Denny Hamlin has to 'get his mojo back' after losing NASCAR points lead

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Denny Hamlin has to 'get his mojo back' after losing NASCAR points lead

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Sep 23, 2026 11:32 PM ET

Denny Hamlin hasn't been bad through the first three races of the NASCAR Cup Series Chase, but he certainly hasn't looked as good as he did in the regular season, either.

The No. 1 Chase seed enters Sunday's race at Kansas one point behind defending champion and series points leader Kyle Larson after finishes of 18th at Darlington, ninth at Gateway and eighth at Bristol.

Had Hamlin not had a slow pit stop and subsequent contact with Michael McDowell late in the Southern 500, he likely would've finished top 10 and would still be in possession of the points lead. Still, the 45-year-old, still searching for his first championship in his 21st full-time season, would like to be running better than he is.

"I need to get my mojo back," Hamlin said Monday on his podcast, "Actions Detrimental." "I need to get a weekend where we lead laps and win stages and to feel like good about where we're at."

Denny knows he needs to get his mojo back. pic.twitter.com/WVqz2DUBcW
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) September 22, 2026

Hamlin led 68 laps at Darlington but didn't spend time out front at either Gateway or Bristol, both venues he's won at before.

Kansas a huge opportunity for Denny Hamlin, No. 11 team

"This is probably my best and favorite racetrack in Kansas," Hamlin said. "I feel very fortunate I'm one point back, given how we've performed. We can't continue to perform this way. 37 or 35 [points] a race is not enough. I'm going to have to have better weeks than what I have here. If not, we're just going to whittle our way down the standings little by little, but that's not what I intend on doing."

Hamlin led 131 laps at Kansas on April 19 and was in position to win before a caution came out with Hamlin just a few hundred yards from taking the white flag. Tyler Reddick went on to win the race, his fifth victory of the season for Hamlin's 23XI Racing organization.

Hamlin has four wins, 16 top-fives, and 18 top-10s in 36 starts at the 1.5-mile track.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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