR and tends to fall short of what I consider good sportsmanship. I tuned in to Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship to see if Kyle Larson could pull off a W, after somehow making the final 4 without winning a single playoff race. By every reasonable measure, I should have been thrilled with the outcome. I wasn’t. It was tragic. Even Larson felt guilty for winning.
Hamlin led 208 of the 318 laps at Phoenix raceway with a 3+ second gap for most of the race. With 3 laps to go -just 40 seconds left between him and a long-overdue championship- William Byron got a flat, causing a caution. The whole field dove into pit lane to prep for a green, white, checkered finish. Hamlin was first to pit, and his team called for 4 tires. Unfortunately for him, the majority of the field took 2. Nine cars got out in front of him, with Larson in 5th, but he only had to beat Larson to secure the championship. At the jump, Denny took the low line and managed to get even with Larson. It was short-lived, as Larson went high and pulled ahead of the field, finishing 3rd overall and securing 1st in the championship.
By his own words, Kyle felt regret for stealing the win from Denny. “When I finally get to see him later tonight, I just don’t even know what to say. Like, I’m saying, ‘sorry,’” he said to NBC pit reporter, Marty Snider. Later, in the post-race presser, Kyle said “In 20 years of trying and getting so close, there’s a large piece of me that feels really bad, and sad. He has put so much time in and has been so close to winning so many championships and this was as close as he’s ever been. It’s such a weird feeling. When you didn’t win a race, and you didn’t lead a lap, and you steal it from a guy who had it in his fingertips, it’s a really weird feeling.” Even William Byron apologized for the flat tire when he joined Hamlin and Larson in the media pen. He placed his hand on Hamlin’s shoulder and gave him an empathetic look that expressed what everyone was feeling.
A Larson victory was something we should have been happy about, but there we were, quietly mourning that loss for Denny. Somehow, over the 3.5 hour race, commentators Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte managed to paint a sympathetic picture of Denny. Despite being one of NASCAR’s favored heels, he has won 60 races over his 20-year career. The 44-year-old is the most accomplished driver with 60 Cup wins who has never won a Cup title. This was his most successful season to date, and yet it became the 5th time in the modern playoff format that Denny made it to the top 4 and couldn’t convert. His terminally ill father was mentioned repeatedly as the motivation for this campaign; wanting to see his son win a championship before he died.
I think his trackside interview after the flag summed it up for all of us. “I really don’t have much for emotion right now,” Hamlin said. “I’m just numb about it because I’m just in shock. That’s about it.” As the camera panned to team owner Coach Joe Gibbs and his pit stand, it was clear they were all equally despondent. “It’s really difficult,” Gibbs said. “It’s a heartbreak for everybody here. I don’t think there’s much else to say. I think we did our best. Some of the things you can’t control.”
What can be controlled is this playoff format. A driver should be able to win the most races, earn the most points, and win the championship. Instead, NASCAR playoffs are a winner-take-all finale that negates the value of season-long achievement. There shouldn’t be an opportunity to have a title taken away in the last 3 laps of the season. The day before, Conor Zilisch, who dominated the NASCAR Xfinity series with 10 race wins, lost the championship in his playoff final, too. The 19-year-old was in tears having lost not only his first championship opportunity in the final moments of his season, but also being deemed ineligible for a WEC test as a result.
NASCAR leadership has acknowledged the fan outrage surrounding the current playoff system and confirmed that a formal review is underway for 2026. The working group includes drivers, manufacturers, and media representatives, tasked with evaluating the playoff structure and recommending adjustments that better reflect season-long performance. Officials have said that the process will take time, and the intent is to preserve competitive integrity and restore credibility to the championship outcome.
That may be too late for Denny’s dad.
