NASCAR: 5 drivers who could be in serious trouble

NASCAR drivers in jeopardy: No. 5 – Denny Hamlin

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin is unlike any other driver on this win in that he already has a win to his name in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, a win that certainly counts toward playoff eligibility.

But simply counting toward playoff eligibility doesn’t necessarily mean that it will lock him into the playoffs.

There have already been eight different winners in the season’s first nine races, with Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron being the only driver to win twice — and therefore being the only driver to have truly clinched a playoff spot. With 17 regular season races remaining, there is a chance that there will be more than 16 different winners.

To further complicate matters, the 16 playoff spots go to the regular season points champion, whether he has a win or not, and the next 15 drivers who rank highest in wins. Right now, none of the drivers in the top three in the point standings — Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott and Team Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano — have won.

If there end up being more winners than playoff spots, the tiebreaker among single-race winners becomes points. Of the seven single-race winners so far this year, Hamlin is a distant last in points, sitting in 23rd place in the standings. He is nine positions and 63 points behind the next lowest ranking winner, Team Penske rookie Austin Cindric.

Hamlin’s win at Richmond Raceway is his lone top 12 finish of the season, and while he has definitely run better than his average finish of 23.1 — good for only 27th best among the 32 full-time drivers — would suggest, he has been a non-factor in more races than not.

If the parity that the 2022 season has produced so far continues, a one-win Hamlin could end up missing the playoffs. It would mark the first time that he has missed the postseason since 2013, when he missed four early races due to a back injury.