NASCAR: 3 veteran drivers who could be in trouble
By Asher Fair
NASCAR veterans at risk: No. 2 – Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin hasn’t missed the playoffs since the 2013 season, and he hasn’t missed the Championship 4 since the 2018 season, the first (and only) winless season of his career.
Since his opening round playoff elimination four years ago, Hamlin has been championship eligible in every race he has started, something that no other driver can say. But that could very well change in 2022.
While you have to imagine that his average finish of 24.0, a career-worst, will improve as the season progresses, Hamlin has dug himself an early hole that may be challenging to get out of, given how many different winners have already emerged this year.
Hamlin winning a race is by no means a guarantee, either; two of the last four regular seasons have seen the driver of the #11 Toyota fail to win a race.
He has not finished a race higher than 13th place this year, and he sits in 22nd in the point standings. After back-to-back seasons of leading more than 1,000 laps, something he hadn’t done since 2012, he has led just 35 in six races so far this year.
Some of those laps led came at Circuit of the Americas, when he strategically won the second stage by intentionally not pitting just so he could secure 10 much-needed points.
Just one year after opening up the season with eight top five finishes in nine races, Hamlin is already trying to score points any way he can. There is definitely reason for concern here.