2024 no longer appears to be Denny Hamlin's year to win elusive championship

Fifteen races through the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, Denny Hamlin was on top of the world. 

The Chesterfield, Virginia, native had won three races, led the Cup Series points standings and had just collected his fifth consecutive top-five finish, a runner-up effort in St. Louis. 

Over the last 13 races, however, the No. 11 team has been in a tailspin, finishing top-10 in just four races, losing 10 playoff points due to a penalty and finishing the first two races of the playoffs in 24th and 23rd, respectively. 

As the Cup Series heads to Bristol for the Round of 16 finale, Hamlin sits six points below the cut line, in danger of seeing his 2024 season end in the Tennessee hills. 

Hamlin is the NASCAR equivalent of the Dallas Cowboys — year in and year out, it's his year, but that statement never culminates in a championship. 

Whether it be an early spin, a slow pit stop, too much tape on the grill or a slow car, Hamlin's results in the season finale never go his way when he has a chance to win the title. 

In the last two years, Hamlin has been knocked out of the playoffs in the Round of 8, though neither occurrence was his fault. Ross Chastain's 'Hail Melon' ended Hamlin's title hopes in 2022, and a steering issue at Homestead in 2023 ended up being the deciding factor in his season. 

In the playoff opener at Atlanta, a poorly thought-out strategy doomed Hamlin's day, and Sunday's race at Watkins Glen was ill-fated from the first lap. 

A lap one crash broke Hamlin's suspension, and while the No. 11 team repaired the car, another late crash relegated Hamlin to a 23rd-place finish. 

Even if Hamlin makes it out of the first round with a clutch performance at Bristol, his recent slump and lack of playoff points indicate that making it past the Round of 12 may take a herculean effort. 

If that's the case, Hamlin may have to wait yet another year to win his first Cup Series championship.