As a driver, Denny Hamlin is out to win from the pole. As a team owner, Hamlin is hoping his driver can make the NASCAR playoffs. Bubba Wallace is right on the bubble, thankfully for 23XI Racing, on the good side of it.
Last week, Wallace didn’t just lose a playoff spot to Michael McDowell with his big win, he lost 30 points of his cushion on the rest of the bubble. Denny Hamlin doesn’t expect his driver to win at Watkins Glen, but he has to do things a certain way if he wants to make the playoffs.
Hamlin knows what it takes to make the playoffs. He expects his drivers to be able to make the postseason. It comes down to being “smart.”
“I think you still have to just race smart and if you get unlucky, then you get unlucky,” Hamlin said, via Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports. “It’s not just about these two races … There’s 26 [races] and they all are the same. So, race three means just as much as this one, it just does. So we’re talking about five points here, ten points there. Like, there’s opportunities, that’s why it’s so hard in the Cup Series because you have to be good the entire regular season, and if you’re not, you’re going to find yourself on the bubble most years.”
28 points up on Daniel Suárez, and with a better starting spot, Bubba Wallace has a good chance at holding off the charging bubble drivers. He’ll have to worry about AJ Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs though. They start in the top-10 today.
Denny Hamlin could help Bubba Wallace by winning
Last week, it was a group of bubble drivers near the front of the field. This week, that has changed with Denny Hamlin starting on the pole and other winners from this season performing well in qualifying.
Before the Indy road course race last week, Bubba Wallace joked that he told his teammate to win to help him out. Now he might need his boss to win the race so guys like Allmendinger, Chase Elliott, and Gibbs can’t steal another playoff spot.
Hamlin was quick in the practice and qualifying sessions. In fact, he earned his fourth pole of the season, three of which have come on road courses. He also took the pole at Talladega, Sonoma, and Chicago.
So, will Denny Hamlin lead the field to the checkered flag tday? Will there be a new surprise winner? As a driver, he hopes he wins. As an owner, he’s at least hoping there are no new leaders outside of the top-16.
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