NASCAR Cup Series: Denny Hamlin’s 12-year win streak comes to an end
By Asher Fair
Denny Hamlin’s 12-year winning streak, which spanned from the 2006 NASCAR Cup Series season through the 2017 season, came to an end.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin entered the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season having won at least one race in each of the last 12 seasons going back to the 2006 season.
The full-time Cup Series career of the 38-year-old Chesterfield, Virginia native began in the 2006 season, so he had never gone a full season without winning a race in his career.
This 12-year winning streak was the third longest among active drivers and the 13th longest streak in Cup Series history. Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch were the two drivers who entered the season with longer winning streaks than Hamlin.
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Johnson entered the season having won at least one race in each season from the 2002 season through the 2017 season and Busch entered the season having won at least one race in each season from the 2005 season through the 2017 season.
Johnson failed to win a race this season for the first time as a full-time Cup Series driver, so his winning streak ended at 16 seasons. Busch, meanwhile, won eight races this season to extend his winning streak to 14 seasons.
During his first 12 seasons as a full-time Cup Series driver, Hamlin racked up a total of 31 victories. However, in his 13th season as a full-time driver, he was unable to add to that win total. As a result, his 12-year winning streak came to an end.
Over the course of the 2018 season, Hamlin racked up 10 top five finishes, 17 top 10 finishes and four pole positions. He led 380 of the 9,926 laps that he completed and finished in 11th place in the championship standings with an average finish of 12.6.
Hamlin’s best finishes of the season were his second place finishes in the round of 12 race at Dover International Speedway and the round of 8 race at Martinsville Speedway. He qualified for the playoffs, but he was eliminated following the round of 16.
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Will Denny Hamlin bounce back from his winless 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season in the 2019 season? If so, how many races will he win? The Daytona 500 is scheduled to get the 2019 season underway on Sunday, February 17, 2019. It is set to be broadcast live on FOX from Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, so be sure to tune in to it.