Why each of Denny Hamlin's first six championship challenges fell short

Typically, when Denny Hamlin wins a race, he loves to provoke the fans in the stands. But that didn't happen after he took the checkered flag on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Instead, with tears in his eyes and a quiver in his voice, he thanked the crowd and dedicated the victory to his father.

The 60th win of his NASCAR Cup Series career tied him with Kevin Harvick for 10th all-time, and more importantly, punched his ticket to the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway in under three weeks.

With that, Hamlin is set to enter the season finale in contention for the championship for the seventh time in his career. For the man who so often says wins, and not championships, are what ultimately matter to him, his impending championship challenge had to have been a big piece behind his emotional celebration.

Despite six previous attempts at a championship, he's never taken the trophy home. For many, it's what defines his career to this point. He's had chance after chance, and for one reason or another, he still sits with that goose egg next to his surname.

Let's take a look at what transpired in his previous six title challenges.

2006 - 3rd in standings

Hamlin's rookie Cup Series season remains one of his most impressive. After winning the exhibition "Bud Shootout" at Daytona International Speedway in his first try, he went on to take two victories that season, both at Pocono Raceway, and became the second rookie to sweep both races at one track in a season.

He also scored eight top five finishes and 12 other top 10 finishes, and he entered the finale at Homestead Miami Speedway with a shot at a stunning rookie championship. He finished fourth and ended up third in the standings, becoming the highest-placed rookie in NASCAR's modern era and securing Rookie of the Year.

2010 - 2nd in standings

Hamlin needed to wait a few more years for another championship opportunity, and boy did he get that in 2010. He scored a career-high eight wins, and he even held a 33-point lead over eventual champion Jimmie Johnson with two races to go.

But it all fell apart for he and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team. Hamlin was forced to pit with 14 laps to go in the penultimate race at Phoenix due to fuel mileage, and he finished 12th. With a 15-point lead entering the finale at Homestead, he spun off of turn two and finished 14th, putting him 39 points behind Johnson at the finish.

2014 - 3rd in standings

The first year of NASCAR's modern controversial playoff format served Hamlin well, as he qualified for the Championship 4 despite scoring just one victory and seven top five finishes. Hamlin was leading in Miami with 20 laps remaining, and he again looked set to win his first championship.

However, a late caution would ultimately come back to haunt him, as he stayed out while other contenders pitted for fresh tires. Hamlin quickly dropped to seventh and fell to third in the standings after eventual champion Harvick and Ryan Newman both passed him.

2019 - 4th in standings

Hamlin went without a Championship 4 appearance for another four years, and he entered 2019 off the back of a season in which he failed to score a single win. Fortunately, the No. 11 team turned it around with a six-win season that saw him also record his second Daytona 500 win, and a joint career-best 19 top five results.

While running second behind title rival and teammate Kyle Busch in the final stages, Hamlin's crew chief Chris Gabehart made the adjustment to add more tape to the No. 11 car's grill, a decision that proved fatal. Hamlin's engine quickly overheated and forced him to make an unscheduled green flag stop. He finished the race in 10th, last of the championship contenders.

2020 - 4th in standings

Hamlin rebounded from 2019's heartbreak with another stellar season, recording seven more victories, including a second straight Daytona 500 win. He racked up 18 top five finishes and three additional top 10 results.

While he was able to qualify for a second straight Championship 4, the No. 11 team just didn't have the pace at Phoenix. Hamlin didn't lead a single lap that day and finished fourth, beaten only by his three co-championship contenders in Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, and Joey Logano.

2021 - 3rd in standings

Despite recording just two wins, Hamlin tied his career-high from 2019 with 19 top five finishes, and he set career-highs with an incredible 25 top 10 finishes and an 8.44 average finish. He qualified for his third straight Championship 4, even with a 24th place finish in the penultimate race at Martinsville Speedway.

Fellow championship contender Kyle Larson, who was fourth of the four contenders entering pit road during the final pit stops, jumped the other three contenders with the No. 1 pit stall. Larson took his first career championship, while Hamlin came up short again, also finishing behind Martin Truex Jr. to finish third overall. Hamlin once again led zero laps.

Is 2025 finally going to be the "year of Denny"?

At the age of 44, Hamlin isn't getting any younger, and time is running out. He's even mentioned at points this year that 2027 is likely going to be his swansong season.

He has been as impressive as he's ever been in 2025. The elder statesman of the Cup Series leads all drivers with six wins and 14 top five finishes this season, at a point in his career when many of the sport's all-time greats just didn't have the same juice.

Even Kyle Busch, who is four years younger than Hamlin, is struggling mightily to remain competitive on a weekly basis.

For Hamlin to finally capture his first Cup Series championship, the biggest question ultimately lies with who his fellow competitors will be.

Considering Team Penske's form at Phoenix, which has seen them go undefeated in a championship-sense since the dawn of the Next Gen car in 2022, Hamlin will likely need Logano and Ryan Blaney to be eliminated. Both drivers currently sit below the Championship 4 cut line.

He will also likely need teammate Christopher Bell to not make it out of the round of 8, as the driver of the No. 20 Toyota has scored two wins at Phoenix since March 2024, including once this past March when he out-dueled Hamlin in a photo finish.

If those three drivers don't make it to the Championship 4, Hamlin, a noted short track specialist in his own respect, has as good of a shot as ever.

What Hamlin has shown this year is his ability to win in many different ways. He can dominate races like he did at Martinsville in the spring, win fuel mileage races like he did at Michigan International Speedway, out-duel the competition in hard combat like he did at Dover Motor Speedway, or make a late restart charge like he did on Sunday in Las Vegas.

As long as he and the No. 11 team can continue to execute and keep luck on their side, as they so often have not done in the past, 2025 might finally be his year. He is currently the favorite to win the title, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

But if there's another mistake on pit road, another late race call that goes against him, or simply another lackluster performance, the current "greatest driver to not win a championship" will remain exactly that.