NASCAR: The unwanted record that Denny Hamlin can avoid
By Asher Fair
Denny Hamlin has a chance to secure the first NASCAR Cup Series championship of his career on Sunday afternoon after 16 years of trying.
Seven drivers have become first-time NASCAR Cup Series champions since Denny Hamlin made his series debut back in 2005.
Despite winning at least one race in 15 of his first 16 seasons as a full-time driver and racking up 46 career victories, Hamlin’s name is not one of those seven.
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Once again, the 41-year-old Chesterfield, Virginia native has a chance to change that in what is set to be his third consecutive Championship 4 appearance.
Hamlin is 0 for 4 when it comes to championship battles, and he is 0 for 3 in the Championship 4 era. He qualified for the Championship 4 for the first time in 2014 and returned in 2019 and 2020.
In the Championship 4, he has never finished higher than third place among the four contenders, and in 2019 and 2020, he finished in last.
All of this has set Hamlin up to potentially break an unwanted record and become the winningest non-champion of all-time.
Hamlin is quick to reiterate that his goal is simply to get to the Championship 4 and give himself a chance. Even under the current playoff format, he places a higher value on winning a lot of races throughout the season than he does on beating three guys in the race that matters most.
This has been the case for him even before his recent Championship 4 defeats, so whether or not that mentality would change if he can actually pull it off and be crowned champion is something that only he knows.
Hamlin is currently tied for 17th place on the all-time wins list with Hall of Famer Buck Baker. Among the top 16, the only driver never to win a championship is Junior Johnson.
Johnson won 50 races throughout his career, but he never competed full-time. In fact, he only ran more than half the schedule in seven of his 14 seasons in the sport.
If he doesn’t win the 2021 title (he is listed by WynnBET as the third favorite at +350), Hamlin would be set to enter the 2022 season just four wins from tying this unwanted record.
Among full-time drivers, Hamlin does already hold the record for most wins without a title, having passed Mark Martin (40) for the top spot on that list with a seven-win season last year.
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The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 season finale is set to be broadcast live from Phoenix Raceway on NBC beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET this afternoon. Can Hamlin hold off teammate Martin Truex Jr. as well as Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and reigning champion Chase Elliott to claim his first title? Start your free trial of FuboTV today!