For the first time in his career as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver, Denny Hamlin failed to win a race in the 2018 season. Will he bounce back in 2019?
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin entered the NASCAR Cup Series in the 2005 season, and he became a full-time driver in the 2006 season. He has been a full-time driver ever since that season, but the 2018 season was the first season of his career during which he failed to earn a victory.
The driver of the #11 Toyota entered the 2018 season on a 12-year streak during which he had earned at least one victory per season. This streak was the third longest active streak among the sport’s drivers.
The 16-year streak of Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson was the longest of these streaks heading into the 2018 season, and the 13-year streak of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch was the second longest of them.
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But the 38-year-old Chesterfield, Virginia native was unable to turn his 12-year streak into a 13-year streak, which would have actually made it the second longest active streak among all drivers since Johnson’s 16-year streak came to an end.
Busch, meanwhile, turned his 13-year streak into a 14-year streak by earning eight victories throughout the 36-race season.
Will Hamlin bounce back in the 2019 season and thus earn his first victory since he won the race at Darlington Raceway in September of 2017?
Hamlin is currently on a 47-race win drought, which is the second longest win drought of his career. He ended a 50-race win drought when he won the July race at Pocono Raceway in the 2009 season. Prior to winning this race, he earned his most recent victory in the March race at Martinsville Speedway in the 2008 season.
However, there is no reason to believe that he will not bounce back with at least one victory in the 2019 season.
Hamlin still produced at an above-average level throughout the majority of the 2018 season. While his numbers in several major statistical categories were lower than they had been in a few seasons, his only career-low in any of these categories was his win total, which certainly doesn’t tell the full story.
Hamlin still recorded 10 top five finishes and 17 top 10 finishes throughout the season, and his pole position total of four was the second highest pole position total of his career. Despite the fact that he was eliminated from playoff contention following the round of 16, he still finished in 11th place in the championship standings.
Aside of Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson, who finished in ninth place in the championship standings, Hamlin was the highest finishing winless driver in the standings.
Hamlin has always been one of the better drivers in the Cup Series, but calling him an elite driver may be a bit of a stretch. He has never won a championship and his win total of 31 is impressive but probably not high enough to get him into the NASCAR Hall of Fame without at least one championship to his name.
With that in mind, while Hamlin’s 2018 season certainly could be the start of a decline, it definitely wasn’t like he completely fell off. Even if it was the start of a decline for him, don’t expect him to fail to find victory lane for two seasons in a row, especially since he got there at least once in 12 consecutive seasons.
Will Denny Hamlin find victory lane in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season for the first time since he did so at Darlington Raceway in September of 2017? The 36-race 2019 season is scheduled to get underway with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida in slightly over a month and a half. This race is scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 17.