Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin has competed in fewer races this season than each of the other 35 full-time drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series.
After Sunday's playoff race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, he has also won more than any of them.
Hamlin earned his series-leading fifth win of the season, which punched his ticket to the round of 12 of the playoffs as he continues to pursue that elusive first championship.
With 59 career wins, good for 11th on the all-time wins list, he is by far the all-time recordholder for wins without winning a series title.
But one of the more underrated elements of Hamlin's win is the fact that, if certain fans had their way, he wouldn't even be in the playoffs.
All aboard the bandwagon pic.twitter.com/3zIGLZRxcH
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) September 8, 2025
NASCAR fans have always had issues with the playoffs, specifically with the modern (2014 to present) "win and in" playoff format.
One of the rules that NASCAR implemented to prevent drivers from effectively skipping races once they've already punched their playoff ticket (which probably wouldn't happen anyway, but it is what it is) is mandating that all drivers run all 26 regular season races to remain playoff eligible.
All drivers who fail to meet this requirement must apply for a playoff waiver, which NASCAR can approve or deny (but usually approve).
The waiver system is the saving grace of the NASCAR playoff format
Fans hated the fact that Kyle Busch was allowed to be a championship contender after missing the first 11 races of the 2015 season due to injury. That hate reached new heights when he actually won the championship.
But the reality is that nobody is willingly missing races, and missing races actually puts drivers at a competitive disadvantage with how playoff points are set up (bonuses for regular season points finish, wins, and stage wins).
Hamlin missed the mid-June race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez to be there for the birth of his third child, and NASCAR granted his request for a playoff waiver.
Can you imagine if the driver who leads the Cup Series in wins weren't eligible for the championship just because he missed a random mid-season race for that reason? Here I thought we wanted the best and most deserving driver to be crowned champion.
It shouldn't even be a discussion. But quite honestly, neither should a lot of so-called "issues".
This particular issue resurfaced last year when Kyle Larson, despite never actually intending to miss the Coca-Cola 600, ended up missing the Coca-Cola 600 because of his decision to compete in IndyCar's Indy 500. He was granted a playoff waiver, and yes, there were fans who were upset about it.
Larson actually led all drivers in total points scored last year despite missing a race, so again, the playoff waiver did its job, keeping a championship contender in championship contention instead of in a meaningless battle for 17th in points.
NASCAR did make changes after what happened last year, noting that they could technically opt to approve a waiver but take away all of a driver's playoff points, depending on why the race was missed. In Hamlin's case, he wasn't docked any.
But pretending that a driver with several wins shouldn't be in the playoffs (or should be stripped of his playoff points) because he unexpectedly missed a race is ridiculous. There really is no controversy surrounding the playoff waiver rule, and Hamlin's postseason success is yet another example that NASCAR doesn't need to change it.
Quite frankly, Hamlin likely finished a spot or two lower in the regular season point standings than he would have had he competed in Mexico, so he did lose a playoff point or two (that another driver(s) gained) in that regard.
Let's simply keep it at that moving forward.
The Bass Pro Shops Night Race is scheduled to conclude the opening round of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs this Saturday, September 13. USA Network is set to provide live coverage from Bristol Motor Speedway beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss it!